Claire Wang Whitman
Visual Designer / Brand Strategist
San Francisco, CA
www.claire.design
instagram @clairewangwhit
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Q What do you do?
“I’m a visual designer who builds brands and brings them to life through web, print, packaging, and other collateral.”
I work primarily with early stage companies in industries ranging from health, technology, science, cryptocurrency, CPG, sustainability, and e-commerce.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I had an untraditional journey working in design. I started my career in strategy, focusing on helping e-commerce startups launch themselves online. I established their marketing funnels, then crafted and executed their digital strategy and campaigns across social platforms. In this particular job, I became an expert in digital marketing, brand positioning, audience-building, and product-market fit.
Through all of this work, I saw the power of a good brand and that if all the components work — the visuals, the story, and the strategy — you can create a company with real impact and set yourself up for success.
Attracted by the visual aspects of branding as much as the strategy work behind it, I left my job and took a three-month intensive graphic design course to learn how to design brand systems and visual identities.
After this, I began freelancing for the startups that I had previously worked with on strategy, and eventually joined a branding studio full-time.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
My background in strategy has been an incredibly valuable asset in brand design. I understand my clients’ business needs, and I collaborate with clients to bridge the gaps between visuals and strategy. By giving design and strategy equal weight throughout the branding process, I am able to build beautiful, well-thought-through brands that are positioned to grow and scale.
Q What are you working on right now?
Currently, I’m a Designer at Play Studio in San Francisco. I’m always working on a few different projects, which typically include brand system design, website design, print collateral, packaging, and more.
Q What’s your style?
My style flexes based on project needs: one could be clean and restrained for VC firm, while another could be bold and experimental for a new D2C startup, and yet another could be cool and sophisticated for a fashion brand. My guiding principle is always that the design and visual storytelling be clear and uncomplicated.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
Two industries I would love to do more work in are sustainability and food. I minored in Environmental Studies in college, and have worked on several side projects related to reducing our impact on the planet (see one of them here). A brief that would excite me is experimental web design or sustainable packaging! In my free time, I love to cook and develop my own recipes. I recently branded a farm growing Asian heritage veggies, which was a really fun passion project you can check out here.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
Something that's been especially challenging recently is working completely remotely from collaborators and clients. Remote work works for me 90% of the time, but sometimes it's easier to sit down with someone and talk things through — and requesting spontaneous Zoom calls just don't have the same ring to it as "Hey, why don't you draw up a chair?"
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
I have about 20,000 unread marketing emails in old inboxes 🙈 I would have someone go through my old email addresses to clear out the inboxes, set up mail forwarding, and unsubscribe!
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
Don’t hesitate to trust your gut —good things will follow!
In design, in life, in making big decisions — I used to wait around to confirm with others what I thought was the right choice, and in the end, I would always arrive right back where I started. I wasted a lot of time waiting for others’ confirmation of what I already knew. After a while and with positive results after making my own decisions more quickly, I learned to trust myself more and wish I had been able to do it sooner.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
Behavioral Psychology! I am fascinated by how our thoughts and behaviors are influenced by our experiences. And we'd all probably be a little bit better off if we had more perspective on how and why our brains work the way they do. :)
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I’m looking for full-suite branding projects where I can frame the foundational strategy, build the visual system, and activate the brand through website design, social campaigns, and other collateral. Like I said above, I’d be particularly interested in working on projects in the sustainability and food spaces. I’m also open to large-scope individual web design projects.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
My ideal client is engaged, excited, and brings everything they can to the table. Despite design often being designated as client “services”, I see it as entering into a collaboration. In order to do our best work together, they need to put in as much effort as I am — by having a clear vision, sharing information and assets in a timely manner, providing feedback, and problem-solving together. And like most relationships, collaboration requires trust, honesty, and respect on both sides. With those ingredients, we can create some really special projects.
Q: What is your rate?
It really depends on the project, but for consulting, my hourly rate starts at $150. Otherwise, I charge a project-based fee for branding, web design, packaging, etc. Reach out with a project and I can share more.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Send me an email telling me what you’re looking for, what your vision is, and the budget.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Max Klein (Interaction Design)
Franny Van Eyck (Graphic Design)
Alli Berk (Art Direction & Design)
Emerson Ward (Product Design)
Cami Ferreol (Graphic Design)
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Get off the computer!
This member profile was originally published in May 2022.