We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Giuseppe Castellano a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Giuseppe, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
“Success” is a complicated word. We talk about it as if there‘s one definition. “To be successful,,” people say, “do this and that.” But, success differs wildly person to person. Sure, for many of us, success is tied to financial stability and upward mobility. For others, me included, success could be as simple as “feeling less anxious” or “having more leisure time” or “finding joy in creativity”. Some link success with follower counts, engagement and/or download numbers, check marks, and other social media targets.
To be successful—however one defines it—consistency, dependability, and patience are the keys. After ten years of running a successful business, that’s what it all boils down to.. Be consistent—with drawing, writing, what have you. Keep promises to yourself. Do whatever you say you’re going to do. Meet your own deadlines. And be as patient as you can possibly be. Do that, and you give yourself a solid chance to be successful.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, I embarked on an award-winning career as an art director, illustrator, and book designer. For nearly twenty years—at Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House—I worked with every kind of illustrator on every kind of children’s book.
In 2015, I founded The Illustration Department—a global leader in personalized, online education for illustrators of all experience levels. You can learn more about my school, read testimonials, and view the alumni showcase by visiting illustrationdept.com.
In 2019, I began another venture: Podcasting. The Illustration Department Podcast is now a mainstay in Apple Podcasts “Top Podcasts in Visual Arts”. It has also hit the number one spot in more than forty countries. In the podcast, I chat with folks in illustration, graphic design, publishing, animation, and other creative fields about the ups and downs of their careers.
And in 2024, I began writing what is now a “best-selling” Substack, called “Notes on Illustration”.
Everything I do, work-wise, is with one goal in mind: Help illustrators with their careers.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I’ve tried many online platforms over the years. Pinterest, Tiktok, Post (remember them?), Substack, Bluesky, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
My accounts on Pinterest, Tiktok, Post, and Bluesky lasted around a year before being deleted. Twitter was good. X isn’t. Instagram and Facebook are hit and miss.
What I’ve learned from every platform, and every experience (good and bad) is that social media is whatever you want it to be. You can leverage it to build an audience, a following, a community, etc. Or you can let it drive you up the wall. It’s your choice.
Focus more time on what you can control (your work, your content, your business) and less time on what you can’t (likes, follows, engagement), and you’ll be fine.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Good customer service. That’s it. Good, honest, timely, dependable customer service. The most effective strategy, in my opinion, is to treat your clients with the utmost level of respect. It seems as though companies are valuing customer service less and less (if at all). But if you go the other way, and deliver more than you promise, you’ll lap the competition.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://illustrationdept.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/illusdept
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IllusDept
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/illusdept/
- Twitter: https://x.com/IllusDept
- Other: https://illustrationdept.substack.com
Image Credits
Head shot by Johnny Call.