Hello, I’m Ryan, graphic designer, and illustrator.
Growing up I loved to create; drawing, colouring, crafts, the lot! Moving into my teenage years, secondary school, the pen to paper and crafting stopped. I enjoyed graphic design, media, and all things that allowed for creativity on screen. After leaving school in 2009, I avoided both college and university, and got a job in a signage and print company, which allowed me to dabble in graphic design over the 11 years I worked there.
Cut to the summer of 2019 when I discovered the iPad Pro, and the world of digital illustration. The year following the discovery of digital illustration I fell back in love with drawing, and creating for myself, an escape from the chaos of life.
During my free time I began to create illustrations and artwork that I would buy, creating greetings card designs that I would choose for family and friends. I love designing using a bold, minimal style, with some fun, some colour and personality. I knew there would be others out there who were looking for something different. I began to get some amazing feedback for my design work online from creatives I admired, which gave me a much needed confidence boost and I decided to open up my Etsy shop after a long time of shelving the idea.
December 2020 arrived, as did a mental breakdown. Getting help with my depression and anxiety followed the breakdown, and I then chose to leave my job to put myself first; and put my passion, effort and enthusiasm into my own business. A quote I screen shotted back in the summer of 2020 suddenly really resonated; “When you start seeing your worth, you’ll stop seeing people who don’t”
As I started to build myself back up, I launched new products, made sales and reviews came in, simply put, they just made me smile! Comments like this started to silence the anxiety in my head. My products were making people smile, making people laugh, making a difference to their days. Every detail I worked hard to incorporate into my brand allowed it’s personality to shine.
- “a great card, just what I was looking for”
- “my boyfriend laughed his head off at it”
- “the humour and detail are wonderful”
- “love buying different cards with personality and it had bags of it”
- “This mug made her day. Thank you Ryan for the wonderful creation!”
Opening my shop and starting my brand Been Creating has allowed me to do more of what I love, freely creating designs and illustrations whilst growing in confidence and sending smiles across the county. Whether it’s a funny greetings card, a bold print for your best friends new home or a new mug as a “just because” treat for you; creating products and running my shop makes me smile! :)
