I’ve worked on both sides of the aisle, from working 8 to 5 as a full-time employee to working as a freelance Designer. There are benefits and caveats to both as a Designer. Running your own business can sound great. You control your time, creative direction and the day-to-day operations and just roll with it. On the flip-side, it can come with a set of challenges where shaving your head bald, giving up all of your worldly possessions and running to the forest to live in solitude can sound like the best option to regain your sanity. Some days, it can feel like juggling a dozen roles at once from cold-emailing leads who never reply to tracking expenses so the IRS doesn’t come knocking on your door, or trying to create content that can sound genuine in a world full of soulless design “tips” and exaggerated thumbnails. Meanwhile, the full-time employment space is changing rapidly. With Artificial Intelligence disrupting major markets and economic shifts reshaping hiring trends. Those seeking to obtain gainful employment face challenges. Entry-level roles shrink while senior-level ones grow. Designers face a paradox: there are more opportunities than ever, yet it’s harder to stand out. Having to compete against hundreds of applicants, sometimes even thousands on a single job posting. Having to deal with automated screenings, long-interview cycles and ghosted follow-ups. For many, this is what pushes them into the gig economy. When traditional pathways start to close. Designers build their own. They start their own businesses, build brands, and create opportunities on their own terms in what otherwise wouldn’t exist to them in order to navigate the uncertainty that faces them. A way to take back control in a market that becomes unpredictable in more ways than you’d ever expect. For me, building my brand as a freelance designer has often been about experimentation. Some say to cast a wide net and generalize; others say to niche down and specialize. I’ve chosen to find what works best for me that can strike the right balance and then adjust. I went through many iterations on my website to make the experience straightforward and to provide clarity to what I do. Viewing my work in just two clicks, and working on shifting my portfolio towards detailed case studies that can help explain the “why” behind my design choices, because presentation is everything, but results are what matter the most to clients. Content creation is another step of this process, where I’d often ask myself. What do I want to say? What platforms make sense for me to post on? How can I stay consistent and original to what I do? Should I even start a podcast? My goal isn’t to add more noise, it’s to connect with everyone. From students to college professors, startup founders to business execs, content creators to musicians, the campaign staffers to politicians. Building a brand isn’t just about logos or portfolios. It’s about bringing clarity, knowing who I am as a Designer. What I stand for and how I can show up in a world that is evolving faster than ever. At the end of the day, I aim to build my brand the way I want others to see what I see in it. It’s not about chasing trends or trying to copy what people think works for them. It’s about being intentional with every decision and step I make and making room for opportunities that come across and stand out in an ever-changing digital landscape that we know of today.