We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Al Leake. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Al below.

Alright, Al thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

The pandemic created the opportunity for me to work full time. I lost my job and that was my main source of income. Design was a hobby project but i made the choice to pursue freelance design instead of looking for a full time job. At the time The BLM movement was happening and that helped create clients that wanted to support black owned businesses. I was still learning a lot about graphic design and the business aspect because you can be a great designer but terrible at business. That has been a fear of mine so I applied myself and did the research. When your in the house all you could do is learn. A major milestone for me was being able to design full time and selling out some of my zine projects. I do feel like I could have sped up he process by knowing practical business practices and techniques. Working with different types of clients opened my range and different fields of design.

Al, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into the industry by music and clothing design. I tried to rap with my friends early to late 2012 but I gave iu rap because I couldn’t rap but then that created the opperntuniyt to work with gins and crayons. I was mentored but the owner which inspired me to create my own brand called the legal trap. The legal trap was a blog site which included merchandise, exclusive interviews, music, Along that journey I was also designing covert art, album work, and event flyers. We are all unique in our Own ways but I let my art speak for itself. Being a black design because I don’t see to any black designers and the few designers that are here don’t get enough recognition…. Just trust me………………

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Earlier in my journey I wish I was more involved with other creative communities and design studios. These are different ways of learning and being around like minded individuals for feedback, motivation, and relatable experiences. In 2020 during the pandemic I was able to join a design studio/co-working space, There I connected with videographers, designers (Motion design + Type Design) , and photographers. I was able to learn different spectrums of art and design.

As I continued my creative journey the local art space has expanded into a diverse community. Being able to network with others has been very influential while embracing Arizona’s sub- culture of art as it can be reflected in my art.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

Hahahaha…. Earlier this year I released some NFTS that were pages from my 3rd Magazine release.

web free is around the corner so everything is headed into a digital space Were going to have online homes and online studios so I see the bigger picture of what a NFT could be and will be. You’ll be able to place NFTs in our digital condos or digital museums. we already see people making millions off NFTs and its only the beginning. We saw a lot of artist and companies building NFTs but this is only scraping the surface. I really like NFTs being I’m a digital designer. In conclusion I think were heading into a Era where it will be print vs digital (NFT) so its really great to see some one create something on their tablet and it becomes worth thousands of dollars just like old famous painters or artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: bybiggal.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unxle.al/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1bGDh9X6E3UhjIA3iXyVNA
• Other: “I Feel Less Crazy” (podcast) with Damon Logan & Frame https://anchor.fm/onfriendlies NFT’S https://opensea.io/UnkxAl