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Meet Niki Bornes

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Niki Bornes.

Niki, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started doing freelance graphic design work about six years ago, primarily doing small projects for friends or acquaintances and in my full-time marketing work. Like a lot of designers, I’m completely self-taught, and the more I did, the better I got, and the more online courses I sought out and took. I’ve also found a couple of really good design and marketing podcasts, which have helped me learn more about actually running a graphic design business.

Eventually, I realized, if I wanted it to be a business, I would have to make it so! About three years ago, I created a website and really started marketing myself and my work, primarily through social media, and that’s when I really started looking for and getting clients. Now, though I work full-time as a graphic designer outside of my own business, I still have several clients I create projects through my freelance work. Because I also foster kittens, I’ve even created a sub-brand of my business @denverkittens, which allows me to tie both of my passions (design and fostering) together and market both.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think one of the biggest challenges many designers (and probably other creatives) face is imposter syndrome. There’s always a feeling of self-doubt, wondering, “Am I good enough?” “Do I deserve this?”, especially when you see other people’s work and inevitably compare yourself. I am constantly working through feelings of insecurity when it comes to my work, and frankly, those are feelings I have learned to simply power through. Another challenge I, and other designers, often face is finding clients. I think that’s probably the number one question designers both get asked and wonder themselves when they’re freelance.

It all comes down to marketing – making sure my website is showing off my best work, making sure I’m promoting myself in a way that shows how I help the CLIENT and THEIR business. Since many clients come from friends, family, and word of mouth, I also make sure I tell everyone I’m a graphic designer, so if they ever need work or hear of someone who does, I come to mind first. Another challenge can often be time management. Between the full-time job, freelance work, and my kitten fostering, time can be quite limited! My aim is always to be able to do all three while maintaining some semblance of work/life balance.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
In a nutshell: I make businesses look good. By creating marketing collateral like business cards, flyers, logos, brand guides, digital banner ads, and more, I help businesses reach their target audiences to gain more customers and create brand awareness. My favorite projects and those I’m most proud of are always logos and invitations because I think there’s a unique level of creativity with each.

With logos and brand guides, whether it’s a refresh or a brand new company, I love helping businesses find and navigate their unique part of the market and start to tell their story. I think my 7+ years of marketing in addition to my design background, allows me to focus on marketing strategy to look not only at design but how the design is working for the business overall.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I don’t know that I’ve reached a level of success yet that I’m looking for. I love making clients happy and successful, and I’m happy when they are, but for me, I think I’ve still got a lot of learning and growing to do. I would love to do freelance full-time someday and really grow my business into more of boutique design agency. I’d also love to get to a point where I’m helping nonprofits grow and succeed through better design and marketing. If I got to that point, would that mean I’d finally reached success? Probably not 🙂 I’d still have yet more to do.

Pricing:

  • Logo Design ($300 and up)
  • Branding ($300 and up)
  • Print Design ($55 and up)
  • Digital Design ($55 and up)

Contact Info:

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