Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Victoria Larsson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Victoria, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I think a lot of people see success, and being successful, as making x amount of money each month, or having x amount of followers on social media. I used to be this way too when I started my business, thinking that I needed to grow fast on Instagram and that I needed to work really hard to earn as much money as possible. The more I work in and on my business now I realize that my thoughts on being successful is much more easy-going than that.

During most of 2023 I took on a lot of work. I had two part time jobs and took on design clients in my own business as well, which made me work pretty much 7 days/week. As I was spending less time with my fiancé, family and friends, and more time trying to get my work schedule to work for me and earning as much money as I possibly could, I eventually became a bit burnt out and eventually started to feel like I no longer loved design. This felt really sad because design has been my passion for the past 6 years and I knew that this is what I really loved doing. But the pressure of “getting somewhere” really ruined that passion.

This is why I feel like being truly successful is being able to work in a way that lets you continue to love what you do and continue to find it fulfilling, and not just work towards making as much money as possible.

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’m a 29 year old woman from Sweden who’s lived in the same place for my entire life. I live together with my fiancé, who I’ve been together with for a bit over 10 years.

My passion for design started when I was in the Swedish equivalent to high school, where I studied IT, photography and media production. I learned Photoshop when I was 16 and have since been a hardcore fan of the entire Adobe Suite, which is where I create most of my projects.

In 2018 I started studying at university, where I was going to study interaction design, UI/UX and programming. I went there for 2,5 years and then realized that my passion wasn’t in that field of design at all, but rather in graphic design so I decided to drop out. I never actually planned on starting a business of my own, it sort of just happened. After I had dropped out I started watching a lot of Youtube videos, mainly on brand identity design, which I absolutely loved. I then started designing a lot for myself, and in 2021 I started an account on Instagram with the sole purpose to share my work and make some friends in the industry. As I grew on social media, I started getting enquiries for work and that’s when I decided that this is something I want to pursue and so I decided to start my own business.

My business currently focuses on creating visual identities for small to medium sized businesses. I want to help these businesses connect with their target audiences and create design work that helps these businesses stand out and be bold. I love creating designs with a lot of color and a general bold look, but I am a very versatile designer. The most important thing for me when working with clients is that I feel like we share the same values and that we click in terms of personality and style, which is why I think having a first meeting is so important.
I turn down work opportunities where I don’t feel like there is a good connection between me and the client, or if I feel like what the clients wants doesn’t speak to me in terms of creative direction. I believe that I do my very best work when I’m passionate about the brief and project, and if I’m not intrigued at the enquiry stage then I don’t accept the project.

I feel like most of work is quite bold in terms of color choices and typography, and this is where I truly shine as a designer I think. I do like to change things up and do more minimal designs every once in a while, but colorful designs and colorful art is really my passion.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I’ve been using mainly Instagram to promote my designs and my self as a designer since 2021. Back then it was really easy to grow on the platform, as Reels was pretty new and so reaching new people was a lot easier. A big part of my following consists of other designers, and being part of such a rewarding and amazing community has been amazing.

My main tip for anyone wanting to build their social media presence is to just start sharing. Your work of course, but most importantly your personality. Your unique take on things in the industry and how you do things/what makes you special. I see a lot of beginner designers on social media who never show themselves or let their personality shine through, which is so important in order to build an audience that trusts you and wants to hire you.

My second tip is to not but all your eggs in one basket. Don’t use just one social media channel to grow an audience or get clients. I use multiple ones like TikTok, Threads and Pinterest, and they all help with reaching potential work opportunities.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes, “Always keep learning”. I think as a creative and designer I’m never fully taught. There’s always room for improvement as this is an industry that continuously evolves. I also believe that learning new skills could be good if you want to be able to cater to a wider variety of clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.victoriastefania.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsvictoriastefania/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@victoriastefaniadesign Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.se/victoriastefaniadesign/ Behance: https://www.behance.net/victoriastefania