We were lucky to catch up with Dominic Albanys recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dominic thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

In my personal experience I believe Corperate America enjoys quantity over quality; when it should be the other way around. Businesses seem to always want to go with the cheapest/fastest option when looking for illustrative or graphic design work; or any other creative work for that matter. Almost as if the creative aspect of how something looks, or is advertised, becomes an after thought. As the economy becomes more stringent and pressurized this issue seems to exist as a more prevalent idea than we realize.

Some examples to think about is architecture in the early 1900s compared to now. If you go to any historic district, It becomes apparent that the construction was much more meticulous and artistic. Now architecture is very minimalistic and cookie cutter. Another example would be the company logos in the early 2000s; when compared to their uninviting logos used now, it seems as if everything has become super boring, or minimalistic. One of the greatest examples of this minimalism would be music videos from the 90’s compared to music videos created today. They used to be large scale budget productions, now it’s a dude with a camera doing what’s called a “run and gun”. With that said I understand that these complaints fall under the umbrella of personal preference. Yet, I can’t help but notice the trends that have prevailed in the industry I have broken into.

Where I’ve experienced this personally is when corporations or LLCs have reached out to me for work they have always wanted to pay as little as possible. Through negotiation it feels like you’re fighting for your worth, something I feel like other types of independent contractors don’t have to deal with in their profession as much. A lot of other designers experience this as well. It doesn’t help that the artistic industry has became incredibly saturated with the introduction of the internet, AI, and lower standards in art & design institutions. This gives corporations endless options to look for the cheapest avenue to pursue the quantity over quality I had mentioned in my first statement.

I have even had experiences that taught me the hard way to never receive payment after but to instead take a down payment. I was working on an album cover for an A&R manager: I diligently came up with an idea that was out of the box, which also fit the required timeframe that was asked for. Then, as I had almost finished the piece, I saw through social media that the A&R manager had went behind my back and had given my idea to another artist and had it done in a smaller timeframe than myself. Respectfully, the execution of my idea was atrocious. Not only had they stole from me they had also interpreted my work in a poor manner. This really hit hard as I had wasted 8 hours up to this point and never received payment. I instructed my other freinds who I worked with frequently to not do buisness with this individual again. This still remains as one of the most embarrassing moments of my career.

Situations like this is why I believe I need to work lighting fast, for as cheap as possible, even if it comes down to me not enjoying, or secretly not enjoying, the work I am asked to produce. Doing this gives increased economic opportunity for myself and quantity over quality for the money hungry buisnesses and corporations. All in all, I simply wish corporations still strived for quality artistic work, because as an artist and creative mind, that’s what I strive for through my work every single day.

Dominic, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Dominic Albanys LLC offers a wide selection of creative services from illustration to graphic design, and animation to video editing services. I can just about handle any job given to me. I’ve been an artist all my life and have consistently been at the top of the competition in whatever situation I’ve been in. In school, at work, in college, and in art class. It is because I love what I do and I work hard at what I do.

How I broke into the industry is I started doing random freelance as a child and throughout high school; and by doing this I started building a strong Repertoire of clients. After high school when I had more time to focus on my business, and really build a nice portfolio. I really did not enjoy myself at art college, I felt like I was excluded from the culture and wasn’t learning a whole lot in my classes and I was unjustifiably wasting money. But, this was a blessing in disguise. This depression lit such a fire under my ass that I would sit in my dorm room and just work work work; and this is where I started making real connections with other business owners, and my business grew. My first big gig exposure was doing clothing designs for a brand out of LA called “Ransom” and this broke me into the underground fashion scene as a designer.

The biggest difference I’ve noticed between me and others is the raw talent, and speed I do things with very good execution. I have a deep understanding of realism in any medium, and i can use that skill to twist or bend ideas to make a fun blend of creative ideas that still looks very proper and clean.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I’m choosing to talk about this because I’m still on the way of building an audience as well; but I have some great tips. As an artist for the longest time I would just post pictures of what I made. And this worked; the people who knew me would like and share and whatnot. But if you want to drive traffic and grow impressions, you need to post the person making the art. YOU. People are on social media to connect with other people. People also want to hear and experience stories, not just a final product. If you yourself are included in the content that you post and you tell a story of going from the idea to Fruition of the art piece, your posts will be a lot more successful. That is what I have noticed and what I’m trying to implement every day as a business owner on social media.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The best strategy for growing clientele is make the clients feel like you are super down and interested in their ideas. Listen to them and be excited. You can secretly be like “this idea is crazy” but at the end of the day someone is gonna get a paycheck from them, and you gotta hope it’s you. Second is be very straightforward with how you operate so their is no room for question. This will make the client respect you and make your life easier. What I mean by this is tell them how long it’ll take you, how much you feel the job is worth, and when you will get it done by. Then you get the job done by the time you stated. It’s respecting them so they respect you. If you want half of the payment up front, say that. It’s like getting a haircut, if they like it and feel comfortable with you they will continue to come back.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dominicalbanys.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dominicalbanys?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Image Credits
Dominic Albanys