November 20, 2025 • 44 mins
Anika Aggarwal and Carra Sykes explore the journey of creativity, the challenges of defining success, and the importance of personal branding in the design world. They discuss the impact of personal experiences on creative work, the significance of attracting the right clients, and the evolving nature of success in a fast-paced industry. Carra shares insights on dealing with imposter syndrome and offers valuable advice for aspiring designers, emphasizing the importance of kindness and self-acceptance in the creative process.
Carra's work: https://www.carrasykes.com/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome back to Ableheads. I'm Annika and this is the show
where creators pull back the curtain on how they really work,
the resets, the lessons, and thesystems that keep them moving
forward. Today I'm joined by Tara Sykes,
designer, illustrator, and art director.
You've probably seen her work inPuma's Pride collection, Target,
Spirit Day, and editorial illustrations for teen work.
(00:22):
Tara's known for weaving identity, inclusion, and
community into her projects while still running a freelance
practice and leading cost drivencollaborations.
In this conversation, we get into the reset moments, the
business side of freelance, and what it means to lead with
impact. If you're a creative trying to
find your own voice and balance purpose with business, this
(00:43):
episode is for you. Let's go on and welcome Cara to
the podcast. Let's go back to what it feels
like to be creative. And was there a particular
moment in your life when you started thinking that I can
build a life doing something creative?
Well, I like I always say this, I've been like creating since I
(01:04):
could actually like do anything like grab any type of material,
whether it's like I made little,I don't know if you know about
Beanie Babies, but like I grew up with Beanie Babies and I
would make them little hammocks and stuff.
So like, I've been drawing and creating ever since I can
remember. And my dad is a retired
architect, so that kind of gave way to the idea of being able to
(01:27):
make a living from creating. But I didn't want to have to get
certified and all that because I've always been kind of like
the art kid. And so I finally, like, made my
way to understanding what graphic design was, but it took
a long time because I didn't know.
I didn't know what it was. But yeah, I always believed and
myself that I would be creating to make a living.
(01:51):
I just didn't know what that looked like.
That's interesting because everytime I think I look at your
work, especially with now, it's so interesting because all of us
as creators kind of feel that wedon't have a style.
But I remember with that good Mythical morning for those of us
who don't know is a YouTube channel and I watch them
(02:12):
religiously. They're my daily coffee time
watch in the morning. And I saw a Pride collection
that they released recently. And I was like, I know this
portion, I know this artist. I've seen their work before.
I just can't pinpoint, but it's in the back of my head.
So do you think, speaking to that, do you think that the kind
of work that you do is designingwith purpose and that impact in
(02:35):
mind? And also if you can speak to the
style of it as well. Yeah, I think it wasn't until
recently. So I just my friend Andy was
like, hey, I can be a career coach for you.
I'm trying to get people in my roster and have kind of, I guess
have more people, get more experience.
And I was, I was like, yes, please.
(02:56):
I'd love some help because I've been so stuck in understanding
how to tell like all these different people's stories and
not my own. But it helped me understand that
like the design work I do typically falls on the line of
wanting to have some type of purpose or impact in communities
(03:17):
that I'm a part of or that I'm not a part of.
And it's kind of cool that you say that too, because I'm just
thinking, if you look at my bodyof work, a lot of it is purpose
driven. And so it wasn't really until
this year that I've really been kind of sitting with like that
is my style that is very much me.
(03:37):
And I think over the years I've finally kind of seen my style
like in that boldness and understanding it.
One thing I like to do is I'm very much someone who likes to
explore lots of different styles, like artistic styles and
things like that. So it is I look at some of my
peers who are doing something that you look at immediately
(03:58):
you're like, Oh, I know that's Tammy Coker.
I know that so and so. I know that so and so.
And I was like, I just don't feel like that's something
people feel about my work because I also have a hard time
sticking with one style. But when you do take a step
back, it actually does have a look and feel like my work does
have a look and feel. But I think when I'm so in it, I
(04:20):
don't see that as much. I don't think necessarily that
it's a bad thing to explore multiple styles because I feel
like that's what an artist should know how to do.
But that could be a hard take. I don't know, because a lot of
people think that it's cool to be a specialist.
And it brings me back to this conversation that I've had with
multiple guests on the podcast where they talk about should I
(04:41):
be a generalist or should I be aspecialist?
But then, if you don't know how to do all of the things, how are
you doing the thing that will work for your client?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I definitely think that's
another thing. I think this year this should
have been kind of a hardier but also in a good way.
(05:02):
I think it's forcing me to really look inward and re
establish like who I am. Not just as a creator but also
just like as a person. I think just with everything
moving so fast, we have two boysand I got like I'm in a whole
(05:23):
nother world than I was in like 2 years ago.
I'm finally like taking that time to sit and try to be like,
OK, who am I? Cuz like I know who I am, but
like who am I? What kind of work do I want to
do? Why do I do the work I do?
And just like kind of doing somereestablishing, which is really
interesting. So I think, yeah, I think part
(05:46):
of that is sitting and learning and being happy with where I am
and where I'm going. And I think the generalist
thing, like I am very much finding the strengths of like of
that part of me finding the strengths of not seeming like
I'm this like specific specialist, but like knowing how
I can take these different things, combine them and make an
(06:09):
impactful statement or use the strategy from different skills
that I have, bring them togetherand make a really nice impact on
wherever I'm working, whether it's client work or person work.
Do you think that the clients that you attract is typically
what you go for, or is that unintentional?
Because I see all of the work beinclusive.
(06:32):
It's also something that the community might relate to.
So is that something intentionalor is that just something that
happened on its own? Yeah, I think, I think it just
happened on its own because the way you just described is like
how I want to be seen, but also be behind the scenes in life,
like be inclusive, be whimsical,be helpful.
(06:54):
And and I think putting that energy out into the world, I'm
hoping that that's attracting these clients.
I think it's really cool when you have something come to you
and you're like, that's the right fit and it doesn't happen
all the time. It's not everything.
But when it does, you know, like, oh, that's cool, that's
cool. Yeah, it kind of takes me back
(07:16):
to something that someone on my Instagram shared recently and
they were like someone's personal brand.
If it's working correctly and attracting the right kind of
clients, that means you're actually doing something right.
If you're attracting people who actually want to create a
community that's inclusive and create an actual impact and tell
people that yes, you're visible and I see you, I feel like that
(07:40):
and itself speaks loads about your personal brand than
anything else. So yeah, that's pretty cool.
It's also something too, I, I think like it's always been in
me, I think since I was little, like we were talking earlier,
creating and making things. And like I always say this
thing, I let's make neat things together.
And I do think one of the most beautiful parts of creating
(08:03):
something for a community and not just for myself.
Although, you know, I create because it makes me feel.
I love creating. It makes me feel it gets things
out. I was born to do this.
But when I'm able to create something for a community and
let go and then no longer see itas like, oh, that's just mine.
Like that's one of the coolest things is when people can see
(08:27):
something, feel seen, feel like loved and cared for.
That's so sick. That's so cool.
Yeah, no, that's really cool. I worked with Vanifer friends
slash colleagues, Ryan Selvey ona campaign for True Colors
United, and I was just helping him out with some extra work.
And I think even that made a little impact on someone looking
(08:50):
at the poster. And I was like, oh, this is
cool. People would actually come to
this place and feel safe. And I played a part in that.
Yes. And I think that feeling of joy
is incomparable. I don't think anything else can
be even close to that. Yeah.
Yeah. And that is like the human
connection and design and creativity and the things that
(09:13):
like, I think is just like, we can never lose that.
We have to. The human connection is what
keeps us like it keeps. Yeah, it's just like we cannot
lose that. Yeah, Yeah, yeah.
I can never, never conclude to that.
So thinking of thinking of the kind of work you do, how do you
think your personal life has impacted and influenced that?
(09:35):
Yeah, I mean, so I am gay. I'm a lesbian, I have a wife and
kids. And so what's crazy is I
actually had never really done any LGBTQ plus work for a while
because I was just kind of like shy about it.
I didn't want to put it out there.
It wasn't. But then I had a friend from
(09:56):
Instagram a long, long time ago and asked me to be a part of the
Pride projects. That was one of my first
projects that kind of left me into the world of doing more
freelance and in more illustrative freelance.
Like what I actually illustration is my favorite
thing to do. Illustration.
I love animation. I do design because that's what
(10:17):
I'm trained in. I'm good at it.
Illustration is like the love. So I got hired to do some
stickers for Instagram and they were for pride.
And that was really cool to finally bring like more of my
personal life into my work. And from there, I say that
that's kind of one of the projects that like launched me
into more of the work that I wanted to do and more of the
(10:39):
work that has really defined a lot of my career so far.
Wow, yeah, I think I've seen those Instagram stickers going
going around. Pretty cool.
How long ago was this? Oh.
My gosh, I ever since COVID, I can't do your math, but I think
it was like 20, 2016 maybe. So almost 10 years ago, which is
(11:04):
yeah, yeah. So yeah, blip the time.
What is? What is?
Time. So do you think that kind of was
like a curve, like the thing that you needed for your work to
be more impactful and for you tofeel more relatable to it?
I think it was a good reminder of why I even got into design.
(11:24):
So I was going to go to school for fashion because I love
costumes like costume design. I watch movies and I stare at
the clothes in the in the costumes.
But then I went into school for fashion and it didn't fit what I
was doing. And then I remembered of the
nonprofit called to write Love Underarms and they used
(11:45):
basically use graphic design to get the word out about their
nonprofit. And I was like, what is this
thing? You can design a shirt and it
does something good. It helps raise money for people
who need help, who need to find help.
That's cool. I can do that.
I've been designing stuff without knowing that I'm
designing stuff. As a kid, I used to design
(12:06):
soccer jerseys. I would design soccer cleats,
different things that aren't necessarily like graphic design,
but it's designing. And so I think that was in me
all along. And then it's kind of when you
start looking back in hindsight,you're like, Oh yeah, that that
connects to that. That connects to that.
And I think think all those robes kind of connecting really
(12:28):
tell the story of like why I do the work I do.
Yeah, wow. Yeah.
So I heard that you do a lot of play a lot of roles and you have
like you love illustration, you love brand design strategy,
working as an art director and now at a gaming company.
So how does your mindset kind ofswitch between all of these
(12:51):
roles? Yeah, it's a lot.
Sometimes I think what? But I think it's also the
generalist thing too. Or it's I am such a hobbyist.
Like I love as soon as I see something, I'm like, how was
that made? Like it's this idea of so I have
so much curiosity and that's never left me.
I think my imagination. I've always had this child like
(13:14):
to just how I approach life for the most part.
I've had moments where I kind offall into like the doom and
gloom and then I have to remind myself like I am now re
establishing myself, like who amI at the core?
How does your mindset shift fromplaying different roles in your
creative career? I think that's the other thing
too, because I am very good at like going, going and exploring.
(13:38):
I think I just, I, yeah, I thinkit's just approaching things.
That's how I approach client projects.
Everyone's different. I'm going to try to fit, feel
what fits right, use my process,but it's going to change a
little bit for everything. It's really just knowing what my
role is in that. And then also if I need to do
(14:00):
more or step back, I think when I worked at a tech company, I
was leading a design team. And so that really taught me a
lot about when I need to kind ofchill out and let them do their
thing. And so it's kind of an ebb and
flow at all times, but it's really hard for me not to be
doing something more. I'm always like, what can I do
(14:21):
more? We're going to do it.
We're going to do an illustration.
Maybe I should animate it. Oh, maybe we should go do a
photo shoot. So it's kind of brain never
stops. A lot of times it's just like
keeps going. So I'm able to switch between
those just because I think just like my mind is so active at all
times and it's trying to figure out how to problem solve and
(14:44):
what position I need to take andif it's if it's starting over or
if it's keep running. I don't know.
A lot of it's like trusting my gut and just like believing in
myself, I guess. Yeah, yeah, they're true
optimist in you is speaking right now.
So would you mind speaking aboutthe mind search of that you
(15:05):
needed from going from a tech company to now a gaming company?
And I saw some social posts about you looking for work.
And the way that you presented yourself there was really fun
and inspiring for me to look at because I was like, oh, this is
a really clever way of showing up for yourself and really
saying that I'm looking for workand I'm willing to show you what
(15:25):
I'm good at. Yeah, I think it's been a big
change with going from. So when I worked at the tech
company originally, I was running a team.
I was heading a team of three designers.
At one point it was like 8 brands and then it was 1 brand.
And then just everything kept changing.
And then I love that. I love managing A-Team.
(15:48):
It is so awesome to work with other people and see their
brilliance and like really help them get there and give them
advice and critique their work and in a in a way that helps
them grow. That was I loved it.
I missed it so much because right now I'm not people
managing. I'm kind of in very much.
(16:08):
I'm the first full time hire here.
I don't have a team. I'm doing everything from.
I'm even doing social media, which I feel like, yeah, I is a
new. Is that new?
Because I've been in social media for a long time and the
tech company I work for was likesocial media specific.
And so, yeah, I'm wearing a lot more hats at this new at the
(16:32):
gaming company I work for. And it's different.
It's definitely different because it's really me and the
owner working together to createreally cool things.
I think what I like about it is that I'm creating and it's like
really just like whatever goes kind of thing.
I think what I miss about working with a team at the tech
(16:55):
company is like a lot more time for strategy and like sitting
down and kind of developing campaigns, but there's less like
wiggle room for extreme creativity because with this
company I can like really do some really creative things.
Yeah, I think that kind of comestrue in the videos as well,
because I've seen the social media for Ember Glo and I feel
(17:18):
like it is your brand language and I couldn't tell that there's
no other people doing it and just you.
I thought there was probably some team videoing you.
I don't know. Yeah, it's hard to tell that
it's a one person social media team at the moment, so that's
pretty cool. So would you say that your
definition of success kind of has evolved over time working in
(17:40):
different roles or does it mean money or does it mean follower
count or does it mean intention or?
Yeah, I think right now I don't have an answer right now.
I do have some like scraps of answers I've got like I think
right now I'm trying to figure that out with my, I'm calling it
(18:03):
re establishing. It's not a rebranding of self.
It's just like getting back to my structure, like who I am.
So I think for me, and I think part of that reason is because a
lot of my drive this past year has been financial based and
it's been very like. And so I am the only one in the
family that has like a full timejob or is seeking like that full
(18:26):
time, working full time, all allthis stuff.
So I put a lot of pressure on myself to keep us financially
stable. And I think that started seeping
into just like, Oh well, I only,you know, like I'm doing this so
I can make money or so I think like that was like ruling is
still kind of ruling my life. And that's not me.
(18:47):
That's not me. So I think right now it's trying
to get back that joy and find the roots of like, why I do what
I do. And it is having conversations
like this that like remind me, OK, you got to keep yourself
accountable. You got to do the thing because
you're talking to people about it.
(19:07):
So for success, I think, I thinkI feel successful because I have
a incredible beautiful family. I am so grateful to have
children and to have a wife and to have a house and have like
those, you know, basic, more than basic human rights and like
(19:32):
living. We have food.
I'm so grateful for all that. So I think that is success to me
and having these ordinary like things that not everyone has,
but career success. I don't know what that looks
like anymore. Cuz I saw I wanted to be a big
director of brand and creative at a, at a company.
(19:52):
And I think I, I know I could be, I know I could be like
heading a whole team. And right now in my life, that's
just not where I'm at. And I think it's just, you know,
that was hard to swallow. But that's why I'm, I think I'm
diving into that. The whole who am I again?
(20:13):
Let's remind ourselves that I Yeah.
So I think I am like I have. Success and I feel grateful for
what I have when I'm ambitious. So of course I'm always like,
what's next? No, I love that.
I was recorded an episode of thepodcast which was defining 5
(20:35):
things that one can do to get closer to their business goals.
And one of them was success. And I did a bunch of research
about it. And the research says that it's
never about the money, it's about what actually matters in
your life. And if you have that, you're
successful. And I think that's what you're
feeling. And I feel like too, where if
I'm waking up in the morning andI'm inspired to create and I'm
(20:57):
inspired to be awake and be alive and do things that I
enjoy, I think that success. And it's a cliche to say out
loud, but I think it's true. But there's a reason it's
cliche. Because it's like, why do I love
little hearts? Because they make me feel good
and like, yeah, I think, I thinkso much in our society, it's it
(21:19):
is like more and more more. And because we live in the
digital world where we're just constantly seeing so much, it's
yeah, I wake up. I'm like, Oh my gosh, like 1.
I got to wake up today. That's awesome.
Will I have a good day? I don't know.
But there's an opportunity to have a good day.
And it could, you know, who knows?
But I get to create for a livingfor now.
(21:41):
Yeah. Just trying to remind myself of
the like ordinary and simple things that are actually just
like extraordinary in their, in their simplicity, you know?
I love that. Yeah, OK, Yeah, a lot of a lot
about success and a lot to reflect on, but let's talk about
the business side of things. When did you realize that you
(22:01):
needed to think about your creative work like a business
and not just something that you're passionate about?
Yeah, I think when I was at an agency back in 2000, was it, I
think I, I can't remember if I stopped working there in 2016 or
2017. I got super burnt out and I was
like, I can't, I can't be here anymore.
(22:22):
I loved the team I worked with at the agency, but it just
wasn't hitting right. And I knew I could do freelance,
but I was also scared. So I think that was when I
decided to leave the agency. At the time, I had to take it
serious because there were billsto pay.
Thankfully, at the time I didn'thave kids, so there wasn't extra
(22:44):
like bills to pay. But then I thought, OK, how am I
going to do this? What kind of legal stuff?
When you figure out what kind of, you know, all the fun stuff,
the stuff that I don't like doing the books, which is why I
like working for other people sometimes because then I don't
have to do all that like those. But in that process, I think it
(23:06):
was really important because nowit makes everything so much
more. I understand a lot more by going
through all the learning curves of learning to end voice and
learning to, you know, do taxes and things like that.
Like it's something that I also,when I'm working with other
people, I can really appreciate the financial team or someone at
(23:27):
work that I don't have to do this thing, you know?
Yeah. Yeah, no, I feel that taxes is
probably my least favorite time of the year, especially in the
USI think across North America it's very different and varied,
but in the US you have to pay state tax and then you also have
to pay, I don't know, whatever tax.
Yeah, I don't know the details. I don't want to know the
details, but it's complicated tosay the least.
(23:49):
It is. Yeah, it's crazy.
Yeah. So what kind of is your approach
when you get approached by brands like Puma or GMM or, I
don't know, Target? Yeah, I would say it's so funny
when I got when I worked with Target at the time didn't I
(24:10):
hadn't really had any big companies I hadn't worked for
where they asked me like, but would you charge for this like
the Instagram project that came with a budget, which I love when
companies do because then I don't have to.
I can be like, OK, yeah, that works for me, you know, I'll do
that. And a lot of times I would
(24:32):
probably very much under undersell myself.
And so on that call, I had a target.
I said I was like, I had a number in mind.
And then I was like, what's the budget?
And then it was like 3 times what I had in mind.
So I was like glad that I asked because I was going to, I was
fine with doing it, but it really helped me understand, OK,
(24:54):
so I'm working with these biggerbrands.
I have to know that it's going to be seen by a lot more people.
It's going to go through a lot more people.
We're going to be working with, you know, leadership upon
leadership upon leadership getting approvals.
So that was a big learning curve.
But I am very much a go with theflow.
I don't really have a lot of, I've shot my shot with some
people and given a number and been ghosted, but not by any of
(25:17):
the big brands, just by some companies.
But actually with good with GMMIactually went to high school
with their chief creative officer, Stevie.
Yes, with Stevie, we went to school together.
We grew up playing soccer together.
And so before I even moved to Texas, have you listened?
I'm sure you listen to Ear Biscuits.
(25:37):
I have so. I did the logo for Ear biscuits.
Nice, and that was one of my first little projects.
She Stevie reached out to me andI worked on that so long ago and
they're still using it, which isreally cool.
Wow, nice. And so then when they reached
out for doing the Pride, I was really excited just because it
just was awesome to kind of bring that together.
(25:59):
And I didn't, I didn't really get to work too much with Stevie
on the project, but it was nice to e-mail and feel like, Oh my
gosh, they were kind of in the same room again, but not really.
Yeah, no, that's awesome. Yeah, No, it's so surreal
talking about, I guess, TV stars.
I was talking to someone about Adobe Express and using YouTube
(26:20):
and just making motion design stuff in it.
And I made a match card with my cycling.
I love biking, so I made like mebiking in multiple scenarios.
I made a match card in Adobe Express and I was talking about
how you can do these simple things for YouTube because
YouTube is now the new TV and I watch GMM every day.
And to be able to talk to someone who actually worked on a
(26:42):
campaign and those TV stars, if I may, it's so it's so serial.
I don't know, it's just fun. It's one of those things.
In YouTube, I grew up being a very big YouTube watcher and I
always thought oh maybe I shouldstart a YouTube channel and I
still haven't because I'm still trying to figure out like what I
(27:04):
would even you know what do I want to say on YouTube, my
TikTok is completely different than my Instagram.
My TikTok is just so fun for me.I just do random videos.
Most of them are like uplifting or encouraging or silly.
So I'm having a lot of fun with TikTok because it's literally
probably barely talk about design on there.
(27:25):
In fact, people might not even know I'm I'm a designer if they
follow me. I don't have that many
followers, like maybe 100. But yeah, YouTube is the beast
that I wanna try at some point but.
Yeah, YouTube is something different.
YouTube is I guess it's coming back for smaller creators too.
So I guess now is the time to start if you wanted to start I.
(27:45):
Know I should well. This video is gonna be on
YouTube, so there's your first YouTube.
So how do you, I know we toucheda little bit about pricing, how
do you kind of price your work with I want to say cause related
collaboration versus commercial work?
Yeah, I think most of those ones.
(28:07):
So if it's with a bigger companyand it's pride related, they'll
usually have a budget. And if it's nonprofit, it really
just depends on, I'll say that recently, luckily people have
been giving me a price and I've just been either I don't think
I've turned anything down because I'm not getting a ton of
freelance work right now. But most of them are like, this
(28:30):
is our budget and I'm like, OK, let's do it.
Part of that's too because I have I have a contract.
I do the good newspapers. So I'm on contract with them
monthly. And then I have a salary at the
job I'm at. I maybe it's good that I'm not
getting a lot of freelance cuz Ican kind of cut myself off of
(28:52):
trying to do design all the timefor other people, but usually
for non profits or smaller companies, I would definitely
have a different pricing for them versus, you know, a target
or a bigger company. Yeah, just cuz they they don't
have, I mean they don't have thebig corporate money.
(29:14):
And I also I'll take on work. I'm more likely to say yes for a
company that I believe in that has like a way smaller budget
than a big box company that has a really tiny budget.
And it's not something I fully believe in.
I may or may not even take that.Yeah, Yeah.
No, that's a good insight into what kind of projects you should
(29:37):
say yes to because at the end ofthe day, I feel like if you
don't believe in the same valuesas the clients, something feels
like a mismatch. It's just something that doesn't
work. I recently worked with someone
on making a digital notebook fortheir conference and it seemed
like such a seamless process because I truly believed in the
(29:58):
idea of print. They truly believed in
bookmaking. And we came together to create
something digital, like a digital version of it for people
to actually collaborate in and come in and have that community
vibe. And I was like, this is really
cool. I love collaborating with you
because at the end of of the day, we're working towards this
one goal, but we also have thesevalues that we have in common.
So yeah, it just feels like everything falls into place like
(30:22):
magic when you're working with the same values, so.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it.
Yeah, It's something food for thought, this conversation.
I love this conversation becauseI think it's kind of making me
think about the things, the important things as well.
And I'm like, yeah, that I should really think about that.
I think it's, it's, you know, I'm, I turned 37 this year and I
(30:45):
just, I'm like, it's one, it's just like, what are I?
I was thinking about how people back in the day had just such
simple lives and, and we put so much on ourselves and I, I have
to, I'm like, am I doing too much, giving too much of my time
and life and energy to things that maybe don't matter?
(31:07):
Maybe they do, I don't know. It's finding out.
And I think you just have to find if what is right for you
and that might ebb and flow yourwhole life.
Like you might find those moments that I, I think back to
2020. I, I live streamed all the time
and that's one of my favorite things to do.
Live streaming is like literallyone of my favorite things to do.
(31:29):
And right now I'm not doing it, but I just, I, I'm saving that
extra time for like closing out the house at night and kind of,
you know, I don't know, finding the slow process.
I don't know, I know I have to be efficient so many places.
It's I'm trying to find OK what can my slow process be?
(31:50):
Yeah, it can be. Yeah, it can look different for
other people. I feel like my slow process is
definitely taking time for myself, going out for a walk and
just thinking about my day and then what went well and then the
cliche, what went wrong? How can I fix this?
And it's just one of those things I think the hustle
(32:10):
culture has kind of put into ourbrains where we have to be go,
go, go all the time. And I'm curious, do you think
that that's what makes you feel like you have to be doing
something and creating at all times, even when you're not
creating, like even when you're?Is that a yes?
I am addicted to, I'm addicted to making and learning and, and
(32:34):
and and those aren't bad things,but it's also, am I doing it?
I don't know. Yeah.
So I'm like trying to find that,you know, I've always been
someone who wants to keep making, creating.
And when I walk into IKEA or something and I'm looking around
like, oh, I could turn that shelf into this.
That's not, that's not like the hustle culture side.
(32:56):
That's just 'cause I'm like, this is fun imagination.
But then I think like the sharing side of things is like,
maybe this is because everyone'sdoing something.
It's, it's like subconsciously Ithink it's 'cause it's, you
know. And then now they're all of us
creatives are video creators now, which I love.
I think it's so fun, like creating and, and making social
(33:19):
media where I get to show my personality and not just my art.
But then I'm, yeah, it's always like this battle.
It's like, do more, wait, I don't know, do less because you
need to relax. And it's, it's a constant
battle. But I do think hustle culture
has kind of been that way, 'cause I'm like, oh, I need more
(33:40):
for My Portfolio, 'cause if I don't have this in My Portfolio,
people won't know that I'm actually working really hard and
I've done all this stuff. I think it's so scary to let go
and slow down. It's so scary because I feel
like there's that fear of being left behind and not being
relevant anymore in your field, and it's a matter of kind of
(34:05):
fighting that side of things too, in your brain.
Yeah. It's just I don't know if I'm
winning or losing. I think I'm kind of just
bloating in the chaos right now.It's so interesting when you're
talking about the creating side of things because as soon as you
said the IKEA thing, the first thing that popped in my brain
(34:27):
was that could be your YouTube, you DIY stuff around the house.
And it's so interesting that my brain was just hardwired to go
to YouTube and be like, oh, you could create something, put up a
camera when you're doing it, andit could be a behind the scenes.
But I guess that brings that's kind of the mindset that I have
now working with someone who does YouTube.
And so now I look at things and I'm like, oh, that could be AB
(34:49):
roll for your YouTube in the future.
I don't know. We'll use it someday, Yeah.
But I also like on the other side of things, I also just love
people sharing their lives, whether it's the like more like
put together version or very unscripted.
I think it's really amazing thatwe live in a time that we can
see what's going on in other people's lives.
(35:11):
It's a bit overwhelming because there is so much sadness.
There is so much tragedy in the world.
But we're also, I know it reminds me that I'm human and it
reminds me that like like to be grateful for what I have.
I can still have feelings, I canstill have emotions, I can still
be upset about things in my life.
(35:31):
But it puts perspective. And even if it is someone doing
little IKEA stuff, I'm like, oh,that's cool, they're getting
thrifty. Maybe I could get thrifty.
So that's the battle. It's like, it's so amazing to
see people sharing their story or what they like to do, their
hobbies and things like that. And then the hard part is, do I
(35:52):
spend all my time sharing that or do I spend time sewing
quietly and not no one sees me doing it?
I don't know. I don't know.
Because I love encouraging people to create.
Like that's why I got into live streaming because it's like, you
can do it too. You can, you too can be
creative. You too can try these things
(36:12):
out. And here's how I do it.
And you might see something fromhow I do it and then turn it
into your own thing. And that's so cool.
So cool. Yeah.
So I think this kind of brings me to this question where I
think about what kind of advice would you give designers who
want to begin doing design now? Yeah, I always, I always say
(36:36):
something I should probably taketo myself.
But it's like, be kind to yourself through the process of
learning. Have fun, get weird.
Don't compare yourself to like your favorite artists.
In fact, some of my favorite artists are like such a
different style that I would never be able to do.
Maybe I don't want to say never,but find things you like, try
(36:59):
them out. If it's not for you, it's not
for you. But don't give up on yourself.
That's I think it's like don't give up on yourself because
there are tons of people doing this for a living.
So that means that you also could do it for a living.
I love that. Do you have some other causes
that you would like to work for in the future and you haven't
(37:20):
yet? I don't I've been very lucky to
work for a lot of like LGBTQ plus organizations.
I would like to do more mental health based stuff.
I interned for to write love on our arms when I was I don't know
how old I was. I was in college.
It actually is why I took a yearoff school.
(37:42):
But I would love to do more withthem and other mental health
organizations and just people that are helping people realize
their potential and realize that, like, it's going to be OK,
it's hard, but it's going to be OK.
And there's people out there that are willing to help.
(38:03):
And then who knows, in turn, you're going to end up helping
someone. And it's just this, like, chain
reaction. Yeah, so probably more.
I would love to do more stuff related to mental health.
I'm going to be really cliche and ask you about your dream
client now. And since you said that, do you
do you think you have a dream client you want to work for in
(38:23):
the future? It's not mental health related,
but it would be really cool to do something with NASA because I
always have like a space type thing.
But I let's see, let's see, we got that.
I I'm so excited. I got to work on stuff for the
NWSL, the Women's Soccer League One project with Adobe, but I've
(38:44):
done a few projects with the Houston Dash.
It would be cool to do some World Cup stuff because the
World Cup is coming to, I think it's the, they're calling it the
Americas because I think it's hitting.
I don't know if it's just in theUSI think it might be in, I
don't know, but they're coming to Houston.
I'm like, hey, that would be cool because soccer was a huge
part of my life, too. Yeah.
(39:07):
Dream client or maybe a movie. It would be cool to work for
something on a movie. Yeah, I don't know.
I'm sensing a theme. I'm sensing a theme around here
and I think it kind of brings back to being ambitious and
believing yourself and just knowing that it can be true.
I think that's super lovely because it kind of brings me to
(39:29):
this question about the impostersyndrome.
Because when I think about doingstuff and creating and I've had
this conversation multiple timesand I feel like it is so real
when it comes to being a creative, Especially now with
the and people and the saturation and there's so much
noise around that I feel like I have to ask, how do you deal
(39:52):
with imposter syndrome and what what is your advice on dealing
with with it for others? Yeah, it comes and goes.
I would say that most of the time, I don't know.
I think this might sound, I don't know.
Ever since having kids, I'm feeling like I don't have a lot
(40:15):
of time to think about, I guess like if somebody is like
speaking at a conference that I'd love to speak at or like.
Like I get some jealousy occasionally and I just, I am
grateful that I, when I hear myself, I'm like, no, don't go
there. I think it's important to go
there. I think we should allow
(40:36):
ourselves to feel those feelings.
I think imposter syndrome is healthy, completely healthy
because it's, you're not just living within yourself, you're
actually looking at other peopledoing stuff.
I think when it becomes unhealthy is when it rules you
and it blocks you from trying stuff out that you haven't tried
out, but you, you see someone else doing it and you're like,
(40:58):
well, I couldn't do it because they're already doing it.
Or I mean, I don't know how. It's so crazy when people have
like a similar idea and you havea moment like, Oh my gosh, did
like one of us steal that idea from each other.
But then it's like, Oh my gosh, we, we have a, we have this
like, that's why I don't know. It's so cool that things have
been created like from differentvery far places before the
(41:21):
Internet existed because like somehow people got to some
similar solution and like, that's OK.
So I think, I think when I startto feel that way and I start to
get down on myself, I've learnedto like call it out and be like,
no, like, no. And it's, it happens
(41:43):
occasionally. I think it happens worse now
because you see people doing stuff they're get invited to
like a conference or they get invited to like a summit or
something and you're not, and you're like, and then I just
have to tell myself like I should be, I need to work on,
and this is something I work on.I need to work on being excited
for them, genuinely excited, notfake excited.
And I think working through thathelps me lose my imposter
(42:08):
syndrome because it's like, OK, well, what can I do?
What should I do? And then I'm like, I'm like, OK,
I should be myself and lean intothat.
And then also take a step back and be like, these are the
things that I've had opportunities for and remind
yourself of that. And of course, you know, I am
(42:31):
the person who's like, I want tokeep making it crazy.
I want to be a part of everything.
And then I'm like, you can't do everything.
Like it's OK, but I have to remind myself that it's not like
it's like, so I think if you're dealing with imposter syndrome,
I think it's just remember to like, OK, why do I feel this
way? OK, Let those feelings out.
(42:52):
Go through the stages of it, butdon't let it stop you from being
yourself and putting yourself out there and trying out the
things that you find interesting.
I love that there is such a fresh perspective of really
embracing your feelings and kindof living through those just to
get to the point where you feel seen but also feel happy for
(43:16):
your fellow creators. I love that.
And that actually brings us to aclose for this episode.
So thank you so much, Kara, for being here.
Love this conversation. We've got to have your back on a
future episode, maybe in the next season.
But thanks a lot for being here and we'll see you another time.
Thank you SO. Much that was Kara Sykes on Able
Heads. I loved how she broke down what
(43:37):
it means to reset, to trust yourtaste, and to keep purpose at
the center of design. Even with the business side gets
messy. If you took something from this,
share this episode with a creative friend and tag me with
your takeaways. Impact doesn't have to be loud
for it to be real. Thanks so much for listening.
As always, I'm Annika and this is Abel Heads and I'll see you
(43:59):
on the next episode.
Welcome back to Ableheads. I'm Annika and this is the show
where creators pull back the curtain on how they really work,
the resets, the lessons, and thesystems that keep them moving
forward. Today I'm joined by Tara Sykes,
designer, illustrator, and art director.
You've probably seen her work inPuma's Pride collection, Target,
Spirit Day, and editorial illustrations for teen work.
(00:22):
Tara's known for weaving identity, inclusion, and
community into her projects while still running a freelance
practice and leading cost drivencollaborations.
In this conversation, we get into the reset moments, the
business side of freelance, and what it means to lead with
impact. If you're a creative trying to
find your own voice and balance purpose with business, this
(00:43):
episode is for you. Let's go on and welcome Cara to
the podcast. Let's go back to what it feels
like to be creative. And was there a particular
moment in your life when you started thinking that I can
build a life doing something creative?
Well, I like I always say this, I've been like creating since I
(01:04):
could actually like do anything like grab any type of material,
whether it's like I made little,I don't know if you know about
Beanie Babies, but like I grew up with Beanie Babies and I
would make them little hammocks and stuff.
So like, I've been drawing and creating ever since I can
remember. And my dad is a retired
architect, so that kind of gave way to the idea of being able to
(01:27):
make a living from creating. But I didn't want to have to get
certified and all that because I've always been kind of like
the art kid. And so I finally, like, made my
way to understanding what graphic design was, but it took
a long time because I didn't know.
I didn't know what it was. But yeah, I always believed and
myself that I would be creating to make a living.
(01:51):
I just didn't know what that looked like.
That's interesting because everytime I think I look at your
work, especially with now, it's so interesting because all of us
as creators kind of feel that wedon't have a style.
But I remember with that good Mythical morning for those of us
who don't know is a YouTube channel and I watch them
(02:12):
religiously. They're my daily coffee time
watch in the morning. And I saw a Pride collection
that they released recently. And I was like, I know this
portion, I know this artist. I've seen their work before.
I just can't pinpoint, but it's in the back of my head.
So do you think, speaking to that, do you think that the kind
of work that you do is designingwith purpose and that impact in
(02:35):
mind? And also if you can speak to the
style of it as well. Yeah, I think it wasn't until
recently. So I just my friend Andy was
like, hey, I can be a career coach for you.
I'm trying to get people in my roster and have kind of, I guess
have more people, get more experience.
And I was, I was like, yes, please.
(02:56):
I'd love some help because I've been so stuck in understanding
how to tell like all these different people's stories and
not my own. But it helped me understand that
like the design work I do typically falls on the line of
wanting to have some type of purpose or impact in communities
(03:17):
that I'm a part of or that I'm not a part of.
And it's kind of cool that you say that too, because I'm just
thinking, if you look at my bodyof work, a lot of it is purpose
driven. And so it wasn't really until
this year that I've really been kind of sitting with like that
is my style that is very much me.
(03:37):
And I think over the years I've finally kind of seen my style
like in that boldness and understanding it.
One thing I like to do is I'm very much someone who likes to
explore lots of different styles, like artistic styles and
things like that. So it is I look at some of my
peers who are doing something that you look at immediately
(03:58):
you're like, Oh, I know that's Tammy Coker.
I know that so and so. I know that so and so.
And I was like, I just don't feel like that's something
people feel about my work because I also have a hard time
sticking with one style. But when you do take a step
back, it actually does have a look and feel like my work does
have a look and feel. But I think when I'm so in it, I
(04:20):
don't see that as much. I don't think necessarily that
it's a bad thing to explore multiple styles because I feel
like that's what an artist should know how to do.
But that could be a hard take. I don't know, because a lot of
people think that it's cool to be a specialist.
And it brings me back to this conversation that I've had with
multiple guests on the podcast where they talk about should I
(04:41):
be a generalist or should I be aspecialist?
But then, if you don't know how to do all of the things, how are
you doing the thing that will work for your client?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I definitely think that's
another thing. I think this year this should
have been kind of a hardier but also in a good way.
(05:02):
I think it's forcing me to really look inward and re
establish like who I am. Not just as a creator but also
just like as a person. I think just with everything
moving so fast, we have two boysand I got like I'm in a whole
(05:23):
nother world than I was in like 2 years ago.
I'm finally like taking that time to sit and try to be like,
OK, who am I? Cuz like I know who I am, but
like who am I? What kind of work do I want to
do? Why do I do the work I do?
And just like kind of doing somereestablishing, which is really
interesting. So I think, yeah, I think part
(05:46):
of that is sitting and learning and being happy with where I am
and where I'm going. And I think the generalist
thing, like I am very much finding the strengths of like of
that part of me finding the strengths of not seeming like
I'm this like specific specialist, but like knowing how
I can take these different things, combine them and make an
(06:09):
impactful statement or use the strategy from different skills
that I have, bring them togetherand make a really nice impact on
wherever I'm working, whether it's client work or person work.
Do you think that the clients that you attract is typically
what you go for, or is that unintentional?
Because I see all of the work beinclusive.
(06:32):
It's also something that the community might relate to.
So is that something intentionalor is that just something that
happened on its own? Yeah, I think, I think it just
happened on its own because the way you just described is like
how I want to be seen, but also be behind the scenes in life,
like be inclusive, be whimsical,be helpful.
(06:54):
And and I think putting that energy out into the world, I'm
hoping that that's attracting these clients.
I think it's really cool when you have something come to you
and you're like, that's the right fit and it doesn't happen
all the time. It's not everything.
But when it does, you know, like, oh, that's cool, that's
cool. Yeah, it kind of takes me back
(07:16):
to something that someone on my Instagram shared recently and
they were like someone's personal brand.
If it's working correctly and attracting the right kind of
clients, that means you're actually doing something right.
If you're attracting people who actually want to create a
community that's inclusive and create an actual impact and tell
people that yes, you're visible and I see you, I feel like that
(07:40):
and itself speaks loads about your personal brand than
anything else. So yeah, that's pretty cool.
It's also something too, I, I think like it's always been in
me, I think since I was little, like we were talking earlier,
creating and making things. And like I always say this
thing, I let's make neat things together.
And I do think one of the most beautiful parts of creating
(08:03):
something for a community and not just for myself.
Although, you know, I create because it makes me feel.
I love creating. It makes me feel it gets things
out. I was born to do this.
But when I'm able to create something for a community and
let go and then no longer see itas like, oh, that's just mine.
Like that's one of the coolest things is when people can see
(08:27):
something, feel seen, feel like loved and cared for.
That's so sick. That's so cool.
Yeah, no, that's really cool. I worked with Vanifer friends
slash colleagues, Ryan Selvey ona campaign for True Colors
United, and I was just helping him out with some extra work.
And I think even that made a little impact on someone looking
(08:50):
at the poster. And I was like, oh, this is
cool. People would actually come to
this place and feel safe. And I played a part in that.
Yes. And I think that feeling of joy
is incomparable. I don't think anything else can
be even close to that. Yeah.
Yeah. And that is like the human
connection and design and creativity and the things that
(09:13):
like, I think is just like, we can never lose that.
We have to. The human connection is what
keeps us like it keeps. Yeah, it's just like we cannot
lose that. Yeah, Yeah, yeah.
I can never, never conclude to that.
So thinking of thinking of the kind of work you do, how do you
think your personal life has impacted and influenced that?
(09:35):
Yeah, I mean, so I am gay. I'm a lesbian, I have a wife and
kids. And so what's crazy is I
actually had never really done any LGBTQ plus work for a while
because I was just kind of like shy about it.
I didn't want to put it out there.
It wasn't. But then I had a friend from
(09:56):
Instagram a long, long time ago and asked me to be a part of the
Pride projects. That was one of my first
projects that kind of left me into the world of doing more
freelance and in more illustrative freelance.
Like what I actually illustration is my favorite
thing to do. Illustration.
I love animation. I do design because that's what
(10:17):
I'm trained in. I'm good at it.
Illustration is like the love. So I got hired to do some
stickers for Instagram and they were for pride.
And that was really cool to finally bring like more of my
personal life into my work. And from there, I say that
that's kind of one of the projects that like launched me
into more of the work that I wanted to do and more of the
(10:39):
work that has really defined a lot of my career so far.
Wow, yeah, I think I've seen those Instagram stickers going
going around. Pretty cool.
How long ago was this? Oh.
My gosh, I ever since COVID, I can't do your math, but I think
it was like 20, 2016 maybe. So almost 10 years ago, which is
(11:04):
yeah, yeah. So yeah, blip the time.
What is? What is?
Time. So do you think that kind of was
like a curve, like the thing that you needed for your work to
be more impactful and for you tofeel more relatable to it?
I think it was a good reminder of why I even got into design.
(11:24):
So I was going to go to school for fashion because I love
costumes like costume design. I watch movies and I stare at
the clothes in the in the costumes.
But then I went into school for fashion and it didn't fit what I
was doing. And then I remembered of the
nonprofit called to write Love Underarms and they used
(11:45):
basically use graphic design to get the word out about their
nonprofit. And I was like, what is this
thing? You can design a shirt and it
does something good. It helps raise money for people
who need help, who need to find help.
That's cool. I can do that.
I've been designing stuff without knowing that I'm
designing stuff. As a kid, I used to design
(12:06):
soccer jerseys. I would design soccer cleats,
different things that aren't necessarily like graphic design,
but it's designing. And so I think that was in me
all along. And then it's kind of when you
start looking back in hindsight,you're like, Oh yeah, that that
connects to that. That connects to that.
And I think think all those robes kind of connecting really
(12:28):
tell the story of like why I do the work I do.
Yeah, wow. Yeah.
So I heard that you do a lot of play a lot of roles and you have
like you love illustration, you love brand design strategy,
working as an art director and now at a gaming company.
So how does your mindset kind ofswitch between all of these
(12:51):
roles? Yeah, it's a lot.
Sometimes I think what? But I think it's also the
generalist thing too. Or it's I am such a hobbyist.
Like I love as soon as I see something, I'm like, how was
that made? Like it's this idea of so I have
so much curiosity and that's never left me.
I think my imagination. I've always had this child like
(13:14):
to just how I approach life for the most part.
I've had moments where I kind offall into like the doom and
gloom and then I have to remind myself like I am now re
establishing myself, like who amI at the core?
How does your mindset shift fromplaying different roles in your
creative career? I think that's the other thing
too, because I am very good at like going, going and exploring.
(13:38):
I think I just, I, yeah, I thinkit's just approaching things.
That's how I approach client projects.
Everyone's different. I'm going to try to fit, feel
what fits right, use my process,but it's going to change a
little bit for everything. It's really just knowing what my
role is in that. And then also if I need to do
(14:00):
more or step back, I think when I worked at a tech company, I
was leading a design team. And so that really taught me a
lot about when I need to kind ofchill out and let them do their
thing. And so it's kind of an ebb and
flow at all times, but it's really hard for me not to be
doing something more. I'm always like, what can I do
(14:21):
more? We're going to do it.
We're going to do an illustration.
Maybe I should animate it. Oh, maybe we should go do a
photo shoot. So it's kind of brain never
stops. A lot of times it's just like
keeps going. So I'm able to switch between
those just because I think just like my mind is so active at all
times and it's trying to figure out how to problem solve and
(14:44):
what position I need to take andif it's if it's starting over or
if it's keep running. I don't know.
A lot of it's like trusting my gut and just like believing in
myself, I guess. Yeah, yeah, they're true
optimist in you is speaking right now.
So would you mind speaking aboutthe mind search of that you
(15:05):
needed from going from a tech company to now a gaming company?
And I saw some social posts about you looking for work.
And the way that you presented yourself there was really fun
and inspiring for me to look at because I was like, oh, this is
a really clever way of showing up for yourself and really
saying that I'm looking for workand I'm willing to show you what
(15:25):
I'm good at. Yeah, I think it's been a big
change with going from. So when I worked at the tech
company originally, I was running a team.
I was heading a team of three designers.
At one point it was like 8 brands and then it was 1 brand.
And then just everything kept changing.
And then I love that. I love managing A-Team.
(15:48):
It is so awesome to work with other people and see their
brilliance and like really help them get there and give them
advice and critique their work and in a in a way that helps
them grow. That was I loved it.
I missed it so much because right now I'm not people
managing. I'm kind of in very much.
(16:08):
I'm the first full time hire here.
I don't have a team. I'm doing everything from.
I'm even doing social media, which I feel like, yeah, I is a
new. Is that new?
Because I've been in social media for a long time and the
tech company I work for was likesocial media specific.
And so, yeah, I'm wearing a lot more hats at this new at the
(16:32):
gaming company I work for. And it's different.
It's definitely different because it's really me and the
owner working together to createreally cool things.
I think what I like about it is that I'm creating and it's like
really just like whatever goes kind of thing.
I think what I miss about working with a team at the tech
(16:55):
company is like a lot more time for strategy and like sitting
down and kind of developing campaigns, but there's less like
wiggle room for extreme creativity because with this
company I can like really do some really creative things.
Yeah, I think that kind of comestrue in the videos as well,
because I've seen the social media for Ember Glo and I feel
(17:18):
like it is your brand language and I couldn't tell that there's
no other people doing it and just you.
I thought there was probably some team videoing you.
I don't know. Yeah, it's hard to tell that
it's a one person social media team at the moment, so that's
pretty cool. So would you say that your
definition of success kind of has evolved over time working in
(17:40):
different roles or does it mean money or does it mean follower
count or does it mean intention or?
Yeah, I think right now I don't have an answer right now.
I do have some like scraps of answers I've got like I think
right now I'm trying to figure that out with my, I'm calling it
(18:03):
re establishing. It's not a rebranding of self.
It's just like getting back to my structure, like who I am.
So I think for me, and I think part of that reason is because a
lot of my drive this past year has been financial based and
it's been very like. And so I am the only one in the
family that has like a full timejob or is seeking like that full
(18:26):
time, working full time, all allthis stuff.
So I put a lot of pressure on myself to keep us financially
stable. And I think that started seeping
into just like, Oh well, I only,you know, like I'm doing this so
I can make money or so I think like that was like ruling is
still kind of ruling my life. And that's not me.
(18:47):
That's not me. So I think right now it's trying
to get back that joy and find the roots of like, why I do what
I do. And it is having conversations
like this that like remind me, OK, you got to keep yourself
accountable. You got to do the thing because
you're talking to people about it.
(19:07):
So for success, I think, I thinkI feel successful because I have
a incredible beautiful family. I am so grateful to have
children and to have a wife and to have a house and have like
those, you know, basic, more than basic human rights and like
(19:32):
living. We have food.
I'm so grateful for all that. So I think that is success to me
and having these ordinary like things that not everyone has,
but career success. I don't know what that looks
like anymore. Cuz I saw I wanted to be a big
director of brand and creative at a, at a company.
(19:52):
And I think I, I know I could be, I know I could be like
heading a whole team. And right now in my life, that's
just not where I'm at. And I think it's just, you know,
that was hard to swallow. But that's why I'm, I think I'm
diving into that. The whole who am I again?
(20:13):
Let's remind ourselves that I Yeah.
So I think I am like I have. Success and I feel grateful for
what I have when I'm ambitious. So of course I'm always like,
what's next? No, I love that.
I was recorded an episode of thepodcast which was defining 5
(20:35):
things that one can do to get closer to their business goals.
And one of them was success. And I did a bunch of research
about it. And the research says that it's
never about the money, it's about what actually matters in
your life. And if you have that, you're
successful. And I think that's what you're
feeling. And I feel like too, where if
I'm waking up in the morning andI'm inspired to create and I'm
(20:57):
inspired to be awake and be alive and do things that I
enjoy, I think that success. And it's a cliche to say out
loud, but I think it's true. But there's a reason it's
cliche. Because it's like, why do I love
little hearts? Because they make me feel good
and like, yeah, I think, I thinkso much in our society, it's it
(21:19):
is like more and more more. And because we live in the
digital world where we're just constantly seeing so much, it's
yeah, I wake up. I'm like, Oh my gosh, like 1.
I got to wake up today. That's awesome.
Will I have a good day? I don't know.
But there's an opportunity to have a good day.
And it could, you know, who knows?
But I get to create for a livingfor now.
(21:41):
Yeah. Just trying to remind myself of
the like ordinary and simple things that are actually just
like extraordinary in their, in their simplicity, you know?
I love that. Yeah, OK, Yeah, a lot of a lot
about success and a lot to reflect on, but let's talk about
the business side of things. When did you realize that you
(22:01):
needed to think about your creative work like a business
and not just something that you're passionate about?
Yeah, I think when I was at an agency back in 2000, was it, I
think I, I can't remember if I stopped working there in 2016 or
2017. I got super burnt out and I was
like, I can't, I can't be here anymore.
(22:22):
I loved the team I worked with at the agency, but it just
wasn't hitting right. And I knew I could do freelance,
but I was also scared. So I think that was when I
decided to leave the agency. At the time, I had to take it
serious because there were billsto pay.
Thankfully, at the time I didn'thave kids, so there wasn't extra
(22:44):
like bills to pay. But then I thought, OK, how am I
going to do this? What kind of legal stuff?
When you figure out what kind of, you know, all the fun stuff,
the stuff that I don't like doing the books, which is why I
like working for other people sometimes because then I don't
have to do all that like those. But in that process, I think it
(23:06):
was really important because nowit makes everything so much
more. I understand a lot more by going
through all the learning curves of learning to end voice and
learning to, you know, do taxes and things like that.
Like it's something that I also,when I'm working with other
people, I can really appreciate the financial team or someone at
(23:27):
work that I don't have to do this thing, you know?
Yeah. Yeah, no, I feel that taxes is
probably my least favorite time of the year, especially in the
USI think across North America it's very different and varied,
but in the US you have to pay state tax and then you also have
to pay, I don't know, whatever tax.
Yeah, I don't know the details. I don't want to know the
details, but it's complicated tosay the least.
(23:49):
It is. Yeah, it's crazy.
Yeah. So what kind of is your approach
when you get approached by brands like Puma or GMM or, I
don't know, Target? Yeah, I would say it's so funny
when I got when I worked with Target at the time didn't I
(24:10):
hadn't really had any big companies I hadn't worked for
where they asked me like, but would you charge for this like
the Instagram project that came with a budget, which I love when
companies do because then I don't have to.
I can be like, OK, yeah, that works for me, you know, I'll do
that. And a lot of times I would
(24:32):
probably very much under undersell myself.
And so on that call, I had a target.
I said I was like, I had a number in mind.
And then I was like, what's the budget?
And then it was like 3 times what I had in mind.
So I was like glad that I asked because I was going to, I was
fine with doing it, but it really helped me understand, OK,
(24:54):
so I'm working with these biggerbrands.
I have to know that it's going to be seen by a lot more people.
It's going to go through a lot more people.
We're going to be working with, you know, leadership upon
leadership upon leadership getting approvals.
So that was a big learning curve.
But I am very much a go with theflow.
I don't really have a lot of, I've shot my shot with some
people and given a number and been ghosted, but not by any of
(25:17):
the big brands, just by some companies.
But actually with good with GMMIactually went to high school
with their chief creative officer, Stevie.
Yes, with Stevie, we went to school together.
We grew up playing soccer together.
And so before I even moved to Texas, have you listened?
I'm sure you listen to Ear Biscuits.
(25:37):
I have so. I did the logo for Ear biscuits.
Nice, and that was one of my first little projects.
She Stevie reached out to me andI worked on that so long ago and
they're still using it, which isreally cool.
Wow, nice. And so then when they reached
out for doing the Pride, I was really excited just because it
just was awesome to kind of bring that together.
(25:59):
And I didn't, I didn't really get to work too much with Stevie
on the project, but it was nice to e-mail and feel like, Oh my
gosh, they were kind of in the same room again, but not really.
Yeah, no, that's awesome. Yeah, No, it's so surreal
talking about, I guess, TV stars.
I was talking to someone about Adobe Express and using YouTube
(26:20):
and just making motion design stuff in it.
And I made a match card with my cycling.
I love biking, so I made like mebiking in multiple scenarios.
I made a match card in Adobe Express and I was talking about
how you can do these simple things for YouTube because
YouTube is now the new TV and I watch GMM every day.
And to be able to talk to someone who actually worked on a
(26:42):
campaign and those TV stars, if I may, it's so it's so serial.
I don't know, it's just fun. It's one of those things.
In YouTube, I grew up being a very big YouTube watcher and I
always thought oh maybe I shouldstart a YouTube channel and I
still haven't because I'm still trying to figure out like what I
(27:04):
would even you know what do I want to say on YouTube, my
TikTok is completely different than my Instagram.
My TikTok is just so fun for me.I just do random videos.
Most of them are like uplifting or encouraging or silly.
So I'm having a lot of fun with TikTok because it's literally
probably barely talk about design on there.
(27:25):
In fact, people might not even know I'm I'm a designer if they
follow me. I don't have that many
followers, like maybe 100. But yeah, YouTube is the beast
that I wanna try at some point but.
Yeah, YouTube is something different.
YouTube is I guess it's coming back for smaller creators too.
So I guess now is the time to start if you wanted to start I.
(27:45):
Know I should well. This video is gonna be on
YouTube, so there's your first YouTube.
So how do you, I know we toucheda little bit about pricing, how
do you kind of price your work with I want to say cause related
collaboration versus commercial work?
Yeah, I think most of those ones.
(28:07):
So if it's with a bigger companyand it's pride related, they'll
usually have a budget. And if it's nonprofit, it really
just depends on, I'll say that recently, luckily people have
been giving me a price and I've just been either I don't think
I've turned anything down because I'm not getting a ton of
freelance work right now. But most of them are like, this
(28:30):
is our budget and I'm like, OK, let's do it.
Part of that's too because I have I have a contract.
I do the good newspapers. So I'm on contract with them
monthly. And then I have a salary at the
job I'm at. I maybe it's good that I'm not
getting a lot of freelance cuz Ican kind of cut myself off of
(28:52):
trying to do design all the timefor other people, but usually
for non profits or smaller companies, I would definitely
have a different pricing for them versus, you know, a target
or a bigger company. Yeah, just cuz they they don't
have, I mean they don't have thebig corporate money.
(29:14):
And I also I'll take on work. I'm more likely to say yes for a
company that I believe in that has like a way smaller budget
than a big box company that has a really tiny budget.
And it's not something I fully believe in.
I may or may not even take that.Yeah, Yeah.
No, that's a good insight into what kind of projects you should
(29:37):
say yes to because at the end ofthe day, I feel like if you
don't believe in the same valuesas the clients, something feels
like a mismatch. It's just something that doesn't
work. I recently worked with someone
on making a digital notebook fortheir conference and it seemed
like such a seamless process because I truly believed in the
(29:58):
idea of print. They truly believed in
bookmaking. And we came together to create
something digital, like a digital version of it for people
to actually collaborate in and come in and have that community
vibe. And I was like, this is really
cool. I love collaborating with you
because at the end of of the day, we're working towards this
one goal, but we also have thesevalues that we have in common.
So yeah, it just feels like everything falls into place like
(30:22):
magic when you're working with the same values, so.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it.
Yeah, It's something food for thought, this conversation.
I love this conversation becauseI think it's kind of making me
think about the things, the important things as well.
And I'm like, yeah, that I should really think about that.
I think it's, it's, you know, I'm, I turned 37 this year and I
(30:45):
just, I'm like, it's one, it's just like, what are I?
I was thinking about how people back in the day had just such
simple lives and, and we put so much on ourselves and I, I have
to, I'm like, am I doing too much, giving too much of my time
and life and energy to things that maybe don't matter?
(31:07):
Maybe they do, I don't know. It's finding out.
And I think you just have to find if what is right for you
and that might ebb and flow yourwhole life.
Like you might find those moments that I, I think back to
2020. I, I live streamed all the time
and that's one of my favorite things to do.
Live streaming is like literallyone of my favorite things to do.
(31:29):
And right now I'm not doing it, but I just, I, I'm saving that
extra time for like closing out the house at night and kind of,
you know, I don't know, finding the slow process.
I don't know, I know I have to be efficient so many places.
It's I'm trying to find OK what can my slow process be?
(31:50):
Yeah, it can be. Yeah, it can look different for
other people. I feel like my slow process is
definitely taking time for myself, going out for a walk and
just thinking about my day and then what went well and then the
cliche, what went wrong? How can I fix this?
And it's just one of those things I think the hustle
(32:10):
culture has kind of put into ourbrains where we have to be go,
go, go all the time. And I'm curious, do you think
that that's what makes you feel like you have to be doing
something and creating at all times, even when you're not
creating, like even when you're?Is that a yes?
I am addicted to, I'm addicted to making and learning and, and
(32:34):
and and those aren't bad things,but it's also, am I doing it?
I don't know. Yeah.
So I'm like trying to find that,you know, I've always been
someone who wants to keep making, creating.
And when I walk into IKEA or something and I'm looking around
like, oh, I could turn that shelf into this.
That's not, that's not like the hustle culture side.
(32:56):
That's just 'cause I'm like, this is fun imagination.
But then I think like the sharing side of things is like,
maybe this is because everyone'sdoing something.
It's, it's like subconsciously Ithink it's 'cause it's, you
know. And then now they're all of us
creatives are video creators now, which I love.
I think it's so fun, like creating and, and making social
(33:19):
media where I get to show my personality and not just my art.
But then I'm, yeah, it's always like this battle.
It's like, do more, wait, I don't know, do less because you
need to relax. And it's, it's a constant
battle. But I do think hustle culture
has kind of been that way, 'cause I'm like, oh, I need more
(33:40):
for My Portfolio, 'cause if I don't have this in My Portfolio,
people won't know that I'm actually working really hard and
I've done all this stuff. I think it's so scary to let go
and slow down. It's so scary because I feel
like there's that fear of being left behind and not being
relevant anymore in your field, and it's a matter of kind of
(34:05):
fighting that side of things too, in your brain.
Yeah. It's just I don't know if I'm
winning or losing. I think I'm kind of just
bloating in the chaos right now.It's so interesting when you're
talking about the creating side of things because as soon as you
said the IKEA thing, the first thing that popped in my brain
(34:27):
was that could be your YouTube, you DIY stuff around the house.
And it's so interesting that my brain was just hardwired to go
to YouTube and be like, oh, you could create something, put up a
camera when you're doing it, andit could be a behind the scenes.
But I guess that brings that's kind of the mindset that I have
now working with someone who does YouTube.
And so now I look at things and I'm like, oh, that could be AB
(34:49):
roll for your YouTube in the future.
I don't know. We'll use it someday, Yeah.
But I also like on the other side of things, I also just love
people sharing their lives, whether it's the like more like
put together version or very unscripted.
I think it's really amazing thatwe live in a time that we can
see what's going on in other people's lives.
(35:11):
It's a bit overwhelming because there is so much sadness.
There is so much tragedy in the world.
But we're also, I know it reminds me that I'm human and it
reminds me that like like to be grateful for what I have.
I can still have feelings, I canstill have emotions, I can still
be upset about things in my life.
(35:31):
But it puts perspective. And even if it is someone doing
little IKEA stuff, I'm like, oh,that's cool, they're getting
thrifty. Maybe I could get thrifty.
So that's the battle. It's like, it's so amazing to
see people sharing their story or what they like to do, their
hobbies and things like that. And then the hard part is, do I
(35:52):
spend all my time sharing that or do I spend time sewing
quietly and not no one sees me doing it?
I don't know. I don't know.
Because I love encouraging people to create.
Like that's why I got into live streaming because it's like, you
can do it too. You can, you too can be
creative. You too can try these things
(36:12):
out. And here's how I do it.
And you might see something fromhow I do it and then turn it
into your own thing. And that's so cool.
So cool. Yeah.
So I think this kind of brings me to this question where I
think about what kind of advice would you give designers who
want to begin doing design now? Yeah, I always, I always say
(36:36):
something I should probably taketo myself.
But it's like, be kind to yourself through the process of
learning. Have fun, get weird.
Don't compare yourself to like your favorite artists.
In fact, some of my favorite artists are like such a
different style that I would never be able to do.
Maybe I don't want to say never,but find things you like, try
(36:59):
them out. If it's not for you, it's not
for you. But don't give up on yourself.
That's I think it's like don't give up on yourself because
there are tons of people doing this for a living.
So that means that you also could do it for a living.
I love that. Do you have some other causes
that you would like to work for in the future and you haven't
(37:20):
yet? I don't I've been very lucky to
work for a lot of like LGBTQ plus organizations.
I would like to do more mental health based stuff.
I interned for to write love on our arms when I was I don't know
how old I was. I was in college.
It actually is why I took a yearoff school.
(37:42):
But I would love to do more withthem and other mental health
organizations and just people that are helping people realize
their potential and realize that, like, it's going to be OK,
it's hard, but it's going to be OK.
And there's people out there that are willing to help.
(38:03):
And then who knows, in turn, you're going to end up helping
someone. And it's just this, like, chain
reaction. Yeah, so probably more.
I would love to do more stuff related to mental health.
I'm going to be really cliche and ask you about your dream
client now. And since you said that, do you
do you think you have a dream client you want to work for in
(38:23):
the future? It's not mental health related,
but it would be really cool to do something with NASA because I
always have like a space type thing.
But I let's see, let's see, we got that.
I I'm so excited. I got to work on stuff for the
NWSL, the Women's Soccer League One project with Adobe, but I've
(38:44):
done a few projects with the Houston Dash.
It would be cool to do some World Cup stuff because the
World Cup is coming to, I think it's the, they're calling it the
Americas because I think it's hitting.
I don't know if it's just in theUSI think it might be in, I
don't know, but they're coming to Houston.
I'm like, hey, that would be cool because soccer was a huge
part of my life, too. Yeah.
(39:07):
Dream client or maybe a movie. It would be cool to work for
something on a movie. Yeah, I don't know.
I'm sensing a theme. I'm sensing a theme around here
and I think it kind of brings back to being ambitious and
believing yourself and just knowing that it can be true.
I think that's super lovely because it kind of brings me to
(39:29):
this question about the impostersyndrome.
Because when I think about doingstuff and creating and I've had
this conversation multiple timesand I feel like it is so real
when it comes to being a creative, Especially now with
the and people and the saturation and there's so much
noise around that I feel like I have to ask, how do you deal
(39:52):
with imposter syndrome and what what is your advice on dealing
with with it for others? Yeah, it comes and goes.
I would say that most of the time, I don't know.
I think this might sound, I don't know.
Ever since having kids, I'm feeling like I don't have a lot
(40:15):
of time to think about, I guess like if somebody is like
speaking at a conference that I'd love to speak at or like.
Like I get some jealousy occasionally and I just, I am
grateful that I, when I hear myself, I'm like, no, don't go
there. I think it's important to go
there. I think we should allow
(40:36):
ourselves to feel those feelings.
I think imposter syndrome is healthy, completely healthy
because it's, you're not just living within yourself, you're
actually looking at other peopledoing stuff.
I think when it becomes unhealthy is when it rules you
and it blocks you from trying stuff out that you haven't tried
out, but you, you see someone else doing it and you're like,
(40:58):
well, I couldn't do it because they're already doing it.
Or I mean, I don't know how. It's so crazy when people have
like a similar idea and you havea moment like, Oh my gosh, did
like one of us steal that idea from each other.
But then it's like, Oh my gosh, we, we have a, we have this
like, that's why I don't know. It's so cool that things have
been created like from differentvery far places before the
(41:21):
Internet existed because like somehow people got to some
similar solution and like, that's OK.
So I think, I think when I startto feel that way and I start to
get down on myself, I've learnedto like call it out and be like,
no, like, no. And it's, it happens
(41:43):
occasionally. I think it happens worse now
because you see people doing stuff they're get invited to
like a conference or they get invited to like a summit or
something and you're not, and you're like, and then I just
have to tell myself like I should be, I need to work on,
and this is something I work on.I need to work on being excited
for them, genuinely excited, notfake excited.
And I think working through thathelps me lose my imposter
(42:08):
syndrome because it's like, OK, well, what can I do?
What should I do? And then I'm like, I'm like, OK,
I should be myself and lean intothat.
And then also take a step back and be like, these are the
things that I've had opportunities for and remind
yourself of that. And of course, you know, I am
(42:31):
the person who's like, I want tokeep making it crazy.
I want to be a part of everything.
And then I'm like, you can't do everything.
Like it's OK, but I have to remind myself that it's not like
it's like, so I think if you're dealing with imposter syndrome,
I think it's just remember to like, OK, why do I feel this
way? OK, Let those feelings out.
(42:52):
Go through the stages of it, butdon't let it stop you from being
yourself and putting yourself out there and trying out the
things that you find interesting.
I love that there is such a fresh perspective of really
embracing your feelings and kindof living through those just to
get to the point where you feel seen but also feel happy for
(43:16):
your fellow creators. I love that.
And that actually brings us to aclose for this episode.
So thank you so much, Kara, for being here.
Love this conversation. We've got to have your back on a
future episode, maybe in the next season.
But thanks a lot for being here and we'll see you another time.
Thank you SO. Much that was Kara Sykes on Able
Heads. I loved how she broke down what
(43:37):
it means to reset, to trust yourtaste, and to keep purpose at
the center of design. Even with the business side gets
messy. If you took something from this,
share this episode with a creative friend and tag me with
your takeaways. Impact doesn't have to be loud
for it to be real. Thanks so much for listening.
As always, I'm Annika and this is Abel Heads and I'll see you
(43:59):
on the next episode.
Host
Anika Aggarwal
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