Liana Azwa
Brand Designer / Founder of Crayon Studio
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Q What do you do?
“I am the founder & Creative Director of Crayon Studio – a graphic art studio that specializes in building visual identities for brands.”
Greater than a studio, it’s really just a playing ground for me to collaborate with clients & creatives, experiment with art styles, and tell stories through visual design.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
Before I discovered my love for visual communications, I was taking up financial accounting. Upon transferring to design school, I’ve found myself freelancing design projects for the usual – friends and family. Over time, I expanded my clientele beyond my existing network. I too worked a regular 9-5, and got laid off once the pandemic hit. I took it as the perfect opportunity to pursue my freelancing more seriously – thus, Crayon Studio was born.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
Along with myself, there are many other creatives who work in the cloud studio with me. As we place collaboration at the center and our individual strengths are blended, magic transpires in the work we do. No two projects has the same approach.
Q What are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on expanding Crayon Studio. Apart from our long-standing retainer clients (like Chuck's & Hejau), we're also working on some fun branding projects for consumer businesses, like pizza joints, coffee shops, and accessory boutiques. Creating new and distinctive designs always brings me joy.
Q What’s your style?
Full of life! I always make sure to utilize play into each creation, because I work on such a variety of brands. We stick to the core – fresh, young, and not overly serious, but you’ll also find some graphical wonkiness and exploratory elements thrown in here and there too. It’s the Crayon recipe.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
Web design is always something I'm itching to do more of! It's a challenge for sure, but seeing it come to life is incredibly fulfilling.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
It is without a doubt bringing in more clients from outside of Malaysia. Thankfully, we've been having more clients in Southeast Asia, but I'd love to expand even more and work with a larger spectrum of clients.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
I’d have someone sort out HR & finances. It's really easy to overlook the monthly upkeep of these things.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
I would have reassured myself that there are so so many opportunities to advance your skills and earn for yourself, and that it doesn’t necessarily equate to attending university and working at an office desk all day. I wish I were more lenient with my younger self. But I'd be happy to tell her that I’m happy with where I am now.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I'd like to chat about how I can make brand guides simpler for users of non-Adobe design softwares. I would love to make my work more beginner-friendly by possibly translating it into Canva or Figma given that the majority of our clientele lack any design skills. I simply want to maximize the efficiency of our designs.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I'm looking to design more packaging, brand guides, and graphic assets of any sorts for different brands!
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
The ideal client would be someone collaborative, passionate, and one who infuses my designs into spatial spaces and tangible objects.
Q What is your rate?
A brand project generally costs $1800 or so, with some basic inclusions that can be modified to accommodate the clients' needs. The daily rate at our studio is $350. Shoot us an email so we can chat.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Shoot me an email or head on to www.crayonplug.com.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Ilham Alshahab, a Malaysia-based creative. I have seen her evolve into the creative that she is today, and I can genuinely say that she has developed a visual style that is completely her own: experiential, yet still digestible for the mass. I’m obsessed with how her brain works.
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Keeping my heart full of life!
This member profile was originally published in July 2022.