Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariah Mercado.
Hi Mariah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I always knew that I had a passion for being creative. I started my journey in graphic design during my freshman year of college. I took a graphic design course, and it ultimately led me to start freelancing on my own. I started “hey Mariah grace” by creating stickers and selling them on Etsy! Through a successful run-on Etsy, it encouraged me to branch out into other aspects of graphic design.
Soon enough, I was working for clients in Manhattan, NY and in Wilmington, NC. Through these clients, I was really able to build my portfolio and launch myself into the graphic design industry.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road to becoming a graphic designer was not easy! One of the biggest challenges I faced was feeling like I was not “good enough” to be a designer or have a place in the creative industry.
My high school Art 4 AP teacher sat me down to talk about my portfolio that I was developing for the AP test, and I remember her looking at me and telling me that my art was not good enough to submit to the college board because stylistically “it is not realistic enough”. She told me that “art is not for everyone” and offered for me to clean her classroom during lunch for extra credit!
After my rough last year of art in high school, I took a break from doing anything creative for the next year, and it took me a while to build my confidence back up. This is when I decided to create stickers and let my creativity have shot outside of school.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Right now, I am a graphic designer that does a very large variety of designs; however, I specialize in infographics and sticker creations. I am best known for my Carlsbad sticker that I sell on Etsy and it is the project/design that I am most proud of.
Growing up in Carlsbad, I think that specific sticker design was super special to me and it is my creative way of showing my love for Carlsbad. I have also done a lot of other works that I am super proud of such as apparel designs, designing a trade show in Las Vegas, posters, stickers, and social media posts!
What sets me apart from others is that I love incorporating mixed media together. When I do graphic design, I love to add my own creative spin on projects through hand-drawn elements, fun colors or pushing the bounds stylistically. I love to talk to my clients about what they want/need and see both of our visions come to life.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
An important lesson that I have learned during Covid-19 was how to effectively communicate with my clients and work fully remote. When everything went online, I found that a lot of design expectations between myself and my clients were getting lost in translation.
Thankfully I was able to adjust to communicating strictly through email and schedule phone calls during Covid in order to personalize my relationships with my clients through the Pandemic.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heymariahgrace.com/projects/
