I always told Hayden I thought she’d someday own a business.
I still believe in that. She just has that enterprising spirit, that quiet assuredness to get the job done. Today’s #GirlsRock spotlight falls on a woman who started her own business and gave it her name.
Meet Amber Lorine, the graphic designer behind Amber Lorine Design.
She also works for Rezenerate as a graphic designer. Today, D in the #AtoZChallenge is for designer. (I can be clever like that, and it’s a good way to get this interview in. We finished it a couple of months ago!)
Amber is also fellow UNC Charlotte alumni. I have those a lot around here, don’t I? Niner pride and all. I’m trying desperately to catch up on the #AtoZChallenge pace, and hope you’ll enjoy the interview!
Eli: When you were little, what did you think you’d grow up to be?
Amber: Marine Biologist. We lived in Monterey and went to the aquarium every weekend. I was fascinated by all the creatures of the deep.
Eli: What did you imagine that career would be like?
Amber: I had daydreams about it all the time!
The child part of me dreamt of finding a lost tribe of real mermaids, but the realistic part thought about either deep sea exploration or sharks.
Eli: How does that adventurous spirit help you now as a graphic designer?
Amber: I find myself thinking outside the box more than many of my peers. It also means I see magic everywhere!
Eli: Where, for example? Where was the last place you saw it?
Amber: In the reflection of the sun in a puddle, it was overcast and raining, then all of a sudden, a shaft of light pierced through and down right in front of me. It caught the oil-slick and reflected so bright, it looked like the birth of a rainbow. That seemed pretty magical when it happened!
Eli: What’s the most challenging part of doing graphic design for you?
Amber: Making difficult customers happy is the most frustrating and challenging. They don’t know what they want, they just know they want something. I can do everything a person requested, present it, and get shot down because they don’t like it. Now, this doesn’t happen often, maybe 15% of the time. But it makes the job so much more rewarding when I can “read their mind” and create exactly what they had envisioned.
Eli: When you’re beginning a project, what are your best practices? What advice can you give to people who need to meld creativity and functionality?
Amber: Think about what you would like to see if the product or project were geared for you…like what pops out at you when you watch other ads or commercials, then tailor it to the client’s specifications.
Show them something that they haven’t thought of yet, the worst they can say is, “I don’t like it, let’s try a different direction.” Then you haven’t wasted anything, because even negative feedback is still feedback!
Eli: When you see something out in the wild that triggers a creative spark, do you try and capture that for a current or future project? Has that ever happened?
Amber: All the time! The way the clouds form before a thunderstorm, the reflection of light on water, the ripple of muscle under the fur of an animal, even the simple beauty of a sunset. They all inspire!
Eli: Is there anything you want to get better at?
Amber: I started teaching myself video editing for my job, I really enjoy it, but there is so much room for improvement. Luckily there are plenty of online tutorials available!
Eli: If you had to make an online tutorial for one of your skills, which would you choose? And what would it be like?
Amber: I would do one on all the great shortcuts I have learned/figured out in PhotoShop and Illustrator that I wish I knew much earlier! It would be short but fun!
Eli: Amber, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us. What advice would you give to girls when it comes to embracing your creativity?
Amber: My advice: “To live a creative life, you must lose your fear of being wrong!”
Other posts in the A to Z Challenge
A is for Approachable Stranger in Target
B is for Boy without a job
C is for Courtney Wright, guest blogger
Just a dad ... 
Nice interview Eli – it was fun to meet Amber. I’m fascinated by graphic designers and have great respect for them. I’m amazed at the ability to help concretize someone else’s vision – it seems rather magical to me.
Wise advice about creativity. I think we could all benefit from more of that. The less rigid we are about being right and the more flexible we can be about course-correcting when something’s not right-fit the more expansive the world becomes.
Thanks, Deborah. They make our words look pretty. I think the best times are when they add their own vision to the project!
Creativity in our lives is a good thing. It gets the mind opened to new possibilities or at least new perspectives.
This is an awesome interview! My daughter has a graphic management degree but has had a hard time finding a job since graduating. The issue is lack of experience which I have never understood. How do you get experience if no one will hire you
It sounds like your job is fun and rewarding! Nice to meet you Amber! 😉
Yes, definitely that, Courtney. Need the experience to get experience!
I would check out that Photoshop tutorial. I used to know my way around the adobe products but then they “updated” and I can’t find anything. I’m getting too old for updates.
I can’t even keep up with societal updates, Joey! Canva has been good for me.
Interesting interview, Eli. I particularly loved that last line of advice from Amber!
I really like her attitude, Elen. Thank you!
Creativity will come out, whether in design or swimming with the sharks. It sounds like she picked the best way.
Yes!
i enjoyed her insight and creative spirit and the places where she finds inspiration. awesome quote, applies to all of life.
The inspiration places were the best, weren’t they Beth?
Yes )
I came for the awesome jellyfish picture and stayed for the great interview! I think I would be one of those difficult clients…I know what I like when I see it but can’t articulate! Keep up the A to Z-ing!
Glad you wound up here! That is a rad photo, isn’t it? I’m so behind … look forward to reading your posts, and I agree, dragons make everything better. (Are you guys really on L?)