We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matthew Reynolds a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Matthew, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My parents did an incredible job of encouraging me to pursue whatever it was I was fascinated by while I was growing up. Everything from model rocketry, coding classes, art camps, chemistry sets, and architecture books, they fed my creativity and my curiosity, not limiting me just to the things they might have been interested in or wanted me to be good at. They even pushed me a little to try things that didn’t come as naturally to me, such as playing different sports.

Their approach taught me I shouldn’t be afraid to explore. I am so much more willing to just try something—whether a new game, skill, subject, or even a new food—because of my parents. I’m not stuck with the parts of the world I’m already familiar with; there is so much more out there for me to always be experiencing and exploring. My parents helped (unwittingly) launch me so well into being a creative professional—and wherever that takes me in the future—as I am always ready to learn and to try out new things.

Matthew, 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?

I was born and raised in Texas but am currently a college student in Northern Virginia double majoring in business and environmental science. I’m a freelance graphic designer, which means I’m also a videographer, a social media manager, and a photographer—but hey, who’s keeping track? I also love coffee, stargazing, my dog, my family, and my friends.

I love designing for people. I care deeply about creating things that are both beautiful and useful, and I truly believe you do not have to compromise either of those things for the other.

I really got into graphic design in high school as the production editor for a student paper I helped start. But even before that, I would always be the guy who volunteered to make the PowerPoint for group projects I was part of. As I got better and my skills developed, I started doing work—some even paid—for friends who were starting YouTube channels, podcasts, or other ventures that needed a logo or artwork. One of my teachers even hired me as a web designer for one of his side businesses after I took his class and he saw a lot of potential in me. I can attribute so much of my skill and trajectory now to those experiences I had where people just gave me a chance to show them what I could do.

I really love getting to know the people I do work for. Part of the joy of design is that you can imbue so much care and attention into what you create—it comes from somewhere in your soul. I want the things I make to excite people, maybe to inspire a little bit of joy in them. Whether logos, websites, posters, or anything else I might design, I want people to feel as if someone had them in mind when making whatever it is they are looking at or using; that that thing was made for them.

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

Building relationships with real people has been the biggest way I’ve seen new clients find me. LinkedIn and social media are great and all, but by and large the only people who really reach out to me on those platforms are those I either already know or are people who were recommended to me by a mutual friend.

I never want my business to be purely transactional. Yes, I enjoy getting paid at the end and, yes, I want my clients to be satisfied with the work they are paying me for. But how much better of an experience is it for everyone when there is a personal touch and a connection that is formed along the way?

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Putting yourself out there and trying new things. It’s scary and it can be so intimidating, but it’s also so rewarding.

Seeing the things you’ve envisioned in your head manifest physically (or digitally) out in the world brings such a sense of accomplishment. It’s always the coolest thing to see a t-shirt I designed being worn around by a stranger, finding a sticker I printed on the side of a friend’s water bottle or computer, or seeing a logo that I created get used on business cards or a website. None of those things would be possible if I wasn’t willing to share my work with the world and risk people not liking it—because not everyone will always like it, and that’s completely okay!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://mattclarkdesign.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/mattclark.design

Image Credits
Esther Mitchell