Designing a life where work feels like play, with Katrina Romulo
Welcome to The Storytellers, our series spotlighting the creatives bringing their ideas to life with The Storyboard.
Katrina Romulo is an LA-based designer with an eye for funky fonts and bold colour.
From working with some of the world's most iconic brands, her creative journey has been joyful and unexpected. Now, she's using her Storyboard to map out more than just bold visuals.
Tell us your story!
Hi, I'm Kat! I'm a freelance brand and graphic designer in Los Angeles, California. I first found design through a student-led design club in my first semester at Berkeley. There was a two-credit course called "Intro to Illustrator and Photoshop" that I took and I immediately fell in love. I started practising/self-teaching myself design for the rest of college and posting my work on social media. Over the years I was able to build a community online and kind of fell into freelancing! Since then, I've been able to work with clients all over the world — from a small instant lentil startup (that has since launched nationwide in Whole Foods) to dream clients like Spotify and Herman Miller.
How are you using your Storyboard?
The Storyboard is in my office, right above my Midi locker! Currently I use it as a personal mood board for creative inspiration and keepsakes — I have photo booth pictures along with illustration and typography that I love. I really like that I can switch things up for personal or brand projects. Right now I really like the colour blue so I'm filling up the Storyboard with my favourite blue pieces.
How does having a physical space to create a vision board help you bring your dreams to life?
I'm a big believer in moodboards and vision boards — I make one every year.
"Having a physical space to map out my hopes and dreams and look to every day is really inspiring and motivating."
When you think about yourself in 5 years' time, what do you hope your life will look like?
Honestly I just want to have fun. I feel really grateful for this job — I get to work from home, make videos and create posters every day. I would love to continue doing that on a bigger scale. I would also love to start selling my work online (posters, clothes, products). My dream would be to have a cool line of office products, stationary supplies and more that inspire people to create everyday.
What is the biggest misconception about being a graphic designer?
1. "Some people are more creative than others" — This is not true! Everyone is inherently creative. Some people just practice it more than others.
2. "You have to know how to draw to be a graphic designer" — There is a lot more to graphic design than illustration!
3. "A brand is just a logo" — it's really not! A brand is a person's gut feeling about something. A brand is an entire world of type, colour, illustration, emotion, etc. that you build.
How do you stay motivated and find the balance between getting the job done and producing work you truly love?
I make time for personal projects. As long as I'm working on something for fun alongside my client work, I don't burn out as much. I also remind myself that it's not that deep — design is meant to be fun and usually it's just me putting the pressure on myself (no one else is).
How do you manage your workload as a freelancer?
I try my hardest not to work on weekends so there's a clear divide between the work week and rest. I also try to limit myself to 2 to 4 projects a month!
