We recently connected with Sydney Brown and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sydney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve had the blood of a creative since I was small. I would spend my lunch money on colored pencils and gel pens. I would steal the tags off clothing at the mall that had the best design and packaging. Every year, I self-published my own zine on art and animation. But once I discovered graphic design during a trip to the National Printing Office, that was it. I knew what I wanted to do moving forward. I was eleven, and completely unfamiliar with the advertising industry or how to make billboards or a logo. But I saw that there were resources to find out and people willing to teach me what they knew. Over the years I’ve had mentors, learned on the job, and taken everyone opportunity large and homegrown to become better than I was six months prior. It has taken a tremendous amount of grit and effort, but I believe that work has been paying off.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’d like to introduce myself; my name is Sydney Brown, and I am a Senior Designer and cosplayer based in Washington, DC. I’ve been working in the design industry for about nine years. In that time, I’ve designed for the United Nations, Embassies, Departments of Government, the White House, and several non-profits.

Yet, I am most proud of the work I’ve been able to make through cosplay. I am a one-woman crew: model, photographer, creative director, designer, copy writer, hair and makeup, EVERYTHING. It is hard work, but it is rewarding work. As a designer, we often use the phrase “kill your darlings” to conveying changing ideas and design we’re most proud of to please our clients. Cosplay is a creative outlet this is entirely mine, where my non-conventional ideas can thrive free from focus groups and a third round of feedback.

Sydsugoi Cosplay is based in nostalgia but reflected in technicolor. I create images as vibrant as the feelings the characters I portray feel in your memory. I cosplay a variety of properties from DC and Marvel, Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network as well as characters from film and anime. Forgotten characters and those that standout and inspire me are typically what I am drawn to.

To new designers, and maybe even some veterans: I implore you to have a creative outlet that is yours. No rules, no boundaries: create your own haven in art so that art remains our peace and escape instead of our mundane obligation to the world.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Never be too nervous or too proud to ask for help.

As a woman in design, you feel the boy’s club energy at times. We have the need to work harder, work longer so show our skills and talents. And, at times, we learn lessons from our peers that only strive to boost our own egos and not elevate our level of output. There’s a feeling in adequacy when asking for help with the technical aspects of our jobs. If you don’t know how to resize a large file for the printers, ask another colleague. They have been where you are and are sure of the answers. There’s nothing worse than doing things on your own to have everything turn out wrong. It reflects negatively on you and your vast capability.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

My story is a bit unconventional: I intention was never to build a following. I didn’t tell anyone about my cosplay account until about six months into it taking off. I wanted it to grow organically and didn’t market it to friends and family as most young creators do. I wasn’t much to worried about quick growth but follower retention. The account was launched in 2020, and over the last year I’ve increased my following by 142% growing by nearly 5,000 followers with projections to hit 10,000 by early 2023.

I’d recommend every social influencer to take at least one advertising class. For those looking to create their own lane and brand online, it’s essential to know how to market yourself, what the industry it looking for and that being brand friendly is not selling out or selling your vision short. You can be brand safe and edgy. You can be brand safe and feel sexy or weird or progressive. It’s all in the approach.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sydneybrown.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sydsugoi.cosplay/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneydbrown/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sydsugoicosplay
• Other: https://letterboxd.com/sydsugoi/

Image Credits
All photos were taken by Sydney Brown