Katrina Mendoza
Katrina Mendoza
Graphic Designer / Art Director / O.G.
Brooklyn, N.Y.
www.goodsgang.com
instagram @goodsgang
pinterest
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I am a graphic designer and currently run my own company, Goods Gang.”
It’s a small design studio (just me) that specializes in semi custom wedding invitations and other paper goods.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
This is one long ass doozy of a story. I’ll make it as short as possible: I fell in love with graphic design in middle school due to influence from my dear papa and my favorite teacher. I did the school newspaper and yearbook layout, and made little print publications every chance I got for school projects. I never thought it could be a career, so I grew up aspiring to be a dentist (weird I know, but I loved going to the dentist — laughing gas, cartoons, and a prize after … SOLD). After a curriculum shock as a college freshman, I changed my major to graphic design and never looked back. I immediately jumped into a career in UX Design, which was really taking off by the time I graduated, even though I had little passion for that particular field. Flash forward to after 8 years of UX jobs working in an agency, a startup, and a major corporation, I finally decided to get back to my print passion. Even though it seems like I spent 8 years doing something I hardly liked, everything I learned during that time made me a better graphic designer than anyone who has ONLY worked in graphic design. I really needed (and I deeply cherish) those 8 years of knowledge and experience to get to where I am today.
How do you stand out in your field??
I think most people lack purposeful decision making and I'm fucking awesome at it. I think a common misconception with designers is that we are artists and we have superior tastes that make this solution we have come up with a “good” design. While I think a very small part of that might be true, I also think that most people lack the ability to explain why something is beautiful and point to factual reasons why something is the right solution. I spent 4 years working in a corporate environment with non-designers, and explaining why my design was the right solution is what took up literally 80% of my time.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
Just working away on Goods Gang, but always looking for ways to collaborate with others.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
Goods Gang is exactly and 100% me. Everything about the brand and the design of each product is a direct representation of my personal taste. It’s my little design baby.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
I’m pretty content right now with how often I get to express myself creatively with the work I’m doing with Goods Gang. However, what I’ve always always ALWAYS wanted to get better at is photography. It’s such an invaluable skill.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
The isolation of working for myself is really driving me nuts. I totally miss being around my old work colleagues. I will never again take for granted the meaningful relationships that form when you spend years sitting next to the same people every day, working on a common goal, and peppering that 9 to 5 with lunches, happy hours, and just shootin’ the shit.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
Deep clean my apartment. I’m one of those types who wants to do everything myself, so when it comes to work, I love to do even all the little things. But scrubbing the toilet and mopping the floor are things I tend to put off as long as possible.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I would tell myself to chill out a little be more open to risk. I’ve spent a lot of my life being overly calculated, which I don’t regret in general, but all of the best decisions I’ve made in my life so far could have been made a lot sooner.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
Networking, social media, and marketing my business in general. I feel like I could figure it out on my own, but don't have the time to pick it up as I go. Getting some insight from a professional would just be more efficient.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I’m always looking for more wedding stationery clients, but always have one eye open for collaboration opportunities.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
I love when the people I work with are efficient, decisive, and concise. I get a little impatient when people don’t know how to articulate what they want, or just can’t make decisions. This always leads to me making a million little design changes, constantly checking in with them to make sure I get what I need to do my work, wrangling someone’s incoherent thoughts from a million different emails — basically babysitting the entire project — and that’s time consuming mental work that’s not really something you can charge for.
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
All wedding stationery prices are listed on goodsgang.com. I don't normally take on custom design projects, so I don't have an hourly rate set up, but feel free to send me an email to see if your project is a good fit.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
I'm super easy to get a hold of. Email or Instagram messages are the best ways to get in touch.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Trolling Instagram. Stalking those I admire. And just living life.
This member profile was originally published in May 2018.