Carol Mackay, Design Business Council, on finding your onliness
Carol Mackay helps Australian creatives manage their business better - more effectively, more efficiently and more sustainably - so they can spend more time creating. After 30+ years running a graphic design firm, Carol moved from client-focused projects to consult to the design industry. Now with the Design Business Council she uses her experience, and research, to help creatives build robust, sustainable businesses, and to help businesses integrate, and profit from, design.
Carol Mackay, Design Business Council
Carol Mackay helps Australian creatives manage their business better - more effectively, more efficiently and more sustainably - so they can spend more time creating. After 30+ years running a graphic design firm, Carol moved from client-focused projects to consult to the design industry. Now with the Design Business Council she uses her experience, and research, to help creatives build robust, sustainable businesses, and to help businesses integrate, and profit from, design.
What’s the difference between personal branding and onliness?
Personal branding is how you want to be perceived by others — or as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos would say, what others say about you when you are not in the room. I prefer to use the term ‘onliness’ – comes without the history and baggage of ‘branding’.
Was your own ‘onliness’ something you instinctively understood, or did it take a lot of trial, error and experience to work out?
I’m relatively new to the importance of thinking about my ‘onliness’ and that’s mainly because I’ve worked alongside my life partner for nearly 40 years. We first worked together for someone else, then in a design studio we co-founded and now at the Design Business Council. During the design studio tenure, we had distinctly separate roles that evolved over a long period of time. Greg had his clients and I had mine. He ran the external face of the studio and I ran the internal. Our roles evolved with the business.
This changed when I closed the studio after 34 years to re-join Greg in a side-hustle we’d co-founded five years earlier. We’d dipped our toes into a venture we thought might work, and then worked hard to get it to a stage it could fund us both.
While I kept the studio going to fund the venture, Greg had had five years to assess, define and refine his new role. And he is is really, really good at what he does. When I joined him, I had to work out how I could add value. Greg and I now have overlapping roles with far less clarity.
Anyone with a successful partner knows if you don’t have clarity around your own strengths and weaknesses, if you don’t have a strong sense of your value, you will continually be overshadowed. Especially if you are second to the table. I’d come from the comfort of a role I had for 34 years into a new challenge needing completely different use of my existing skills.
“I had to find my onliness, and I had to find it quickly. It wasn’t easy.”
Is onliness important when you’re first starting out?
Being aware of your onliness is absolutely of value to a graduate. It means you can stand above the cookie-cutter folio we all graduate with, and more easily sell your value into prospective employers, in writing, in visuals and in person.
What do you think the main obstacles designers come up against when running a small business?
Stamina and sustainability. That first flush of clients may last a year, may last five but we work in a rapidly changing industry that is constantly disrupted. Identifying, adapting and managing change is constant. It takes energy and it takes stamina.
Many small business are founded by people who love what they do, but don’t necessarily love the business of what they do. Sustainability comes from employing someone to work on the business so you can continue to do what you love. If you love what you do, stamina is less of an issue. Energy comes from enjoyment.
You’ve taking your wealth of design knowledge and client-focused experience and pivoted to consulting, are you enjoying the pivot?
I am now. But it took a couple of years to be comfortable in my new role.
Comfortable working as a partnership rather than with an in-house team and running a studio. Comfortable remembering I’m now a supplier to the design industry rather than a designer and comfortable referring projects from ex-clients to other designers.
What I am enjoying is having a forum to share my experience. I would have loved to have a ‘me’ to advise me through the tough spots – that’s what I’m trying to do with others. Running a creative business is hard. Your eye is continually on billings for the end of the week/month/quarter. Having time to future plan is really difficult.
Now I am relishing having time to research better ways of running a design business. I’m relishing having time to talk to others about what they do, why they do it and how they do it. And I’m relishing having a voice to share that knowledge.
Have you had to change your onliness at all?
I am naturally a chatty, enthusiastic introvert who is most comfortable chatting one-on-one. Five-on-one sometimes. Ten-on-one max. This is not a perfect attribute for my new role in the Design Business Council, and it could be said it limited my role.
It was the personal journey map activity (I’m going to share in the Masterclass) that helped me identify what I do well, and what I don’t – and that helped me change my thinking because I understood where I needed additional skills.
Tell me a little bit about the work you do with Womentor (on hiatus at the mo) and how important do you think mentors are to women in design? And women in general.
Mentors are important. Having the counsel of others can open opportunities and remove obstacles. I’ve not had a mentor (apart from Mary Tyler Moore and Murphy Brown :) but I am sure with one I would have worked more efficiently and more effectively.
On the other hand, I’ve mentored many, as does anyone that employs others, and especially graduate designers. I’ve mentored employees, designers within schemes like AGDA and Womentor, and as a paid gig as part of my role within DBC.
“Mentoring is sharing knowledge and that comes easily to me. I think we all have an obligation to give back to the industry. ”
Where can women find a mentor that’s right for them?
I think many women struggle to find a mentor because of their mindset. They seek someone who will give their time freely, who has the perfect balance of knowledge, character and in an aligned career. Can you see the problem?
Mentoring should be a two-way relationship. Good mentors are open to continually learning, and to new experiences yet many mentees are only interested in taking. I’ve had designers request to buy me a cup of tea only to sit opposite me with an open notebook and grill me with questions until my eyes water and my bladder almost bursts. And then they ask when we can meet again.
Knowing your onliness is about understanding how you can give back to your industry at every level. Perhaps it’s not about finding the right mentor, perhaps it’s about making connections with people with whom you have something or someone in common and with whom you think you could share something you know in return for some advice. Who would not love that?
What’s the one bit of advice you would give women in business?
Firstly, that it’s OK not to be in business. If the business is a weight around your neck, if it is not giving you joy, and you don’t like the majority of your day, then it’s absolutely OK to walk away and support the work of someone else. The world is obsessed with start-ups but having a business is hard on every level.
It’s hard making the tough financial decisions. It’s hard to continually disrupt yourself and your business in an attempt to stay relevant and it’s hard working solo, but then it’s really hard managing other creatives.
It is not for everyone and I don’t think enough people consider walking away. That said, the one bit of advice I would give is understand your onliness – what you do differently to others, what makes you distinct. Understanding your strengths and your weaknesses makes it easier to play to your strengths and buy skills that plug your weaknesses.
And that’s what makes it easy to portray a successful personal brand.
Join us for Carol’s Masterclass on Friday November 6th at 1pm. Subscribe to her weekly article that helps designers manage their business. You can view her current work at Design Business School and see an archive of her design work at mbdesign.com.au
Who is Debbie Millman?
Debbie Millman, among numerous other things, is a huge hero of mine. She is an inspirational designer, author, branding guru, educator and podcaster who believes in making a difference through design. She is also a born and bred New Yorker.
The Creative Women's Circle will be presenting Debbie Millman at Melbourne's Design Week in March 2020.
2 min read
Who is Debbie Millman?
Debbie Millman, among numerous other things, is a huge hero of mine. She is an inspirational designer, author, branding guru, educator and podcaster who believes in making a difference through design. She is also a born and bred New Yorker.
As a woman who wears many hats, Debbie Millman will be visiting Melbourne for Melbourne Design Week on the weekend of March 14 and 15. Presented by us, the Creative Women’s Circle, Debbie will be sharing her experiences in the industry through the idea of Courage vs Confidence and hosting a workshop on Visual Story Telling.
As a podcaster, Debbie hosts Design Matters which has become the world’s most downloaded design podcast. Debbie has interviewed some of the biggest names in design since her show began in 2005. They include graphic design luminaries like Stephan Sagmeister and Paula Scher. She has also used her casual interview style to get to the heart of Eat, Prey Love’s Elizabeth Gilbert, feminist author and now fiancé Roxanne Gay and artist Marina Abramović’s creative processes.
Debbie Millman is the famed founder and talent on the podcast Design Matters.
Debbie is also an educator and runs a Masters in Branding at the School in Visual Arts in New York. Here she shares her knowledge gleaned from 22 years at Sterling Brands where she was president of the design division. She has worked for over 200 of the world’s top brands and written books to help students truly understand the process.
Branding is not the only topic Debbie has written about. Her published works also include more illustrative works like Self-Portrait as your Traitor and Look Both Ways. Her most recent collaboration is Leave Me Alone with the Recipes: The Life, Art, and Cookbook of Cipe Pineles. Cipe was an unsung American designer and educator who left a big impression on Debbie. One day Cipe’s personally illustrated scrapbook, full of family recipes, was found at an antiques fair. It was this book that Debbie with Sarah Rich, Wendy MacNaughton and Maria Popova (curator of the blog Brain Pickings) reinvented into a beautiful book that everyone can now cook from.
She is an inspirational designer, author, branding guru, educator and podcaster who believes in making a difference through design.
Debbie’s passion for writing and design critique keeps expanding and she is now the Editorial and Creative Director of Print Magazine. Founded in 1940, Print Magazine was the go-to for inspiration and information for many graphic designers, however it went out of circulation in 2018. It has been Debbie’s passion for design that will ensure it will rise again this year and is something to look forward to.
In 2017 I got to meet Debbie in New York while researching my PhD on women in design. While I was certainly star-struck, it was great to find her so warm and welcoming. She has overcome a childhood of violence and abuse. She has set goals and challenged herself. She has achieved admirable career and personal success and is now at a place where she wants to share her secrets with other creative women. There is much about her to admire.
So that is who Debbie Millman is. We hope that you have your interest sparked and will see you at either her speaking event or workshop in March.
- Jane Connory, PhD, Special Events Co-ordinator at Creative Women’s Circle
Collaboration story: A fresh dining space on a tight budget
Our most recent Melbourne Members' Morning Tea was held in the brand new Free to Feed dining space in Northcote. It was a unique event for our event host and Board member Yvonne Meng, as her architecture firm, Circle Studio - that she runs with fellow CWC Member Amber Laing - was the creative force behind the design of the interior fitout!
Yvonne Meng and Amber Laing of Circle Studio Architects in their completed interior fitout for Melbourne social enterprise Free to Feed.
Our most recent Melbourne Members' Morning Tea was held in the brand new Free to Feed dining space in Northcote. It was a unique event for our event host and Board member Yvonne Meng, as her architecture firm, Circle Studio - that she runs with fellow CWC Member Amber Laing - was the creative force behind the design of the interior fitout!
We spoke to Yvonne about the project, the challenges of working on a tight budget for a social enterprise, and what they learned through the process.
What’s your architecture specialty and why were you drawn to work with Free to Feed?
We aren't bound to a particular typology but we try to take a collaborative approach to design. Amber and I like to work closely with people to make sure their project reflects them well. I was drawn to Free to Feed because Loretta and Dan have such a passion for their work, and it's really infectious. What attracted me most were the initiatives do with refugees and new migrants. Being the child of migrants myself, I remember seeing how difficult it was for my parents in the 80's to make sense of a new country and navigate work. I love that an organisation like Free to Feed exists to empower, provide entrepreneurial support and help people have agency in what they do within a community.
Before: What the space looked like when the lease was signed
Installation begins
What was the brief for the fitout and what mood/vibe were you aiming for?
The brief was to create a space which could be used in a variety of ways from sit down dinners, casual lunches, displaying and selling spices, presentations, workshops, cooking classes and more. It also had to be able to be packed away when needed, and there needed to be enough flexibility for the space to evolve as Free to Feed grows. For this, we designed modular trestle-style benches and fold-down tables which can be cleared out of the way or re-arranged as needed. Keeping the cooking classes in mind, we needed to bring power to the centre of the space. To do this neatly we adapted some light fittings to hold power points instead of globes so they were practical as well as decorative. When we sat down to discuss the mood and vibes we were hoping to achieve, we were drawn to this one particular image on our shared Pinterest board of a spice market with lovely earthy tones, pinks, and terracottas. This became the basis for the palette which ran through the interior and the aim was to create a workspace which was warm, bright and also a bit playful.
The mural goes up!
What strategies did you employ to get the most out of a social enterprise budget?
Free to Feed were lucky to have received some very generous donations from people who believed in their work. Anchor Ceramics provided 10 terracotta pendant fittings, and Spencer Harrison painted the mural on the wall. Without these, the space as it is would not have been possible. We needed bang for buck for this project and paint is such a great cost-effective way to transform a space, so to help differentiate zones we used blocks of colour on the walls which picked up on the colours in the mural and light fittings. The benches are cut from full off-the-shelf sheets of ply and dimensioned so that there was minimal cutting required and no offcuts. Unless it was absolutely necessary, we tried not to move any plumbing, gas, and electrical and we repaired the wall linings instead of ripping them off. Luckily for us, underneath the laminated floor of the original shop was a fabulous terrazzo flooring which was still in good nick.
Were there any special considerations/challenges?
Time was a challenge on this one. There was a very short period to get the design and drawings done, appoint builders and then get the thing actually built. The builders, Ampson Developments, programmed the works really well and kept things going at lightning speed to hit the completion date. From our side, we issued general drawings at the beginning - enough to get a quote on and get started - and then developed details simultaneously as construction occurred to save on time. Projects like these really make you appreciate the value of having a good collaborative team who are communicative and on the same page. The finished space did differ a little from the original concept as things had to fall away or change, but that's normal for any project! It reached completion just in the nick of time - the day after the builders moved out was the first dinner event.
What did you learn through the process?
You don't need need to make drastic structural changes to make a statement when working with existing buildings. Work with the bones that you've got - do little, but do it well. You can achieve a lot with a small budget that way!
The final space!
'Before' photos by Yvonne. 'After' photos by fellow CWC Member, Jade Cantwell.
How to hold an art exhibition
By Júlia Palazzo
I work in a studio with another artist and for the past month I’ve been helping him put together his first solo exhibition in Melbourne. I have to say I’m SO relieved that we had the opening last Friday and that all the work is nearly over! As much as having your own exhibition is an incredible experience, it can also be stressful and daunting.
If you are early in your visual art career, you will eventually want to showcase your work in your own show. And (at least at first) you will probably show your art in artist run galleries and more alternative venues, and will be responsible for a lot of the work related to making your show succeed or fail.
Here are 5 areas to keep in mind when creating an art exhibition:
Paint: Go on a journey with your art
When creating art for a show, pick a theme that you know you can explore for an entire body of work, that you are passionate and curious about. Write, think and study the concept behind it before you start creating the final art pieces. You should be able to describe the ideas behind your work concisely, and refer back to them when you feel lost.
Know how many pieces you’ll need to create for the show, and be realistic about how long you will need to paint them. Make sure you book the venue well in advance, and try to have all the art finalised a few weeks before the opening. You don’t want to be painting until the last day available and then have no one turn up because you didn’t do any promotion.
Choose materials that you are comfortable working with. Exploring and practicing with new mediums might be best left for when you are not under pressure to create work for a show.
Present: Use the space creatively
Measure the walls and choose how you’d like your art to be displayed in advance, making sure that you create enough art to achieve the result you want. Think about how people will walk around the room, and whether the order of the artwork can tell a story or take them on a journey.
Think beyond the art. How can you transform the venue’s space to create a remarkable experience for your viewers? Can you use the scent of flowers, music, or change the colours of the walls to help people immerse themselves in the art? Attend other exhibitions in your city to get inspired. If you are in Melbourne, Backwoods Gallery in Fitzroy always does an incredible job of presenting their exhibitions in an unexpected way.
Give people context. Did you go on a trip away or develop a new method to create this body of work? Think about how you can tell your story to people through the display, and prepare yourself to be able to talk about your art.
Promote: Spread the word through your network
Make sure that the design of the promotional materials and the photos of your art will do it justice. If the venue does not have a designer or photographer, consider getting one to help you.
While you are creating the art, post sneak peeks on your social media and remind people regularly about the upcoming event. Talk to the venue about creating a Facebook event and sending out press released to relevant publications.
If there are important people in your industry that you’d like to attend your show, do not be ashamed of inviting them directly through an e-mail or message. Ask you contacts to share the event with their peers.
Party: Make an event of it.
Plan an opening event to give people a chance to gather and meet you at your exhibition. Choose a date that won’t conflict with other similar events, and make the space pleasant through offering drinks and food. Many beer and wine businesses offer sponsorship and discounts for creative events.
Consider offering an artists talk on a separate date from the opening. This will give people a chance to hear about your work, and an opportunity to meet you if they missed the opening night.
Consider having accessible options for people besides the artwork. Not all you fans or visitors will be able to afford an original piece of art, but I guarantee a lot of them would be happy to support you and take home something from your exhibition. Maybe you can have an exhibition book, prints or postcards for sale.
Peace: Be in a good frame of mind
Look after yourself and your health during the process and make sure you SLEEP. Exhaustion will destroy your ability to make good art, and the last thing you want is to finally get to that opening event and be unable to enjoy it or talk to anyone because you are too sleep-deprived.
Be kind with yourself. It is perfectly normal when you are working on a big project to have moments when you feel that you are not a “real” artist or that your work won’t be good enough. Reach out to your friends or family for reassurance, and don’t feel guilty if you have to take a few days off to relax.
Keep the long term in mind. If you are a working artist, you will probably exhibit many times over the years, each one will be a step on your journey and a learning experience. Do not expect that one show will bring you overnight success, and do not be hard on yourself if at first you do not sell many pieces or get much of an audience. Stay positive, learn from your mistakes, and keep on creating.
Images by Michael Panozzo
Júlia Palazzo is a visual artist from Brazil. Since moving to Melbourne in 2013 she has been running a partnership, Mayfield Palace, creating mural art for businesses and organisations all over Australia. She shares her art daily on Instagram: @julia.palazzo
CWC's Annual General Hurrah!
It's been an invigorating, inspiring and emotional journey since Creative Women's Circle officially incorporated last July. Since that time, our hugely talented Board and sub-committees have not only continued to run CWC in its usual professional fashion (hosting events nationwide, writing blogs, running programs and more), but they have worked tirelessly to underpin our organisation with a clear set of values, policies and processes to ensure CWC continues to support, connect, and champion women in the creative industries, now and into the future. Join us as we present to you - our Members and the wider creative community - what CWC has accomplished over the last twelve months at our very first Annual General Meeting (AGM), and help us vote in our Board for 2016/2017.
Notice of the Annual General Meeting of the members of Creative Women’s Circle Association Inc (“CWC”) (Registration No A0091653N):
Time: 1pm for 1.15pm start (end approx. 4pm) Date: Saturday 6 August 2016 Venue: Frankie & Swiss, Ground Floor, 199 Toorak Rd South Yarra, Victoria 3141 (entry via Claremont St) Cost: Free (drinks & nibbles provided) Note: Members and non-Members are welcome to attend, however only current CWC Members are eligible to nominate for Board positions and cast a vote on any resolutions (like who will be on the Board next year). RSVP: For catering purposes, please RSVP by Thursday 4 August and email us if you have any special dietary requirements.
So what exactly happens at an AGM?
- First, there'll be Tess McCabe, CWC President’s, welcome address;
- Then it's on to 'ordinary business' (a.k.a. presentations on our activity & achievements this year from our current Board and sub-committee members; details on our financials; nominating and voting of the next Board; and confirming our membership fees); and
- After all of that, time for catching up over drinks and nibbles.
If you’d like to nominate for a position on the Board or as a Volunteer of CWC, please contact Yasmin Naghavi outlining your professional background and what you feel you can contribute to the CWC in 2016/2017 and beyond, or to request more information.
Voting in person
If you wish to attend and vote in person at this special general meeting, please RSVP here by 4 August 2016.
Voting by proxy
Any current CWC member entitled to attend and vote at the annual general meeting may appoint a fellow member of Creative Women’s Circle Association Inc to attend and vote as the member’s proxy.
To vote by proxy, download and complete the proxy form and return by 1pm on 5 August 2016 by email.
(Proxy forms sent by post or electronically are of no effect unless they are received by CWC no later than 24 hours before the commencement of the Meeting.)
If you are unsure about your current CWC Membership status, if it has recently expired, or if you have any queries regarding your status, please email Membership Manager Phoebe Miller.
Announcing Anomaly 2016
Have you got a burning question on running a creative business? Ever wondered what happens behind the Instagram feeds of your favourite creative ladies? Well, here's your chance to talk to four creative business owners from different corners of the industry about how they really do it. CWC's upcoming panel event Run a Successful Creative Business is part of the Anomaly 2016 conference, on Saturday 20 February at Billy Blue College of Design in Melbourne. The event will be moderated by designer and author Tess McCabe, founder of Creative Minds Publishing and president of Creative Women's Circle, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge in running a creative business.
Here's a sneak peek of our fabulous panellists...
Anika Cook, fashion designer and illustrator
Anika is the designer behind The Gently Unfurling Sneak, a small Melbourne label producing printed clothing, artworks and cards. All products are based around Anika’s surrealistic illustrations, and must be strange, beautiful or amusing (or a combination of all three) to make it out of the studio. The Gently Unfurling Sneak's designs are sold through local boutiques, online and in a new bricks-and-mortar shop in North Melbourne.
Facebook - Instagram - Website
Proudest moment: Opening my little studio shop in North Melbourne in October last year. It was a huge amount of work to get the shop renovated and open in a small amount of time, and I couldn't pay anyone to do it. It was mostly me, my assistant Josie and my dad, and some lovely volunteer friends. Now when I'm in the shop I feel very proud that we built it all together.
Monique Woodward, architect
Monique Woodward is co-founder of award-winning Architecture and Interior Design practice WoodWoodWard Architecture, Lecturer at Monash & RMIT University, designer of WOWOWA's Monroe 'Rough Night' & 'Glamour' pendant lights and an advocate for apartment amenity guidelines and the compulsory use of architects on multi-residential development.
Describe yourself in five words:
Colorful passionate experimental
Best business tip you've heard: If your brand is talking to everybody, you're talking to nobody.
How do you keep your creative fire burning: Architectural pilgrimages...... aka holidays!!
Proudest moment: The day our big gold WOWOWA letters went up on our new shopfront studio window.
Camilla Molders, interior designer
Camilla Molders has been designing and creating beautiful interiors for over 20 years. She is known for clean lines and fuss free spaces, with a pop of something extra special. Camilla’s hallmark is bold, original designs that balance creativity with practicality and her work has featured in a host of Australian and international publications, websites and blogs.
Website - Instagram - Twitter - Facebook
Describe yourself in five words: Creatively adventurous, curious, passionate: all which describe me - but also could be used to describe my work! And then something not many think of me as - introverted. And what many who know me would agree with- opinionated!
Best business tip you've heard: Nothing particularly comes to mind that has had me really holding tightly onto. But I'm always listening. Everyone, no matter how experienced they are, has an interesting story or advice to offer that I can take on board. This is why I love speaker events - CWC events especially! Listening to someone talk who is passionate about what they do is awe-inspiring and never fails to leave me with an inspiration hit.
How do you keep your creative fire burning: Often a lot of the creative ideas happen on site with my clients when we are workshopping ideas. I take the time to really try and understand what the clients want and get a clear picture of their vision. This is why each project I work on is different to any other. I don't want to be known for doing the same thing or having a "look" - that just doesn't interest me creatively at all. I aim for each project to be a representation of the people who live in the space and that does justice to the architecture and surrounds. Sure, I might push my client's comfort levels a little (which is fun!), but that's my job. That's what makes it exciting and really keeps the creative fires burning!
Proudest moment: Seeing anything that I have designed from scratch is so exciting! But seeing the first sculptured rug that I designed was a total life moment. It was a concept that I had been brewing up for a while and discussed with a very open minded client. It turned out to be a success and the start of my bespoke rug collection.
Run a Successful Creative Business
1.00-2.30pm, Saturday 20 February, Billy Blue College of Design 595 Little Collins St, Melbourne
Tickets can be purchased via the AGDA website.
The Resolution Project
Hands up who makes new year's resolutions every year, then ditches them by February? Yep, us too. Well, achieving our creative and business goals just got a lot easier, with CWC’s The Resolution Project. It’s an affordable and supportive goal-setting program that keeps you accountable and motivated throughout the year. The best part? Along with workshops and online tools, you get heaps of resources, including a tailor-made TRP workbook to keep you on track. Our private facilitated Facebook group is up and running and participants are sharing stories, tips and resolutions. They have described the workbook as "a truly valuable tool for reflection" and "a great way to gain clarity and perspective". It's already clear this is a special community of ambitious and inspired women.
The Online program is open to anyone, anywhere, and includes all the valuable resources and materials that the Workshop program offers, including access to the private Facebook group and opportunities to ‘ask the experts’ and connect with a wide community of creative women.
Our Workshop program includes all of the above, plus three workshops and follow-up materials throughout the year along themes including Connect and Clarify, Recap and Reset, and an end of year Wrap Party (open to all participants!) to celebrate our successes. Each workshop includes hands-on coaching sessions and discussions with renowned experts to set you firmly on the path to achieving your creative goals.
Numbers are strictly limited. It’s not too late to join - check out The Resolution Project for more information.