In this episode, we explore how bringing personal projects into our business routines fosters creativity, joy, and growth. Jo and I discuss stepping outside typical projects to ignite new inspirations and how personal interests, such as spirituality and energy work, influence our professional work. From designing intuitive journals to creating community-building projects and managing other creative projects, the conversation highlights the importance of playfulness and exploration in sustaining creativity. We also share insights into our creative family backgrounds and how these influences shaped our careers and passion for continuous learning and evolving.

• The Importance of joy in business
• Why exploring new creative projects is essential for creatives
• How spirituality has helped Jo bring her passions into her business
• Personal passion projects we’re loving
• How our upbringing influenced our creative journey
• What we’re looking forward to

You can find us on Apple Podcast, Podbean, and Spotify.

#followyourbrandjourney

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TRANSCRIPT:

Donaji: Today we're going to talk about how to create more joy in your business through personal projects because we felt like we wanted to bring in more playfulness and more creativity in our business. And there's a lot that we can discuss here. 

So I'm excited to dive in because I know that I've been working on some stuff. And you've also been also wanting to work on some stuff. This year, that's something that I really wanted to focus on, to bring in some of that effort, like really put in time to focus on this. Whatever that may be.

Jo: Yeah, I'm super excited about this episode as well, because I think it has been on our mind and also in our conversations for probably the last few catch ups that we've done. We've always talked about the things that were bringing us joy. I think there's a lot of reasons why we naturally felt that way; a call to do more of the things that brought us joy. 

And it wasn't because we didn't like our business or we didn't like the projects we were working on, but I think for creatives and I think for most business owners, we get to a…and this is just like my own personal experience, but I get to a certain plateau in terms of doing the same sort of work; doing the same types of projects or similar types of projects, because they're the things that get shown on our portfolio. 

Sometimes in order to bring in new energy or to stretch ourselves creatively, I need to step outside of those projects and step outside of my business and look at things from a completely different perspective.

And by doing these joyful passion projects, that has been my little portal to exploring what lies beyond my creativity and also my creative world expands exponentially as a result of that. 

So, it's been really lovely the last few months to do more of that and be more aware and conscious of that creativity expanding.

Donaji: Yeah, I think too, it's such a great opportunity to try things that you don't necessarily always get to try, because as designers, we're not artists, we're always trying to create solutions for our clients. 

So it's not like we get to do art for the sake of art. It has to work and it has a function and we're answering a problem or we're fixing or solving a problem through the design that we create. 

And so a lot of times, although yes, what we create comes from our creative brains and skillset. We don't necessarily get to try to explore something that we've never really done before just for the sake of exploration or having fun.

We can do that and still be within those boundaries, but we're talking about going above and beyond just what we have to solve for our clients. I think it's a great opportunity for us to explore, like I said, things we've never done before, but also build on our skills and discover what else we can do.

I particularly love doing this, embarking in creative design and specifically the design project I'm talking about in this moment, and push myself to try something that I've never done before, like trying new styles or approaches. And I think it's just like you said, it really fuels more creativity.

And sometimes you realize what you actually really do like to do and how you gravitate towards certain things and what keeps coming back. I think that's interesting to see as well; I've noticed that for myself. 

So what, what creative projects or what inspires you to try something different?

Do you do that? Do you try to push yourself to try something different in design or maybe it's stepping outside of design as well, into other fields, artistic fields, creative fields that also fuel your design eye or inspiration.

Jo: Yeah, I think it's a natural desire that I have for upskilling and learning something new. I feel like I bring that into my projects each time where I am always building upon what I've learned along the way, and bringing in something that is a little bit different. And I really love that, because it keeps things fresh and it means that over time, I can see the progression of my work, and hopefully my clients can see the same as well; they can see that journey develop. 

I love being able to see the result of that when it comes to the work that I create for my clients. In order to do that, I think the things that I've been doing recently, that have really fueled that joy for creativity and exploration again, have actually come from so many different aspects of my life.

There's a lot of work that I'm doing around spirituality and energy work that I have always been so passionate about, but for a while, I dipped my feet in more lightly than I did in the past. I was completely submerged before and then I came out of that and now I feel like I'm going back in.

And I think with spiritual work and energy work, it always feels like I learn and I integrate, I learn and I integrate. So I kind of go back in and out of the pool a little bit. And then this time round, I think the spiritual work has felt more potent in terms of bringing that energetic work back into the business in some way, which has been really inspiring.

And it's just like some of the discussions that I've had with my past clients or my current clients, there's always been this synergy or real deep understanding around how important energetic businesses are. And so that has really fueled me to look at the branding process, my branding frameworks, and also the packaging frameworks from a place where there is more energetic magic that comes from that. 

For me, I've always wanted it to feel expansive, whatever the work I do, it needs to feel expansive and energetic, but I'm excited to take that to the next level. It feels like there is something really powerful that is going to be infused into the work.

And I can't really tangibly put my finger on it yet, but it feels like there's some energetic channeling that's happening, which is really powerful. So that's the energy side. 

Donaji: I was going to ask you before you move on to something else, what that actually means. When you mean you want to bring this energy into the work, from your spiritual interests, how does that actually work? From bringing in spiritual practices and beliefs and values into something that translates to a tangible thing, especially since you do packaging, but also I'm assuming it's like part of your process.

How does that translate in terms of creativity from something that you practice and you're interested in to something that you actually do.

Jo: I think for me it's around deepening into client's main point of difference, but not just from a marketing or strategy side of things where they pick up their niche and all of that kind of stuff. But it's like, what is it? 

When we talked about this last time, how do you feel someone's point of difference?

Because we spoke about how that is so intangible when you work with someone or you purchase a product from a particular brand and the product founder has a wonderful story and experience to share, how does that come across in such a unique way? 

It's an energetic blueprint that people feel, but they can't necessarily put their finger on.

When I do more of that spiritual work, when I'm really deepening into the energy work, I'm able to see that much more clearly. I can pick out the things that feel like it's just there for marketing; the traditional branding practices, the kind of like stuff that we see in the 3d world that makes up our strategies.

But then on top of that, I can see the things that really need to be leveraged that aren't so obvious. So for one of my clients, my client Ezzie, like if you meet her, she has this really beautiful sparkly energy. It's just like walking into an aura of like diamonds just sparkling around her. That's how she feels. 

It's such a beautiful aura and it's such a beautiful energy. And I think it's tapping into someone's their very subtle energies in that way and being able to bring it out. I feel like I'm still at the start of this work because I feel like I've always been able to do this to a certain extent where I can intuitively see that, but I think now there's something there around this has to be the next level of my work; like that needs to be the thing that has to come out and be the forefront and all the strategy stuff, for me, it almost feels like secondary in a way, it feels like that's more supportive. 

I'm still like mulling on this and musing on this. So it's not fully fully developed as yet, but there's still something definitely there.

Donaji: I really love that when you, when you're interested in something, how that can help evolve what we do. And what I mean is like when you have something that's like not necessarily in the same space, but it can like influence our work and in turn help us differentiate ourselves, because we have all these other like interests and experiences that are seeping into what we do and I love that you said that you don't know what this is going to turn into, but you're like in that transition or process of figuring out how that looks like for you going forward or in the future.

But I really love that because it's just part of how do we transform or even evolve our businesses depending on whatever season that we're in or phase of our lives. I think that's really beautiful because you get to, in a way, really see people in such a different way and incorporate some of that intangible quality or trait that they bring to their own business.

And that's so personal and feels very intimate, which I really love.

Jo: Yeah. I really love it as well. I love the fact that as you mentioned, adding our own interests outside of strictly design or branding or creativity allows us to broaden the perspective of our work and adds further nuance and layers into it, which makes it even more unique and potent and special.

So tell me a little bit more about your passion projects. What have you been working on? What has filled your life with joy and inspired creativity recently?

Donaji: I've always wanted to create something that was for community building, or highlighting the community that I've been part of and the people that I know, all the connections that I've made over the past few years. And I had this idea like last year of creating this publication for really highlighting stories and my clients and voices of women of color here.

So I've been working on that for the past few weeks. It's taking longer than I wanted it to take, but I'm excited about this because that has been lately an outlet for, like I said, just trying something different and also putting my voice in it. A lot of times, you know, when we're creating work for other people, our identities are not there.

And so this is really fun because it's almost like branding a project with my own voice cause I'm bringing all these people together and I'm really showcasing some fun things. And it's really a small little project that I've been wanting to do for a long time. So I'm really excited about it.

I don't have any really big vision for it, it’s literally just wanting to share some stories and for people to kind of get to know each other through this thing. We'll see how it comes out. It'll come out in probably the next month or so. And then the other thing was I've been wanting to open up a shop for so long.

Jo: This is so exciting as well. Both these projects are so exciting.

Donaji: I kept sort of pushing it off. I mean, it's really hard, right? When you're busy, it's hard to put time aside to create something else. That's going to take up your time. And so I've been kind of slowly working on all of these little things when I do have the time. I said, I'm just going to create a pin because I think it would be nice to create it for a client gift, you know, and I'm just going to make some.

And then I made it and I loved it and I did it so quickly that I didn't even really think about it. I wasn't overthinking anything; it just kind of happened and so I ordered them and I completely fell in love with them because they're super cute. And then I thought oh I should open up a shop and like to make more because it's so fun. 

So I want to create a little shop, that's like little pieces of merch to start. I'm just doing pins focused around gardening and plant loving people. It's such a exciting distraction from my regular work that it makes it fun to really think about the possibilities. I'm also trying not to think too far ahead with it or overthink it because then it just becomes too big of a project and what I really want to focus on is really playfulness and bringing in something that feels doable that I can dive into and maybe spend a weekend, one day to create like a couple of different designs.

So yeah, I think just bringing in other interests into what I do, kind of like what you were saying and then just doing it for fun. I'm not trying to replace my income or anything like that out of this. I think a lot of times to me, it seems that when people take time to create something out of passion for fun, whether it's a collaborative project or not, oftentimes it can end up in something else, something bigger. But it, it, if you think about it too much, I feel like it loses that sort of magic that comes from like this organic, concept. If you think about it too much, it feels too structured, too much of a business idea. 

But I think if you come with it open, with creativity and playfulness, you never know where it could lead. It could go nowhere or it could be something bigger or just stay as is; like something fun and something that you do just for fun.

Jo: I love that and I think that's the really important message around this is that if you are doing something that is like a passion project to create more joy, then you don't necessarily need to be super strategic about everything. It doesn't have to have a goal attached. 

Everything is so open and the possibility of exploration and creating just because it brings you that feeling of joy is the goal of the project. So much comes out of that because I feel like when we're working in our businesses, we're all often thinking, how does this have to, how does this make sense strategically in our business, how does this go back towards either, you know, more sales, more clients, more revenue. It feels like it's so tied to metrics, a lot of the time, if we're thinking about business strategies. Whereas this is just about injecting joy and playfulness and creativity and curiosity back into our daily work.

So that whatever comes from that potentially inspires the next project. And for me, I feel like it has always allowed me to zoom out of my business to get a bigger perspective. And I am often reminded when I'm creating from this place, I'm often reminded about what's really important in my business.

It's not the metrics of success. Sometimes it gets so hung up on that kind of stuff that it feels so overwhelming and it clouds my vision and judgment, but being able to play it from the space is a return to our inner child and it allows me to see that bigger vision so much more clearly.

It allows me to find clarity because it's like a meditative practice. I think we just don't prioritize it enough because we're often thinking about all the other things that we have to do next in our business, all the things on our to-do list, the emails, all that kind of stuff that it's a nice reminder for both of us.

When we have these conversations, it reminds me definitely to prioritize it more and make more space for it in my work.

Donaji: Yeah, what you said about, we're always functioning in this structure of having to respond to our clients. So, I think it's really important. I think it's something that definitely needs to be prioritized as a creative person. You have to step outside of that thing in order to find inspiration elsewhere, because once we're too in it sometimes we can feel burned out.

Or if we're always looking at the same kind of information, inspiration, it just feels very repetitive like nothing is new. And I think when you explore other paths or interests, that things can be triggered and you can start integrating different ideas and concepts into your work.

Because of that, you can grow when you can evolve as a designer or as a creative person. I've always been somebody who's always interested in different art forms and crafts and things. I love doing things with my hands.

And I think that that's really helped me, not necessarily in what I do for work, I think where I felt it the most is that it has helped me the most is that it allowed me to be creative in a different way. So my only creative outlet is not really  reliant on my work. I'm not forced to be creative only through my client work.

I can express myself in different ways. And I think that's really important as a person who does this kind of thing. So really making the time to look at all kinds of inspiration and putting yourself in situations where you can find new things that are so different from what you normally do is really good for our creative brains.

Jo: I think, for me, it's around the spiritual work that I'm doing has been really powerful and fun and explorative. And then I'm also really enjoying the practice of life drawing. I've been really enjoying that with one of my friends. We go every month or so. And it's just like little things. It's just like for that two hours, I don't really have any goals or desires around what that brings. And I get to choose different colors, whether they work or not. That just is part of the play. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is so fun. I used to do this when I was little. Maybe not life drawing, but I was always drawing and experimenting with combinations that didn't work because I feel like during that process, I'm like, oh, this is something interesting or different. I didn't think about this texture or the style or I never looked at a form from this perspective and it completely opens my eyes again. It's definitely something that I want to keep on my list for the rest of this year and of course beyond this year as well. It’s a treasured ritual.

Donaji: That reminds me to ask you. Did you grow up in a creative family? How was creativity encouraged in your home as a child?

Jo: I grew up in a very creative family.My parents are both creatives in a sense; they're both teachers, but my dad taught art and design. So his specialty is like art history and drawing and my mom does calligraphy and Chinese painting. So she's been doing that for many, many years.

Donaji: How come you didn't do art?

Jo: I think I went down the standard path of maths and science, cause my mom was also a science and maths teacher. And so I was naturally good at thinking about things in organized ways and in a structural sense as well. So it makes sense that I'm a designer because I'm able to bring in both elements of my brain.

But I think in terms of my first love and obsession, it would have had to be drawing and my dad would often bring me new stationery or pens or pencils or papers. He would teach me different ways to sketch or render; little techniques that he had learned along the way, he would always teach me.

And I remember even when I was like five years old, he would show me all his art books and like, talk about the shading styles of Degas and look at Picasso and look how he's doing his lines and contrast this with Matisse. It was always something I was surrounded by as a kid.

And so I've always felt this natural affinity towards art. But interestingly, I never thought that I could be an artist. It just didn't suit the way that I problem solved or looked at the world. I was really structured unless I was like Mondrian. 

Donaji: Grids and grids!

Jo: Yeah, grids and grids!

So it'd be like in that genre. What about you? How did you grow up in terms of creativity in your house?

Donaji: Yeah, actually very similarly. It's funny because you were talking about, like how you went from not thinking about being an artist, to how design is like a perfect combination. And I felt exactly the same. My family is also a very artistic family. My dad's side of the family, they all paint, draw, sing; all kinds of art practices.

My parents always encouraged music and art and my dad also, cause he's been, he still paints. He's like 82 and he's still painting and drawing and stuff. I don't know why, but I've also never felt like I could be an artist, like to make a living as a career. I knew that I loved to draw and I love to paint but it just never occurred to me.

I think that I was thinking that wasn't something that I felt like was going to be viable for me, because it seemed so unstable. How are you going to make money off of being an artist? And I never had that example of, like, somebody who was making a living only doing that.

Here, I didn't have that. When I decided to do design, it felt the same way like what you said, it just felt like a perfect marriage of being creative and also having the structure, like how our brains work; being very type A. But then also, being able to create something that you get to play with, like design.

And so, yeah, it was perfect for me. It just really made sense for my brain. I need structure and order and organization. And I like having those boundaries, like not having any boundaries, I would feel completely lost. So I think design is just such a perfect solution.

Jo: Yeah, absolutely. I think for me as well, it's the perfect marriage of two loves and how we naturally see the world.

Donaji: All right. So to close off I like to know what are you looking forward to in terms of like something new? Maybe not new in that you've never done it before, but something new in that you're intentionally taking the time to do, to learn or absorb or make that you're excited about.

Jo: I think the next thing that I would like to explore, aside from getting better at life drawing and like just building up that skill would be a project where I go back to the intuition journaling templates that I created many, many, many years back. It still feels relevant. For a long time, it was like, oh it kind of feels like it's moving in a very different direction to my business, but at the same time, I've always felt somewhat deeply connected to it as well. 

So whilst it might not be an offering for my design clients, it feels really important to me. Client work has in the past, just taken over. And so I would love to return back to that. I guess my dream would be to have some sort of stationary shop where I'm selling physical journaling books or journaling workbooks, not as in depth or hardcore as the intuition journal, cause I think that's a really in-depth resource, but a new product line that could be more like a diary. 

I have so many diaries and at the moment I have two diaries that are used on a daily basis to plan out my week and plan out my day. And the reason why I need both is because my brain likes a bit of column A and a little bit of B. They have different spreads so there's one where I have more free thinking space and it's more expansive, but it has like journaling prompts. And the other one is really structured with time stamps.

And so I'm like, if that were to merge into one thing, that would be like the perfect way for me to operate. So I would love to create some sort of intuitive, energetic journal, which is all about vision creation and helping people manifest their vision. So that would be like the dream project that I would like to focus on next.

Donaji: That sounds amazing. I can't wait for you to get into it. Let’s go!

Jo: Yeah. I need to sing my teeth in. I know. Totally. What about you?

Donaji: Yeah. So for me, what am I looking forward to? I think,

I feel like I tell you this all the time, but I feel like two things. I'm really excited about this shop. Because pins are so cute!

Jo: Oh my god, they are so cute!

Donaji: And they're such a great gift, you know, like who doesn't want to get a pin? And so that gets me excited because I feel like the possibilities for a pin are endless. 

And then gardening I think gardening really has helped me. It has really been a big creative outlet for me. It's been interesting because; what I can do in our yard is not a lot. I have to be very strategic about how to make things work and so that's really fun to me to look at this problem that I have and then find ways around: how to bring in more native flowers and plants, how to bring in more pollinators, what am I gonna do with all these bugs that are eating my plants. 

So it's been such a fun project, cause it's every few months you learn something new. So problem solving for that; it's been really fun to like figure it out. Yeah. I went from somebody who had bamboo and rosemary and succulents dying, which are supposed to be like the most hearty, like easier plans to look after.

Jo: My rosemary didn't make it.

Donaji: I know, I know. To like somebody whose growing stuff that we're eating every single day, like a couple times a day. So that's been really, really fun. 

Jo: I love seeing your photos; all your chamomile that you harvested today and all the vegetables that you harvested. It's so inspiring because my garden doesn't look like that at all. And I'm like, no.

Donaji: But you're in a different season too.

Jo: I know, I know we're going into winter, but still I love the organic natural elements of your garden. Like these like beautiful pathways. Oh, but it's so lovely. It's so abundant and lush. And I love when you were panning through your garden to show me. And you were like, show me your garden.

And I'm like, I just need to wait for my seedlings to stop dying. And then I could show you like the plants that I bought.

Donaji: Yeah, I mean that that's what mine looks like in the winter. Thankfully we're in a place where you can pretty much grow greens like all year round. So I'm so grateful for that because you still have stuff to do. But anyway, those are the bigger projects, the ongoing Projects. 

We hope that you like this episode and that it gives you a little bit of inspiration to figure out what kind of creative outlet you can tap into to help you refuel your creativity, whatever that may be.

And we'll see you next time.