Why Designers should become Content Creators

Hey Fun Gs,

I recently attended Creator Fest in London and it got me thinking...

Do designers need to become content creators in order to survive in today’s creative industry?

For me, the answer wasn’t even a question.

I’ve been sharing my digital fashion journey online for the past six years, and I genuinely don’t think my career would be where it is today if I hadn’t started posting.

When I first downloaded Marvelous Designer, I wasn’t thinking about building a personal brand. I wasn’t thinking about becoming a content creator either. I simply wanted somewhere to share my work. Somewhere to document my progress and hopefully connect with people who found digital fashion as fascinating as I did.

Back then, there really wasn’t much digital fashion content online.

In fact, I remember worrying that if I only posted digital fashion, people wouldn’t be interested because it was such a niche topic. Funny how quickly that changed.

A year later NFTs and the metaverse became the hottest topics on the internet and suddenly digital fashion was everywhere. And since I’d already spent months sharing my work consistently, people knew who I was when the industry started paying attention.

That’s how opportunities with Dell, Snapchat and Gucci came about. It’s how I eventually found myself on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. None of those opportunities came from pitching hundreds of emails. They came because someone had already seen my work online.

That was probably the biggest lesson for me. People can’t hire work they’ve never seen.

So when I headed to Creator Fest, I met and listened to creators with a million followers, creators with a thousand followers and creators who were only just starting out. What surprised me wasn’t their audience size. It was that they all had something they genuinely cared about talking about.

They had a point of view and they kept showing up. I think that’s where a lot of designers get stuck.

We spend years learning our craft but very little time learning how to communicate it. We assume the work will speak for itself, but most of the time people need context. They want to know why you made something, how you approached it, what inspired you and what you’ve learnt along the way.

That’s what keeps people coming back. Not perfection but connection.

A few things I’ve learnt from posting content:

One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that people won’t remember you if you disappear for months at a time. Consistency has always been more important than trying to create the “perfect” post. I usually aim to post once a week, although I know that can be difficult if you’re juggling a full-time job alongside your creative work.

Algorithms change, platforms evolve and sometimes they disappear altogether. That’s why I try to spread my content across different platforms rather than relying on just Instagram or TikTok. Most importantly, build an email list. Social media is borrowed land but your email community is something you actually own.

I like to think of my content as my shop window. It’s where people discover my work and get a feel for who I am. If they like what they see, they’ll naturally want to explore further, whether that’s working with me, joining Patreon or watching YouTube. Content isn’t just about getting views, it’s about opening doors to opportunities.

As designers, we sometimes think that our only pathway to jobs are working with agencies or studios. In this day and age, there are so many ways to make a living and making content is one of them.

So if you’re thinking of sharing your designs or process online, just do it. You have nothing to lose.

Let me know if you want to know how I strategise for my content online as a designer and I’ll be happy to write a post on it.

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★ Stephy Fung ★

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