We recently connected with Amal Iqbal and have shared our conversation below.
Amal, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
I have been freelancing and creating my own goods since 2016, and since then I have gone through a few name changes. I started under the name Studio FIG, with the FIG standing for fashion, interior, and graphic design. Then for a while I was Ohmeed, which is the masculine version of my name, Amal; both mean hope in Arabic. My work is an extension of who I am, its almost like sharing my soul, so in 2020 I renamed my business under my own name, Amal. I have allowed myself, as an American-Pakistani Muslim to be my own muse. I create for myself first, and share it with others in hopes of inspring them to embrace themselves. To design for themselves. To feel represented in what I design for them.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
About me: I am a California based designer, with a background in interior design and landscape architecture. I didn’t feel respresented in either industy when I graduated from college and found the normal design firm and corporate atmoshpehre to difficult to fit into as a brown woman. In 2016 I decided to offically freelace as a graphic designer, design my own products and run an online design studio/shop.
What type of products/services/creative works you provide:
I currenrly offer design services, design my own goods and run an online lifestyle boutique all under my own name and website amaliqbal.com.
Design services – I currently offer branding and markering colleteral serivces.
Branding services I offer are: brand identity suites, from logos, secondary marks, color palettes and typography.
The marketing collateral service I offer are: packaging design, website design, brand stationery, product photography and video assests.
Lifestyle goods and online shop – Creating stationery and lifestlye goods that encourage living a lovely and slow life.
What problems you solve for your clients:
Helping brands and individuals tell their story through visual commincation that is thoughtful and respresentive of them.
What you think sets you apart from others:
I am incredibly senstive, emphathetic, techically savy and love to communcaite through beautiful means of expression. This allows me to be vunerable with my own cleints as I am able to ask questions beyond “what colors do you like/who’s brand are you inspired by”, and get to know my clients hearts as it related to their work or brand. This in turn allows me to create beatuiful, meaningful and impactiful work.
The stationery and lifestyle goods that I create and offer are rooted in the same ideal, my vunerablility and desire to tell beautiful stories through beautiful and thoughtful goods.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
That failing in a moment in your business does not mean that your buissiness is failing. In 2018 I hit a rode block with my mental health and closed my business for almost two years. This is when I decided to rebrand and try again, now its almost been three years and I have a lot to be proud of.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Now I know by all means I do not have a “large” following as many of us have been lead to believe, but when I think what it would be like to stand in front of all 5500+ followers, I would say “wow, that is a lot of people!” I am grateful that my community on social media because that is what it is, a community. They care about my stories, wins and losses. They recommend my work and shop with their dollors, and that is incredbily rewarding. The best advice I have read that I will attest to is show up for the followers you do have, and show up as you are right now. There is no perfect moment, and don’t wait for “when I have…” because it may not happen. Your people are the people that will love you as you are for who you are.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amaliqbal.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amaliqbal/
Image Credits
image credit: Amal Iqbal