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

Alright, Mariam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Early in your career, how did you think through the decision of whether to start your own firm or join an established firm?

Today I am a freelance brand designer and illustrator, but my journey in design has started in a completely different design field, which led me exactly where I am now — confident in my skills and believing in my art.

Back in 2020, I saw a TikTok of a girl drawing on her jean jacket with acrylic paint, and it inspired me to do the same, although I had no idea if it lasts or how to do it. I started drawing on clothes, and then figured out that this process is called clothing custom. Moreover, it turned out there are special acrylic paints which does not come off, don’t crack and feel softer, unlike regular ones. I started learning online and diving deeper into this topic, while working in Adidas as a salesperson. However, there was planned a grand opening of the Adidas flagmanship store — Adidas Halo, and there was a new art position. My colleagues and manager knew that I loved art, I even redesigned our lockers with hand-made collages, and without their support I wouldn’t even have tried to apply, as I had no confidence in my art skills at all. Turned out it was a position of customization specialist — drawing on clothes and sneakers, working with embroidery and design prints. This is exactly what I was learning that time! I think it was the sign from the universe, and I know that this is the start of my professional growth as a designer. This experience taught me to work in a strong team of multi designers, gain confidence and start learning illustration, graphic design and Adobe programs basics. Although now I don’t specialise on customization, it takes special place in my heart.

Mariam, 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?

When I talk about what do I do as a designer, it is not only about beautiful visuals or technical part of my job, as many people might think first. Design is a complex visual communication — as designers, we help figure out how to connect with your target audience. My task is to translate ideas and senses of a business into visual language which will work well.

I started working in clothing and sneakers custom field, slowly moving to illustration and then brand design. Now I work on such tasks, as creating brand design, such as logos, brand identities, social media designs, and illustrations for brands, products, Web and apps. Also I work on packaging designs and prepare materials for printing.

My approach is relying on analytics: I research the product, target audience and competitors, so that visual system could be functional, and not only a beautiful picture. I believe that my illustration skills help create unique visual choices. I work structurally, as I prefer leading the project fully by myself, creating a safe space for the client without any disappearing and chaos. I understand that my client may not know anything about a design, so I feel that this point is important. Also, in such case, I can help structure the request.

I can say that I am the most proud of the fact that I made it — I work as a designer, just as I dreamt in my childhood.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I believe the first thing you should do to attract new clients is to be open by not being afraid to show up and be seen. Searching for clients is a consistent thing you do even when you have clients right now — don’t just wait for people to find you, but reach out to them about possible work or collaborations. Like this, you take control of finding clients in your hands.

Another very helpful tool is to run social media accounts where possible clients find you. It may be even enough to make some basic posts with necessary information for potential clients to see if you are not a lover of social media. Thanks to LinkedIn, I had an opportunity to talk about design and my path in it on Italian radio StoryTime, as I currently live and study in Italy. I wouldn’t even have thought about having such opportunity if I wasn’t invited, so I treat social media as a perfect tool to be seen.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

As for me, the best way to improve any skill is studying. I always try to move to the next level the moment I feel I lack any knowledge, and I know I have no idea about a lot of things I need. That’s why I find valuable courses online every year and learn with its help. Mostly I am being recommended a good literature and movies to dive deep into the topic throughout the course. Moreover, as a designer working with brands, it is specifically important to understand how to run a business, so I try to research such information with YouTube, podcasts from founders and literature.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://taplink.cc/marikvel
• Instagram: @marikvel https://www.instagram.com/marikvel/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariamkveliashvili/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mari_kvel
• Other: Portfolio https://www.behance.net/marikvelbrand
  Illustrations https://www.behance.net/marikvel