We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrew Binder a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Andrew 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?

I’ve been working as a professional graphic designer and screen printer for nearly a decade. I began as a digital production designer for an agency that created advertising for grocery stores and retail chains. I realized very quickly that my position didn’t require a great deal of creativity, it was repeating the same design processes over and over and over. That led me to freelancing on the side doing artwork or merchandise designs for musicians, working with local businesses to creating marking materials and branding and I grew to love that sort of creative work.

Through mutual friends I began working with Encapsulated Studios in Maplewood Missouri and I was given sort of a platform and network to do the kind of design I was passionate about full time. I also began learning the ins and outs of screen printing which I was able to couple with my design work for supplemental income. That was a huge step in furthering my career as a full time creative, and opened up a whole new market of clients needing both graphic design services and physical printed items such as shirts, poster, etc. I was able to be involved in the process with a client from conception to completion and I loved it.

Looking back now I think I was a little apprehensive to dive into freelancing full time because it didn’t feel as consistent or legitimate as a real creative gig for an actual company. But the further I went down the path I loved, the more I realized that if you’re good at something, have a true passion for it and put in the effort, the work will follow. I truly love the work I do and I realize how rare that can be. Like any job, it feels like work sometimes, but more often than not it satisfies my need to be creative in a way I never thought possible.

Andrew, 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 am a full service graphic designer and screen printing living in St. Louis, Missouri. Like I mentioned before I began as a graphic designer, studied visual communications in college and worked in the general field for a few years. Honestly I got in to design because of music. I was a musician in high school and college and I was always the guy who would put together show posters and album artwork for my own bands and friends bands. Doing design work for bands dialed in my eye for detail and composition and allowed me to connect with like minded people through art.

I took a few (what I realize now were) primitive screen printing classes in high school and college doing everything from carving rubber stamp blocks and imprinting to exposing and burning images into small sets of screen and doing simple paper stock prints. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the foundation of knowledge I learned from those classes helped me to expand into full production printing using manual and automatic presses, and working with both plastisol and water based screen printing inks.

I think I bring a unique set of skills to the table because I can think like a designer at the conception and design stage of a project. But I also use my knowledge of print application to give my clients options when trying to flesh out a vision or work within a budget. I love being involved in a project from start to finish. I also hang my hat on being a versatile artist. I love working with clients in different industries, whether its a band creating a brand strategy or a restaurant or brewery expanding on marketing materials. I love that my work forces me to problem solve using my creative tools and pushes me to think outside the box every single day.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me there is no bigger high or excitement than unveiling a draft of a project to a client and seeing in their eyes that I nailed it. Often time I work closely for days, weeks and sometimes months with people who see in their mind what they want but aren’t creatively inclined enough to bring it to life. So much of what I do to create designs, logos, etc is taking random thoughts, ideas, words, sketches and pulling them together in a way that connects with a clients audience. I love being able to pull something abstract out of thin air and solidify it in a clear, concise visual. Its the thing I always chase as a creative, and the feeling of knocking it out of the park never gets old.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Social media has become a huge way that creatives like myself land work. One of the biggest things people can do to support artist and creatives is to share their work.. If you have someone create a logo for you, tag them in the socials. If you have a photographer do amazing photos for you, be sure to mention them online and don’t crop out their logo or watermark. It is something that is so simple, costs literally nothing, and helps creative businesses and brands garner a following and puts more eyes on their work.

Contact Info:

• Website: iconandink.crevado.com
• Instagram: @iconandink
• Facebook: Facebook.com/iconandink