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

Hi Iman, thanks for joining us today. So, one thing many business owners consider is donating a percentage of sales or profits to an organization or cause. We’d love to hear your thoughts and the story behind how and why you chose the cause or organization you donate to.

I often donate a percentage of my commissions towards the Palestinian people. Although it has been a year and a half, it has become impossible to not feel for the people affected by this genocide. A simple 5 minute scroll on social media will leave you emotionally drained as you scroll from genocide to cute cat videos.

I am a firm believer that just because we are blessed to live in safe country with the world at our fingertips, does not mean we can forget about our neighbors who do not have these privileges. By no means am I wealthy, and like many other Americans, I am living paycheck to paycheck. But I am still incredibly privileged and have to constantly remind myself not to forget to give when I can!

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?

My name is Iman Khoshnaw! I am a proud Kurdish-American, born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. Since I was a child, I have always loved art. Anything with drawing, colors, painting, doodling, hands on, you name it, I loved it. I got it from my mother, who has always loved hands-on work and is great at drawing — although she doesn’t show it off often.

When I was in high school, I never knew what I wanted to be. I jumped around from veterinarian, to architect, to dentist, to interior designer. I reached senior year, still unsure of what I wanted to study in college. One day, in the spur of the moment, I decided to join the Student Government Association. I somehow ended up as Head of Design, and in no time was in every committee, making every flyer, in charge of all event decorations, and anything else that had remotely to do with design.

But it was designing event flyers that got me thinking: What about graphic design? If I’m being honest, I didn’t really know what graphic design was at the time. But I applied for college and blindly chose graphic design as my major. During my first design courses, I believed I made a terrible mistake and considered dropping out, thinking this was too much for me and not in my skill set. But I stuck it out, and graphic design joined the long list of my passions of everything art-related. I now hold a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, with a focus on Illustration, and have won two American Advertising Addy Awards.

I am always taking commissions, but I haven’t given up my background. I still paint, illustrate, draw, and more along with my graphic design services. Anything from an oil painting to a logo, digital illustrations to websites, embroidery and linoleum prints to branding kits, I do it all. I have never been a fan of limiting myself. I believe that is a fast path to limiting my creativity. I plan to do the same things that made me happy when I was a child, well into my old age.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My favorite project to date is actually a project from my last year of college. We were given free rein to commit ourselves to a project lasting a four months. This was a daunting task. What topic could I base my project on that I wouldn’t get bored of after 4 months? When you designing for commissions or work, it should be something you’re passionate about. So I decided to use the opportunity to amplify the voices of my people.

As a first-generation child of refugees, I knew I wanted to spend the next four months researching this topic. But I wanted to take it in a different direction. I decided to humanize refugees, because this is a problem I have come face to face with many times in American culture. Refugees, asylum seekers, those fleeing from war, are often seen as “others.” As Americans we can be so sheltered as we live this life of privilege, that we don’t realize that it could have easily been us. We don’t realize that they are people with passions, dreams, and loved ones too. It is all to easy to just change the news channel or scroll past the heart-wrenching social media videos.

In an effort to humanize the voices and faces of refugees, I reaffirmed a passion for the beautiful Middle Eastern art styles. I found even more passions in this, and became closer with the people in my own community and their stories. Although I was told that I needed to “do more,” or when I felt like I had no idea where I was going with my designs, I ended with award-winning pieces and my favorite project I’ve ever created.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Something I often do for my work, from my client commissions, personal projects, or even my quick work assignments,
is to ask my graphic design friend for feedback. In my opinion, there is no growth without critique. That goes for all walks of life, not just design. I will often send them a finished or unfinished piece, and ask them not to spare my feelings. I think this can be one of the hardest things for designers. We often pour all of us into a work. The time, effort, emotion, or all three that is put into a project can blind us from seeing the successes and the failures. This is why it is so important to have a trusted few that you can turn to for critique, regardless of whether you feel like you may need it or not.

It is most rewarding when you come out the other end with a successful piece. My most rewarding moment was being told by the Creative Director of a large company, that he could feel the passion in my piece before he even met me. These types of rewarding moments are built from dedication, critiques, lots of tiring nights, and a genuine enjoyment in the work that you do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://imk2e9.wixsite.com/interactiveportfolio
• Instagram: @imanmakes
• Other: [email protected] for any commissions!