Kathy Luong
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I’m the Founder & Creative Director of MADE BY WMN, a women-focused creative agency.”
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I've always been drawn to how people interact with their surroundings, and how they make their purchasing decisions. My curiosity has often guided me in my decisions leading up to today.
I graduated with my Bachelors in Business Marketing from Seattle University as a result of how interested I was in studying the consumer and all of the moving parts in the marketing realm. At the same time I was graduating college, I became a self-taught designer through taking several Adobe classes at the School of Visual Concepts in downtown Seattle (and not to mention, countless hours of CreativeLive and YouTube videos). Upon graduating, I dived into the freelancing world and opened my own one-woman design studio. I quickly realized that working by myself didn't allow for my own creative ideas to expand, and it grew apparent that I wanted to niche my services and cater to mainly women with a team of women. Fast forward to today, I've made the leap and have transitioned into a women-focused creative agency.
How do you stand out in your field?
I think what helps us stand out in our field is how our team draws inspiration from a fresh perspective in where we live and travel. Our team is made up of talented female creators, designers, and strategists that either reside in Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York City. Most of our team have full-time jobs aside from their positions at MADE BY WMN, and travel quite often for both personal and business purposes so we take pride in the freedom and flexibility we give ourselves in our schedules. Because of this, our team draws creativity from all over the world and it definitely gives us an edge to the way we design, strategize, conceptualize, and overall how we go about our work altogether.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
We’re working on our first ever blog interview series called Pressed in Purpose. It’s a series of creative features that explores the balancing act of entrepreneurship, mental health, creative process, and everything in between. We dive deep into the mindset of various industry leaders in art & design and illuminate how purpose shapes their work.
WE ALL HAVE MULTIPLE SKILLS OR WORK IN VARIOUS INDUSTRIES, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD FOCUS ON MORE?
Visual brand identity and brand strategy.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
Asking for help and slowing down. Most of the time I think I can do it all by myself and end up burning myself out, which can lead to taking care of myself as my last priority. It's a constant work in progress, but having an amazing support system of women that urge you to take a break and remind you that life is meant to be enjoyed (yes, I do forget to enjoy life sometimes) is definitely helpful!
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
Manage and grow our social media accounts. I would say social media is something I always end up putting on the backburner, mainly because I feel like it takes away from being in the present moment. I also don't prefer to do any copywriting (I'm that person that gets stuck at the caption for a post for awhile).
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
Stop being hard on yourself. You're doing the best you possibly can in this exact moment. It's OK to not have everything perfect. When in doubt, take a step back and remind yourself to relax, and have fun.
I'm still struggling with this, although it was worse when I was starting out. Stepping away from my work and reminding myself to celebrate all of the small wins has been a huge game changer. I started this thing where when I have a win (small or big), I write it on paper and throw it in a mason jar on my work desk.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
How to scale our company with the best practices in the industry through financials, legal contracts, and streamlined systems.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Brands that are looking to grow and scale their brand in a new creative direction on a large scale. We love to support and educate our clients and their internal teams throughout the duration of our partnership as we deliver on our services. It's one thing to execute on the deliverables, but to be able to support and educate our clients along the way has been a game-changer in how we collaborate with our clients. Plus, it allows both sides of the table to come up with more creative ideas and keep the creative juices flowing to produce even greater results.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
Our ideal client is passionate about what they do and who they serve, has a strong and clear vision, and trusts us as creative partners that will guide them throughout the journey while working together.
This member profile was originally published in February 2019, Updated January 2020.