We were lucky to catch up with Moni Yael Garwil recently and have shared our conversation below.

Moni Yael, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Being able to earn a full-time living as a self-employed artist and creative is a continuous challenge and can easily veer into unsustainable. There is no steady paycheck and time-off is virtually nonexistent, especially when you are starting out. Don’t get me wrong, it’s achievable and I’ve been fortunate enough that my decision to leave a 9 to 5 visual design job worked out. I just want to be transparent and paint a realistic picture.

After reassessing my career goals, fulfillment, and finances I felt I needed the freedom to further develop my personal creative work beyond what evenings and weekends afforded me. With a couple of years of freelance, creative and corporate firm experience, I was fully prepared to explore my own path. Fortunately, I was able to slowly build my brand while still working a full-time corporate job. During non-work hours, I found clients locally and through job postings in design forums like Dribbble, AIGA, Behance, and Coroflot, as well as getting traction through referrals and social media interest.

Throughout my journey I’ve learned the importance of writing up contracts (emails are not contracts), diversifying your income (royalties and consulting pay, too), thinking ahead (both lead times and workload), identifying tax deductions (before December!), and saying no (sometimes you make more money than when you say yes). Understanding business basics cannot be overlooked even if you lean toward the creative arts. Remember, you’re still a professional earning a living and filing your taxes.

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?

I’m a passionate artist and designer with a thinking-through-making manifesto. Constantly striving for the best version of myself, I’ve grown into a multifaceted creative with strong critical thinking skills and detail-oriented artistry. My professional and personal works are always driven by exploration, thoughtfulness, and progressive activism.

I specialize in developing brands through visual identities, memorable digital experiences, and atmospheric imagery. I not only guide startups and fortune 500 companies, but I also collaborate with various local and global firms offering an outside perspective for their internal design teams.

I have been fortunate enough to work with various business owners, directors, designers, developers, photographers, and project managers who are passionate about the projects we embark on together and receptive enough to experiment with me. Over time I’ve gained the flexibility to take on the role of designer, illustrator, team lead, art director, or consultant depending on the needs of the client.

I strive to be thoughtful in my approach and set realistic expectations with my clients. Learning how to observe, listen, and guide are key factors in developing a meaningful relationship. Even though I’m a practical professional, I’m all about experimenting through design and other art mediums — constantly testing and documenting new techniques, textures, and colors trying to incorporate them into my next concepts.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Being in a creative field as a designer and artist means you have to reliably generate creative ideas and solutions. Inspiration is an elusive muse that requires lots of pivoting to consistently find. Even with your own unique formula for capturing inspiration the outcome is never guaranteed. As a result, achieving a state of flow becomes a tenuous, anxiety-inducing process with looming deadlines.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Artistic minds encourage divergent thinking. Investing in artists and creatives is proven to inspire people in other fields to approach problems through a new lens. Working in a creative field isn’t a hobby. We are professionals contributing to a more innovative society, so please compensate and collaborate with us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://moni.is
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moniyael/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monicreativevibes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniyaelgarwil/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/moniyael