Collaborating with a Freelance Illustrator
Problem Statement
As Pawp evolved our brand, we decided that we needed to hire a long-term freelance illustrator to help us determine our visual style and create assets. Up until this point, I had been doing my best to create illustrations, but there simply wasn’t enough time in the day as the only designer on the team.
01 First Steps
Start-up life involves always being willing to learn new things and wear many hats. At this time at Pawp, my direct manager did not have time to start the recruitment process. This was something I had never done before, but I volunteered to champion the process start to finish.
I worked with our in-house recruiter to write a job description, manage applications through Greenhouse, choose candidates and begin the interview process. Alongside my direct manager, we were able to narrow down our list out of hundreds of applicants, develop a “design test”, and ultimately choose the perfect person for this role. Our hire was Anja Slibar, an exceptionally talented illustrator who would come to make a huge impact on Pawp’s visual style.
02 Learning
Once Anja came on board, I was given the opportunity to work with her directly on concepts. I also worked alongside our new Head of Creative to determine what illustrations we needed most and how we could use this art to elevate Pawp’s brand.
For about the first year of Anja’s employment at Pawp, the Head of Creative was managing most of her workload. I was included in weekly meetings and often worked directly with Anja to execute on assets. I learned a lot during this time period about management, collaboration with outside freelancers, and concept creation for illustrative work.
The below are snippets of the new style we were developing. I was highly involved in the breed avatars shown in the center, making sure each one represented its breed accurately and suggesting changes as needed.
03 Managing
When our Head of Creative moved on to her next opportunity, I took ownership of not only working with and managing Anja, but of our illustration library. I scheduled weekly meetings, checked in with other departments for their illustration needs and put together a weekly schedule for our illustrator. This involved a document with that week’s tasks, the details of each project, references and even mockups to guide the illustration. Anja and I developed a great working relationship and collaborated often to create the best work possible for Pawp.
This was an incredible learning experience for me that allowed me to grow as a leader and fine tune skills like concept work, communication and time management.
04 Execution
Over my time working with Anja, we were able to accomplish a lot together. Below I’m sharing a small collection of the work that was created under my leadership. I would love to discuss these projects in more detail – contact me @ so.designs.steph@gmail.com or 610-283-1247.
