We were lucky to catch up with Brady Gibson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brady, appreciate you joining us today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

As i began picking up on design and starting to feel confident in it after 2 years of practice, i took another risk & quit my job and forced myself to focus on design full time to pay my bills. I began a 365 day project – doing a design every single day for a year. This project turned into 2.5 years – with the result of gaining a large following, a large amounts of clients, and most importantly a huge burning passion for design with lots of experience under my belt. I then began an online store – selling designs, posters, and merchandise. I began networking and making relationships with other designers and management in the industry. As I began scaling up my business, i began taking on full time jobs in design while operating my freelance on the side. I was given so many opportunities in the realm of work that could have only been from God, and now i am a full time creative in the Christian music industry. Looking back, its been such an exciting and eventful experience full of risks, challenges, highs and lows, and i couldn’t be more grateful to be where I’m at in this season of life.

Brady, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Growing up, I’ve always been curious in ways of making. From learning music and how to play instruments, to learning how to paint and draw, to building things with my hands, I was always searching for my “thing”. All of these things I was searching for, stemmed from creativity and I’ve always had a gift in the arts. As i made it into my teenage years, i started thinking seriously about my future and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life – and art was what i felt most called to. I took a risk and went to design school with no prior knowledge or experience of graphic design – all i knew was that it was art and music. I took all the money i had at the time, purchased a laptop and photoshop, and started watching youtube tutorials every night learning the craft. Eventually i got to a point where I was confident in my abilities, and started an instagram design page. I began putting my work out into the world – creating album covers, posters, and concert merchandise. I began looking for clients and reaching out to anyone and everyone. Eventually this created a domino effect of building relationships, growing as a designer and business owner, and as a person overall.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I’ve had to unlearn unfortunately is standing your ground when it comes to getting compensated for your work. As a creative first getting into your craft, its very easy to do free work for friends and family.. but as time goes on, there comes a point where you have to put your foot down and say no to free work. Sometimes we can be put into difficult situations where we are “expected” to do someone a favor, but if they truly supported you they would compensate you for what you’re worth.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I had ALWAYS been a huge fan of art and music, specifically album covers & packaging. When i was 19 years old, i decided i was to purchase a laptop and begin making album covers for fun. it turned out i was pretty decent at this, so i began making covers for my friends and fake covers for artists and songs i loved. Eventually, i made an instagram and started posting these covers. Traction began to build up and people actually reached out for me to do their cover art. I began this side hustle as just a little fun hobby to do during school and work. Fast forward 6 years later and it is my full time job creating album covers & much much more in the graphic design world.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: bradygibson.design
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradygibson01/

Image Credits
bradygibson.design