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

Alright, Tania thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was one of the most important lessons you learned in school? Why did that lesson stick with you?

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved to draw, and when I got my hands on a new book, I always first paid attention to the cover and illustrations, and then, in the process of reading, I always wondered whether the pictures that appeared in my imagination coincided with what the artist depicted in the book. Once at school we were given a creative task: to draw a cover for a favorite book. My inspiration was Lewis Carroll’s fairy tale story of Narnia. I can’t tell you how much fun I had doing this project. It was probably the first time I seriously thought about what I wanted to study next. I didn’t have an exact idea of my future profession and career yet (I was no more than 10 years old), but publishing and book design definitely interested me. For most of my schoolmates this creative project was one of many, probably not the most memorable, but for me it was one of the most important lessons, which to a certain extent determined my future path. This would be a good place to stop and tell the story of a career as a book illustrator, but the timeline of events was not quite so simple. At the Faculty of Book Publishing I had some problems with academic drawing, I was self-taught and not the most talented student in the course. Besides, I studied with people who already had some experience in fine arts and at least completed specialized art courses before joining the Faculty.
Of course, like any creative person, I compared myself with other students and came to the conclusion that I didn’t have the talent and ability to work as an illustrator. I made the difficult decision to concentrate on learning other aspects of publishing. So, I stopped drawing for a long time and gave up the idea of doing illustration for books.
Like many students at the same time as studying, I worked part-time, and accidentally got an internship in the online store of a pretty famous cosmetics brand. My duties included working with clients, with the stock of products, placing descriptions and photos of products on the site. I liked this work and the longer I interned at this company, the more I became interested in e-commerce, including the web site development and web design.
Yes, that’s how creativity and design came back into my life. One day, a marketing campaign had to be launched urgently on an online store’s website, and for that, in addition to technical settings, we had to draw and place an advertising banner. Our designer was very busy and did not have time to prepare all the necessary materials in time, and then I decided to do everything myself.
Everyone liked my work, the promotion on the site was launched on time, and I was offered to continue working in the design department. Later, I tried working as a digital marketer, an analyst, and even a developer, but I always came back to design.
Now I still work in e-commerce, provide consulting services, create website designs, and I just started painting again just for fun. I don’t know where it will take me, but I think I’ve almost learned not to compare myself to other artists and just enjoy the process. Just recently, one of my illustrations that I posted on my Instagram was seen by a book author and she chose it for her cover. Isn’t that what I dreamed of as a child?
So, perhaps, the main lesson I learned during my education and work was to realize that no matter how long and difficult the creative journey turns out to be, you have to listen to your heart and do what your heart desires. You don’t need to compare yourself to anyone, you need to be faithful to yourself and then your dreams will come true. Maybe not immediately and not exactly as you dreamed, but everything is possible!

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?

Because I wasn’t afraid to try new things, I was able to learn the business from different aspects, and now I help to build successful ecommerce businesses by creating in-demand products with maximum conversion rates. I use expert knowledge and experience in e-commerce, procurement, performance marketing, sales, and web design to create successful projects with great potential.
I love non-standard tasks and challenges, launching new projects without bureaucracy, I’m responsible for the result, I organize clear business processes and implement modern digital solutions, which help brands to be heard and to be competitive on the modern market.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

When I work on a website design, I always imagine myself in the same place as its customer and think about the feelings and emotions he will experience when he is on it. Will it be a positive experience, will he be comfortable using all the services, will he want to return to this site again. It gives me great joy to create a design that helps to make familiar things convenient and beautiful, to find interesting solutions and invent new ones. If we talk about illustrations, my favorite thing is the process of moving from idea to fully realized piece.
And of course it is incredibly encouraging and inspiring when your next work awakens strong feelings in someone. When people tell me about their feelings and thoughts, which were born thanks to my work. In my opinion, this is the great power of any art, on the one side to awaken feelings and on the other to make life more comfortable and a little more beautiful.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

It would have been great to be in the Instagram creative community a little earlier than a year ago. At a time when I decided to drop my illustration major at University, I could have used the support of all those wonderful artists and creative people I met last year when I started drawing and posting my work on Instagram. I couldn’t believe there could be so much warmth and support on social media. Yes, I probably wouldn’t have changed my mind about my studies, but maybe it wouldn’t have been such a hard decision for me. If I had seen how many incredibly talented illustrators didn’t graduate from specialized universities and became super professionals in their work just because they dreamed of it and worked hard on themselves and their skills without the pressure of academic education, it would add a little strength and inspiration to me. Whether someone is just learning how to become an artist or the artist has been creating for years, an artist community is filled with artists of all ranges. What they all have in common is a passion for the act of creating something new that adds value to our world.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: last.dr
• Other: [email protected]