We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cindy Lee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cindy below.
Alright, Cindy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
To be successful, I think it’s important to stay curious, to never stop learning.
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?
A few years ago, I left my full time job to go back to school and choose a different career path. I found and fell in love with graphic design, graduating from the School of Visual Arts in 2021 with a BFA in Design. My work is all about creating clean, thoughtful visuals that will engage viewers. I enjoy collaborating with a team to design work that connects clients to their customers.
There is such an exciting variety of disciplines to work with and I love that many of them overlap. My focus is on branding and editorial design, where I’m able to play with typographic and photographic elements and art direction. It’s wonderful each time that I get a new assignment and am able to exercise my creativity in determining the approach I want to take and to see where it leads in the process. I’m very appreciative of the overwhelming praise I’ve received from my clients and so proud to be a member of the design community.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I think my entire design career has been a pivot.
Choosing to leave a secure, full time job in order to get my degree, immersing myself in an entirely different field — I took a giant leap of faith IN MYSELF, not knowing where I was going to land. I was older than my classmates (and even a few of my professors, who are all working in the business as well as sharing their knowledge as educators). The pandemic forced everyone to adapt quickly to remote learning, online project management and collaboration. Another pivot was learning and adjusting to the differences between full time employment versus the work/management/business of a freelance designer.
Returning to higher learning as an adult allowed me to deeply appreciate the opportunity before me and the sense of discovery inherit in the college experience. It was thrilling to experiment in the different areas of the design world, to try them on and see if they fit. I was committed and dedicated to learn as much as I could and to grow and improve as a designer. The journey has been challenging both personally and professionally, but so fulfilling. I’ve been able to successfully transfer my project management experience, organizational skills and work ethic into a gratifying career as a creative person.
I’m so impressed by the talent of my peers, as I’ve seen them succeed after graduating into amazing careers and producing inspiring work in experiential design, motion, and advertising. I feel strongly that education doesn’t stop when you graduate — from the groundbreaking work that has been done, to what’s current in the industry, to the future of design and beyond — we should always be curious and never stop learning.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I get to work for and with some marvelously talented people and receiving praise for my work — knowing I have impressed them or the client with my speed or ingenuity or if they love something I created that was totally unexpected — that feeling of satisfaction is so rewarding. Seeing my work posted and printed is a bit of a rush that never gets old.
I’ve gained confidence and assurance that my leap of faith paid off. I am respected and appreciated for my contributions and I finally get to ENJOY what I do. The feeling of accomplishment that I am a working designer. Pinch me, I get paid to do this!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nyccindylee.com
- Instagram: @nyccindylee_design
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nyccindylee
