After freelancing at various agencies and struggling to find a position at one she loved, Olivia Chen decided to create her own, founding Studio Chenchen with her husband Sam in 2018. Spending time at these agencies schooled Olivia in the strengths and weaknesses of how various businesses operate and informed her own practice when starting Chenchen.
Initially, Olivia continued to freelance part-time while the studio took off, which helped her to balance the financial risks being a start-up. Bringing in a copywriter then consolidated the studio, shifting from freelancer-based-projects into a fully functioning design business.
Many of Chenchen’s beautifully crafted projects begin from a fundamental starting point of strategy and tone of voice, before involving the input of outside collaborators. Working this way, Olivia describes her studio as: “the sweet spot between an agency and a freelancer”.
Interestingly, Olivia found she faced more overt sexism when freelancing than when running her own business. Further, the positive attention Olivia has received as an Asian female founder indicates the rarity of people like her within the industry. As a non-native English speaker, experiencing feeling different has helped Olivia to approach projects with more cultural sensitivity. Olivia tells DesignbyWomen, “I feel that in this industry where your work means everything, good work will always be celebrated regardless of your skin colour; it is the opportunities that are hard to come by”.
We caught up with Olivia to find out more about her experiences as a woman founder, setting up a design studio and key things she’s learnt along the way.
You’ve worked in a number of different places, roles, and studios during your career. Can you tell us a bit about how these experiences led you to found your own studio?
It wasn’t on my agenda to found my own studio until I moved to Sydney. I simply couldn’t get into the studios that I loved. I had many interviews and some of the creative directors I met really encouraged me to think bigger than freelancing, suggesting instead that I think about opening my own studio. In the end, I decided to give it a go.
I have always observed how the studios and agencies that I worked for handled the business side of things — how proposals were structured, how they billed and quoted clients, how they presented to clients and so on. Initially I thought this would help me with freelancing on the side, as I had always done freelance work alongside my full-time roles. I feel that each place I worked at had its own strengths and shortcomings, so I picked up things from those experiences what works best for me, and now implement those lessons in my own business.
I worked at a lot of different studios/agencies and could never seem to stay put – the longest job I had was 2 years.
“I realise now that if you can’t find your perfect workplace, then you maybe you should create your own!”
What was the initial process of setting up Studio Chenchen and were there any key challenges you overcame?
I was very cautious about taking a huge financial risk, taking a leap of faith. Despite this, I quit my full-time job and started to freelance around different agencies in Sydney. I also took on teaching part-time. I started with freelance work at other studios four days a week, leaving me with Friday and the weekend for my own freelance clients and to set up the studio. As my client-base grew, I started to minimise my work at other studios and then I quit freelancing as I had enough clients for my own practice.
The first challenge was to figure out all the tax issues: how to set up a company, GST (Goods and Services Tax in Australia) etc. I have always been a sole trader, so it was a bit complicated when I switched to a ‘Pty’ (Proprietary Limited Company). Accountants help: use them!
The challenge was then how to pitch to clients not as a freelancer, but as a studio. I decided to do a complete website revamp and hire a professional copywriter to help me come up with ways to introduce Studio Chenchen. I also decided to partner up with my husband, who has always helped me with copywriting and strategy anyway.
What is your studio ethos and how would you describe the creative approach you bring to each project?
We always start with brand strategy and tone of voice first, no matter how small the project is. I’m not afraid to do something that is outside of my skillset if that is what the brand needs, so I bring in the right collaborators to the project if there is something I can’t do myself. But I still need to creative direct and manage the project.
The fact that we work with so many collaborators outside of the studio is what makes us not just a one-woman-workshop. It’s almost as though we function in the way a real agency would; I just creative direct the whole project with illustrators, website designers and animators. The only difference is that none of these people work onsite with me. We all work globally and join forces to put out a project that really is the best of all of us. Eventually, the clients get who we are and appreciate why we are different. We’re in the sweet spot between working with an agency and working with a freelancer.
I give a lot of freedom to the people I collaborate with. I am not a micro-manager or control freak. I give my collaborators a general brief, some references, maybe even some style guides, but I always ask them to “surprise me”. If they end up with something that’s even better than I imagined, then I consider it a successful collaboration.
“I give my collaborators a general brief, some references, maybe even some style guides, but I always ask them to “surprise me”. If they end up with something that’s even better than I imagined, then I consider it a successful collaboration.”
How has the studio evolved to where you are now and have there been any pivotal moments?
At first, I was thinking more like a freelancer. I would stick to my comfort zone, worked on my own and wasn’t willing to offer clients services that weren’t within my personal expertise. Then one day, I proposed to a client some people who I wanted to collaborate with to take the project further. The feedback was so positive — clients just want someone who can solve their problem.
When I realised that we could do bigger and better things, I started to change our approach completely. We now create proposals like an agency, with suggested collaborators listed and a more holistic service. It’s very transparent, with everything itemised. I found that once I made this shift, clients trusted me more and stopped asking me for discounts. Every item in the scope of work is listed with a price tag on it. Clients can take down some items if they want to save money, but most of the time they don’t.
Being very clear about money and being comfortable talking about it up front is a game changer. Having a detailed proposal helps me to do that.
“Being very clear about money and being comfortable talking about it up front is a game changer. Having a detailed proposal helps me to do that.”
Can you tell us about any favourite projects you’ve worked on and why they’re important to you?
Any project that allows me to push the boundaries a little bit is my favourite project 🙂 I guess I don’t have a favourite project, I only have favourite clients. These are the clients that really put their trust in me and with whom friendships develop that go from formal to personal. I don’t do hourly rates, so I don’t record the amount of time I spend on a project. If I feel respected and valued by my client, I naturally spend more time on them and want to go the extra mile. Each project becomes like my own business for a few months when I am working on it.
What type of clients do you usually work with and where do you find them?
They’re usually small businesses or start-ups at the beginning of their journey, and most of them find us through word of mouth or Instagram (no kidding).
Have you faced any specific challenges being a woman designer and now studio founder?
That’s a tough question. Personally, I faced more challenges and overt sexism when I was working for other people. I know how hard it can be for a young female designer starting out. I remember that when I was working in other agencies, I never felt as though the Creative Director opportunity at a big agency was there for me. I don’t think many women join a big agency and immediately feel like the Creative Director role is theirs to grab. I tend to see female Creative Directors are more common where they have founded a company themselves.
Being a female founder has actually led to a lot of positive attention. People want to know how I did it and seem curious about what it is to be an Asian female founder. While this is good for me, it’s definitely a reflection of how rare we are in the industry.
I find that my female clients feel most comfortable with me, that they can be themselves with another female. But I also have a lot of male clients who really respect me, and with whom I’ve formed a trusting relationship. I can only think of one or two incidents where I think there was a trust issue because I was a female, and I think these were subconscious, not deliberate.
“People want to know how I did it and seem curious about what it is to be an Asian female founder. While this is good for me, it’s definitely a reflection of how rare we are in the industry.”
Has being a woman of colour impacted your career?
I do feel that I get a lot of attention for being an Asian female founder, and this is positive. That said, being in that role comes with a burden. There are times when I haven’t felt comfortable being seen as a “role model” for Asian female designers and unsure of the DMs I get from a lot of young ladies who are from similar backgrounds to me. But still, I answer every one of them because I understand why they feel the need to seek help and advice. There are many hurdles that a new immigrant like me has to overcome. Language and cultural differences are big barriers to overcome to fit in, let alone thrive in a new environment.
Being a non-native English speaker, I am still self-conscious about my accent. Especially when I feel that Asian accents aren’t celebrated as “cool foreign accents” like French or Italian. The experience of being different has helped me to approach my projects in a more culturally sensitive manner or at least to see things from a different angle.
I feel that in this industry where your work means everything, good work would always be celebrated regardless of your skin colour; it is the opportunities that are hard to come by.
As a creative business owner and founder, do you have any thoughts on how we can counteract the gender imbalance in the design industry?
Movements like MeToo, Time’s Up, Ladies Wine and Design, and Design by Women are definitely helping to shift perspectives. Gender issues in design weren’t really talked about when I started design in NYC. Recognising the huge gender inequality that has been here so long is important – once we see and recognise it, we can change the system.
As I mentioned, I’ve noticed that a lot of female designers have founded their own company out of frustration with their lack of progress elsewhere. That said, going out on your own is – not everyone is in a position to do it.
The system really does need to change, and not just in branding and design. A key and obvious change is still, I think, how we balance career and family responsibilities. If we didn’t have to make a choice between career progression and having a family, I think we would definitely see more female Creative Directors in big agencies.
“…I’ve noticed that a lot of female designers have founded their own company out of frustration with their lack of progress elsewhere. That said, going out on your own is – not everyone is in a position to do it.”
What does your day-to-day typically involve?
My day is really flexible, one of the perks of working for yourself. I usually work from 9am to 6pm but I don’t have set hours. This probably sounds amazing at first, but it sometimes means I’m working from 5pm to 3am. Having control of my time allows me to do a lot of things that I didn’t have time to do when working for someone else — like yoga in my lunch break or visiting my acupuncturist.
I generally feel much healthier since starting my own studio but perhaps more importantly, this way of working just feels natural to me. My work has benefited from this freedom of time. I’m free to spend more time on a project if I want to and if I want to work in the middle of the night when I am at my most creative, I can.
While my hours are loose, my output is pretty regimented. I have structured goals and to-do lists, and I make sure that I tick those off by the end of every week.
What are you working on right now?
I’m so lucky as I’m always working on different and diverse projects. Right now, I have a yoga clothing brand, a law firm, a will-generation service, and a hot sauce brand!
Do you have any words of advice for women and under represented creatives just starting their career in the design industry?
First, stop doubting yourself! Second, if you can’t get what you want from your current job, then do something outside of work to keep you creatively stimulated. And third, do not let the grind kill your passion!
Finally, I can also say that in my experience, speaking up is part of being professional and it will gain you more respect. I remember being a junior designer and feeling that I was being disrespected. I debated with myself for the longest time about whether to say something or not. I was afraid that I would “rock the boat”. When I did share my reflections with my superiors, they took it very well and it changed how I was treated. I think they respected me for doing it and for how I went about it.