We recently connected with Yevheniia Petrova and have shared our conversation below.

Yevheniia, appreciate you joining us today. 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?

Long story short, I come from a hospitality background. My first degree is in restaurant and hotel business. For me, cooking has always been a form of art, and my journey started in my grandmother’s kitchen. Watching her cook everything from scratch taught me how to see magic in everyday routines.
I started working early. My first job was at 16, as a pastry maker in a local restaurant. I still remember it clearly. Waking up before sunrise, getting to work around 6:30am, checking my tasks, and then locking in for the next eight hours of baking and prep. It was a summer job, but it allowed me to earn enough to support my university education.
Seeing my dedication, my parents believed in me. During my senior year, we took a risk together and opened an Italian restaurant. Building something from the ground up and learning how to operate a business became one of the most valuable experiences I’ve had. At that point, I truly thought my life was set.
Then the war started.
Like many Ukrainians, I had to leave my country. I spent a month in a small village in Moldova, and then made a decision that would change everything. I bought a one-way ticket to Barcelona. I had one backpack, no plan, just a strong desire to move forward and rebuild.
Along the way, I was incredibly lucky to be hosted by a French family. It is hard to describe what it feels like to wake up in a completely new place, not your home, surrounded by strangers who slowly become your second family.
In Barcelona, I got a job at a five-star hotel as head of morning service. I began rebuilding my routine, but something still felt incomplete. I was 20, in a new country, barely speaking English, asking myself one question. What is next?
After eight months, my partner at the time found out about the United for Ukraine program. We decided to take another chance and move to the United States. We landed in Chicago, then moved to Miami, and eventually I made my way to New York.
I started working as a barista in a small coffee shop in Brooklyn. But in the back of my mind, I knew I wanted to build something different.
I returned to design. It had always been part of me. My parents had given me the freedom to explore creatively growing up through courses and different programs, and that foundation stayed with me. A new routine formed. Gym, work, and studying design.
It took me about a year to start taking on projects and feel confident enough to show my work. For a long time, I was balancing two lives. Working as a barista, and later managing a coffee shop in SoHo, while designing and learning in every free moment.
By the end of 2025, I made the transition to full-time freelancing. Today, I am not only a designer, but also a content creator, building, creating, and sharing my own vision.

Yevheniia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a New York–based designer and content creator. If I had to describe myself in a few words, I’d say ambitious, creative, and expressive. I bring a lot of energy into everything I do, and that naturally translates into my work.
I returned to design about three years ago, and it quickly became something more than just a skill. One of my favorite parts of the process is seeing the spark in my clients’ eyes, from the very beginning of a project through to the final result. Being able to bring ideas to life and be part of something as impactful as branding, visual identity, content creation, or even curating a photoshoot or filming a campaign truly feels like building something cinematic. It is a process I don’t take for granted.
In terms of what I offer, I see myself as a multidisciplinary creative. While graphic design is at the core, my work goes far beyond that. From smaller touchpoints like stickers, business cards, and logos to full-scale branding, content creation, and even clothing design, I help translate ideas into something tangible and real. My goal is to help clients clearly see what their brand or concept can become, while making the process feel smooth, collaborative, and enjoyable.
What I’m most proud of is the range of projects and collaborations I’ve been part of. I’ve worked with local brands such as Losers https://www.instagram.com/losersnyc/ and Mimis https://www.instagram.com/mimis.ny/, created merchandise for the Ground Pass podcast https://www.instagram.com/ground_pass/, and helped build brands from the ground up like The Club House https://www.instagram.com/theclubhousetsc/ and Lunges & Latteshttps://www.instagram.com/lungesandlattesnyc/, as well as developing branding for a family restaurant, Number 21 https://www.instagram.com/resto.numero.21/, in Grenoble, France. I’m currently working with Zirka Hair Tattoohttps://www.instagram.com/zirka_hairtattoo/ and building my own creative agency, 4_u https://www.instagram.com/4u__agency?igsh=MWUzZnRkczN2bjBpMQ==
. Being part of the creation team at Safar Global Foundation also shaped my perspective, reminding me to stay grounded and not take what we have for granted.
More than anything, I want people to know that I approach every project with intention, care, and a genuine desire to create something meaningful.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

As a creative, my goal is to contribute to that in a meaningful way. I believe the mission of an artist is to be seen, but also to be understood and felt. Every day, we experience the work of others without even realizing it. We listen to a song and suddenly feel less alone. We read a book and recognize parts of ourselves in someone else’s story. We watch films that stay with us long after they end. In so many ways, we are constantly connected through what people create.
To me, that’s what makes art so powerful. It builds quiet bridges between people.
I also believe that we are all participating in art every single day. The way we live, the way we express ourselves, the environments we create, it is all part of something bigger. Life itself is the most honest and beautiful form of art.
As a creative, my goal is to contribute to that in a meaningful way. Whether it is something intimate, like a carefully crafted invitation for a personal celebration, or something larger, like building a brand that brings new energy, inspiration, or perspective into the world, I approach it with the same intention. Even something like personalized merchandise can hold emotion, memory, and identity when it is done right.
I want my work to do more than just exist visually. I want it to connect, to carry a feeling, and to become part of someone’s story in a real way.
Because at the end of the day, meaningful design is not just about what people see. It is about what they feel and what they remember, like a carefully crafted invitation for a celebration, or something larger, like building a brand that brings new energy, inspiration, or perspective into the world, I approach it with the same intention. Even something like personalized merchandise can hold emotion, memory, and identity when it is done right.
I want my work to do more than just exist visually. I want it to connect, to carry a feeling, and to become part of someone’s story in a real way.
Because at the end of the day, meaningful design is not just about what people see. It is about what they feel and what they remember.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up, my mom would always tell me, “Stop waiting for the perfect moment. It might never come. Just move. Go. Start.”
For a long time, I struggled with that. The idea of needing to be fully ready held me back more than anything else. It kept me from showing my work, from putting myself out there, from trusting that I was capable. At one point, it even led me to a deep burnout. There was a period of over four months when I didn’t open my computer at all. I felt like I didn’t know enough, like I wasn’t good enough to be trusted with something as meaningful as a brand identity that someone might carry for years, or a design people would wear every day.
Things started shifting slowly. My first e-commerce project came through a friend, and to this day, I still proudly share her work, not just her clothing and jewelry, but also the website my team and I built. Seeing something you created exist and function in another part of the world brings a completely different kind of excitement. https://shtor.com.ua
Another turning point was building my first website from scratch. It was something I had only imagined doing before. The client had a tight budget, but we needed a fully functioning landing page, so I took the risk. I had to figure everything out on my own. I remember sleepless nights learning how to connect buttons, set up a domain, and actually launch a working site. That experience made me realize what my mom really meant.
Growth is inevitable. You will keep learning whether you feel ready or not. Waiting for perfection is not the goal, because it doesn’t really exist. What matters is the process, the movement, the willingness to try.
That’s what still feels like magic to me. As a creative, no two days are ever the same. They might be similar, but they are never identical. There is always something new to solve, to learn, to create.
No matter what you do, just start. Confidence, clarity, your people, and your experience will come with time.
One of my favorite reminders now is simple. Water won’t get any warmer if you wait. You might as well jump in and learn how to swim.
And just as important, surround yourself with your people along the way. The ones who believe in you, whether they’re close or far. My family is in Europe, and I also have friends there, but I’ve been lucky to meet incredible people here as well. When they ask how they can support me, my answer is always the same. Just believe in me. Sometimes even a simple “you’ve got this” can shift everything and lift you from your lowest point to the highest one.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yevheniiapetrova.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yev.hen.iia?igsh=NHUwcXk0b2pwMjg2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yyevheniiapetrova