We recently connected with Bre Russell and have shared our conversation below.

Bre, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career.

Oh boy… there’s honestly so much I would change. It all really comes down to respecting and encouraging creativity. The public education system focuses highly on pursuing careers in Medicine, Finance, Engineering, Business, etc. These careers typically require strong analytical thinking and a high level of education. As early as elementary school, art & music aren’t prioritized or taught as having future opportunity… but test scores are. Highly creative students unfortunately tend to fall through the cracks, and a good percentage of them end up bending over backwards to fit in to this skewed definition of “success”. Art is viewed as something nice to look at, but not as something to make a living in… a huge misconception that we were all taught.
I would offer students creative options. By providing equal encouragement for creative and analytical careers: we would get rid of this hierarchy of what success means & we would give students a more rounded education.

I personally struggled in school, constantly wishing I could learn like my peers did. My GPA was never something I was proud of, no matter how hard I tried it just wasn’t enough. I wasn’t “book smart” like my peers were, so naturally I adopted the belief that “I was dumb” & “I was not smart enough”. What I didn’t realize was that my expertise was just elsewhere.
After I graduating High School I refused to go to college. I worked a couple part-time jobs in the service industry until 2020. Lockdown meant I was unemployed and had nothing to do… so I signed up for online classes at my local community college. My sister told me I should try “Graphic Design”, and so I did. Immediately my GPA skyrocketed. All I needed was to be encouraged in my creativity instead of shamed for it. My professors banned the phrase “starving artist”, and redefined what success meant to me. Don’t get me wrong, Design School was brutal, but never did I question my professional worth to the world. Against every belief I had previously adopted, I graduated with honors.

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?

I’m an ABBA listening, Crime TV Watching, Live Music Loving, Yoga Practicing, Ocean Obsessed, Designer. I define my role, “Graphic Designer”, as a Visual Problem Solver. This means: every logo, poster, color palette, & typography choice is done with so much intentionality. I offer Brand Design, Website Design, Coaching, and Illustration services. I hate to choose, but my favorite clients are small businesses. Giving a small business a visual voice is one of the coolest processes, and I will never get over it!
I’m most proud of taking a chance in myself and pursuing freelance. I get to be creative every day, work with the best clients, & create things I’m passionate about. I pride myself in knowing that working with me is an experience that feels like that moment the barista spells your name right. What does that mean? I’m unapologetically myself, passionate about working collaboratively with my clients, risk-taking, genuine, and incredibly intentional in every creative decision.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Watching people interact with or respond to my work. This could be anything from a smile, to sharing it on social media, or giving a compliment. It’s not about the affirmation itself… it’s about the impact it has on them. Knowing that my art has the power to give someone a reason to smile, or inspire a conversation about a current justice issue. That is definitely the most rewarding aspect to creating.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Social media. It’s the 21st century where social media runs the world, but it’s a huge marketing resource! Ironically I have a pretty low following, but around 70% of my projects have come from social media. I’m consistently active on Instagram, TikTok, & Pinterest.

Contact Info:

• Website: brerussell.com
• Instagram: @brerusselldesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bre-russell-499072251/
• Other: TikTok: @brerusselldesign

Image Credits
Hannah Birdwell Photography