We were lucky to catch up with Ayanna Wyatt recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ayanna, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
The idea behind ayanni.psd actually started from thinking about my future while I was a student in university. As time approached for graduation and I was mentally preparing to face the world head on, I asked myself “Do I actually want to work as a graphic designer for some corporate job?” Corporate is visually boring, lacks personality, and is almost dehumanizing in my eyes. That word alone is mentally exhausting to my imagination. On the other hand though, I knew that there are freelance designers out there, partnering with businesses to deliver their visual needs. I figured I could ultimately start with something like that, but niche myself to businesses and creators who bring jubilance, excitement, and personality. And this is exactly what my own branding for my freelance business showcases! The symbol of cherries in my own branding provides a sense of femininity and sweetness, and ultimately ties into the idea that I am creating the cherry on top through my design work. Then choosing to work with fashion, beauty, lifestyle, pop culture, & content creators allows my creativity to ooze of enjoyment and is perfectly fitting for what I enjoy the most.
Ayanna, 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?
Being a creative and experimental girl since the age of four has easily led me to work in the creative field as my destiny. After my first graphic design class in high school, I ultimately decided that’s what must be pursued in my college career. As I graduated as an honor’s student with my bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with a Graphic Design concentration, I knew I wanted to become a brand designer. I found so much passion behind color psychology, shapes, building visual emotions that create a voice, and so much more for the everyday brands I love to shop for and engage with.
My freelance business involves me creating the cherry on top using strategic designs for fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and pop culture brands. This includes services such as brand identity design, graphic design, packaging design, logo design, website design, illustration, merchandise design, and so much more. My speciality is helping business owners identify issues within their branding that could be interrupting sales, customer loyalty, variety, cohesiveness, and more. Once these issues are identified, they are strategically solved through design solutions with elements such as color psychology, tone of voice, visual storytelling, and a keen eye to user experience + interface design.
What sets me apart from a lot of other designers in this industry is that I am always a cheerleader! For someone who may be second guessing to launch that business or take the step to invest into their visual identity, I will motivate them to always take that big step forward for themselves. I always want my current and future clients to prove themselves wrong when it comes to chasing their dreams, and I’ll always be the one to encourage it. We deserve a true life of happiness, wealth, and sources of inspiration for what we want to create. Even if the idea seems absolutely insane. I’ve had women message me about specific projects I’ve created explaining how that particular project sparked something within them to become motivated, and there’s no better feeling than that as a designer!
I’m most proud of how far I’ve come with my clientele as a freelance designer. I’ve had creative freelance opportunities from Comcast, Black Experience on Xfinity, Walmart, REVOLT, REVOLT World, and Alabama State University within one year of launching my freelance business. I’ve even developed relationships with members from each of these corporations that I will definitely cherish. I’m very excited to see what large name comes into my alignment next!
To any future clients, followers, and fans, my most important message to you is to just start. Even if it’s a small idea. Since being a teenager, I have hidden my talents from the world because I was so worried about what people would think of my work, perfectionism, or I was terrified at the thought of my work getting stolen. It wasn’t until 2022 where I let my full creativity unleash to the world without hesitation, and I absolutely regret holding myself back in the past. Things aren’t going to be as “perfect” as you expect when you start, and that’s what truly makes the journey of it all even more beautiful. Even now, sometimes I look back at my college projects and laugh, or even how my branding used to be when I launched in November 2022. The most important thing is that no matter how silly it looked, I still started and continued. If you want to open that hair salon, start visualizing it with images from Pinterest. If you want to start that skincare line, start manifesting it like it’s already yours. If you want to be a content creator, start with your smartphone and showcase your natural self to the world. Whatever that idea is and you are certain of it, just execute in ways your environment can support you. And if you are ever unsure where to start, feel free to contact me! Even if you don’t need my services, I’d love to be a friend to any motivated visionaries.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
The book that led me in this direction most importantly is called Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia. This book has absolutely changed my entire brain chemistry when it comes to the happy life I want to live, and what needs to be done to get there happily. It involves topics of health, things you enjoy the most, balance with nature, and so many more important categories of life that will keep you at a high vibration.
One thing about my entrepreneurial journey, I absolutely cannot function without being at a high and healthy vibration. I have to take care of myself mentally, physically, and spiritually in order to operate my freelance business. This book has opened my eyes to the balance of creating, exercising, eating well, connecting with nature, and visually stimulating myself with things that continue to inspire me. Each of these things are crucial to my day-to-day life as an entrepreneur. Ultimately, the Japanese concept of Ikigai balances what you love, what you are good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs. These four things have allowed me to find my own Ikigai in this life!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
One of the most rewarding aspects of being a creative is seeing my work in the real world, in real time, fully blown up and just absolutely stunning. Although I’m the one behind creative projects and brand identities for businesses, seeing the brand in action is a whole different thing. I can immerse myself physically into a whole new experience, and be in awe as if I’ve never seen something visually attractive like this before. If this feeling makes me want to engage more in this visual experience that I’ve created, just imagine how consumers feel when seeing it. It makes them also want to engage, and most of the time people are amazed as well. Those feelings lead to engagements, sales, and customer loyalty that the business was initially looking for. So not only did I do my job with designing the attractiveness of a brand, but I’ve also done it strategically where it has now cleared the problems within that business. Knowing that I’ve created that experience and have brung success to that brand is what makes me the happiest!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ayannipsd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ayanni.psd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ayannipsd
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ayanni-psd?trk=ppro_cprof
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ayanni.psd Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ayannipsd/