No Creative Career is Linear
Meet Raf, the Thanos of our ilovecreatives universe 🏆
From Squarespace Design Course and Shopify Course to Video Creator Course and Creative Copywriter Course, multi-talented creative Rafael (Raf) Lumang (He/They/She) is stacking skills like no other. An active member of our student community, Raf is the ultimate slashie: he is a Web Designer & Developer / Content Creator / Influencer Coordinator / ilovecreatives Star Student 😉.
We invited Raf to share how his expanded toolkit has impacted his creative journey. Read more to learn how he embraced new creative pursuits to create authentically, expand career opportunities, and evolve as a freelancer.
“I’m always hungry to learn and upskill so I joke about taking ilovecreatives courses like I’m Thanos.”
Raf’s Course Journey: Learning & Leveling Up
ILC: Hi Raf! Can you introduce yourself to our community?
Raf: Hi, I’m Rafael but you can call me Raf! I am genderfluid and originally from the foggier, more Filipino parts of The Bay. I moved to LA to pursue fashion and my creative endeavors shifted into video, design, and development. Now, I’m freelancing and doing a little bit of everything!
ILC: How did you start learning with us?
Raf: I started with Squarespace Design Course, trying to career-shift away from ecommerce, with no prior graphic design, web design, or coding knowledge. I had no idea how creative websites have become, so the technical learning curve was craazyyy. Opening up a console, and investigating how something exists on the screen, and then implementing it blew my mind. I used to think coding was reserved for a certain type of “smart” person, but there I was using HTML and CSS.
After the course, I started working with my artist friends and service based businesses, helping them imagine how they can exist online besides their Instagram. This course made me realize that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks and left me hungry to learn more. I was actually so hungry, I went off to learn Javascript too.
ILC: You took the Video Creator Course with Rachel Ngyuen next—what drew you to the course?
I have studied Rachel’s videos for so long and binged Puno’s vlogs that I thought, these women know something I don’t and I NEED TO KNOW.
This course broke me open and allowed me to create one of my favorite projects ever — The Smoking Gun. I used to make videos quietly, trying to use symbolism and music to convey my thoughts, but Rachel and Puno helped me find and use my voice by simply asking “What if you just said it?”
I’ll never forget during a creative coaching session with Rachel, she frustratingly told me to “stop being cool.” I mean it’s one thing to meet your idol, but it was a “One time, Regina George punched me in the face. It was awesome.” kind of moment. That wake up call really helped me let go and create something radically honest and vulnerable.
ILC: How does the Creative Copywriter Course fit into your creative trajectory?
Raf: I took the course because creative writing is so important to my work in ecommerce, social media, and marketing. I was curious to know how to write better compelling headlines, product descriptions, and ads. I found this course to be the most challenging because I felt so limited by my own vocabulary and was stuck in traditional school essay writing. But the course encourages you to relax into your own voice while iterating as much as you can until you find your favorite combination of words.
ILC: You also took the Shopify Course! What made you want to learn Shopify development?
Raf: With my background in fashion and e-commerce, I wanted my “old world” of customer service and shipping shoes and my “new world” of design and development to meet. Shopify Development was the sweet center of that intersection.
Everything overlapped, and all my experiences—Squarespace design, creative copywriting, plus my previous e-commerce experience—came to a point. Also, I was so curious to know why Shopify was the gold standard for online stores. Because of its demand, I’ve had the most client requests here and have worked with clothing lines, a beverage company, and a toy company.
ILC: Have you experienced other moments where your combined course learnings have supported you?
Raf: Despite my attempts at networking at local conventions and small business meet-ups, my greatest client magnet has actually been social media! I was like “I’ve created skincare and makeup content for other brands, why haven’t I made content for my own business?”
So, I took my Creative Copywriter skills and wrote hooks considering what website-curious people might be wondering: “How far can you get with Shopify’s default theme?” “Let’s build a demure and mindful Shopify site.” “How do we achieve a beachy website without being too literal?” “Let’s build a DJ website together”
I took screenshots of my client work, used some Video Creator skills to construct the videos, and posted them on IG Reels and TikTok. Soon, a web designer named, Anweih (most recently known for designing Zach Fox’s Google Sheet website), came across my TikTok and reached out, urgently needing a Shopify developer to get a TikTok Creator’s toy company’s website up in time for the holidays.
After a week of development, we went live and the site turned out beautifully! Soon after, the founder posted a video crediting all of us and shared how important it was to share your work online and put yourself out there!
ILC: On your portfolio site, you write that you help folks establish digital identities! As one of the newer additions to your skillset, how do your Shopify development services support this mission?
The slogan on my business card is “Connecting digital identities, from IRL to URL, for brands and creatives.” Sometimes the tangible product is so incredible that their website doesn’t seem totally up to par. My services take inspiration from the brand’s mission and their product’s vibe as I figure out ways to translate that on a screen.
Everything is considered, especially when ensuring my clients are able to edit their own site. Shopify allows me to adjust the User Interface, and I always provide tutorials and guides to empower my clients to control their site.
Founders, brands, and products evolve—so should their website.
ILC: Speaking of client work, your Shopify redesign and development for And Our is STUNNING. Walk us through your thoughts, feelings, and pain points and how you overcame them from working on this project!
Raf: After taking the Shopify Course, I knew I needed experience with a live, functioning store. I reached out to an online friend, Anthony, who owns a queer, femme dress shop and they graciously allowed me to redevelop their site with a few specific requests around motion and creative blog options.
Anthony often edits their site, so the challenge was: “How can I add enough visual flair within the bounds of what I just learned without overwhelming my client with how to update these new sections?”
Considering the soft photography, feminine dresses, and made-to-order processes, the design inspiration became so clear—scrapbooking. The art of collecting photos, inspirations, textures, and configuring them together on a sticky page led me to add a rotation option to images so they could be angled haphazardly, giving the site a human touch.
Internet Friends Forever 🫂🌐
ILC: What keeps you coming back to learn and create with ilovecreatives?
Raf: I come back to ilovecreatives every time because it’s really hard to fall asleep during an ILC course! These teachers have so much energy and passion in their lessons, and it’s all beautifully framed and designed with the ILC touch. No other online school feels as updated and tapped into the current industry as ILC.
Besides this, the access to the community is so important to me. I still attend co-working hours and catch up with Chelli and my classmates. Freelancing and creative work can feel isolating and kind of silly. But working alongside other creative students in the chat and sharing what we’re experiencing is really grounding.
It’s also really relieving to have the support of the teachers in your back pocket. Whenever I have a question I can’t find online myself, especially about freelancing and business, reaching out to them and asking questions or for feedback has been incredibly helpful.
Embracing the Slashie Lifestyle
ILC: What have you learned about yourself and your skills?
Raf: Girlllll, before I was filling out orders and sending out shoes from a Wordpress site. Now I’m developing Shopify sites!
I previously wished that I would come out of every course as a brand new person and relinquish everything I was before. Raf 2.0, 3.0, 4.0. But now, I can see how all my skills are connected and work together.
ILC: What draws you to the slashie lifestyle, and what advice would you give to someone trying to spread their creative slashie wings?
Raf: The slashie lifestyle has opened up new industries to me that I never thought I’d be able to tap into. While I pigeon-holed myself into fashion, I’ve actually worked with a beverage company and a toy company. It’s so random but so refreshing! It reminds me that I can be of service to more people than I think
My advice would be to take the job even if you’re only sure you can accomplish 70% of it. You and the rest of us are Googling and tinkering the other 30%!
Thanks for chatting, Raf 💖
We hope you’re feeling inspired by Raf’s story! At ilovecreatives, we believe that creatives can multitudes that don’t need to be mapped out in a linear trajectory. So if you’re ever feeling a little stuck in your career or creative path, it’s truly never too late to venture outside your bubble to learn something new (or pivot!).
And who says you have to make the leap alone? We gotchu. Join our course community and gain access to exclusive resources, freelancing advice, and engaged instructors. Explore our course directory, and see you in class! 🍎
