Meet designer, illustrator, and hand-lettering artist Sonia Yim.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Describe the city you’re living in and what it’s like to live there.

I live in Dublin (Bay Area, Northern California). It’s actually a pretty small city (comparing to San Francisco) and I love here as there are so many parks and greens and I actually love the less busy environment.

I would describe my style to be clean, bold and positive.

 

What is the best and worst thing about living in your city?

The best thing is easy access to nature (parks and lots of greens). However, the downside is as it’s a pretty small city, there aren’t many local meetups and workshops for artists.

Give us 3 words that describe what it’s like to be a creative in your city.

I’m not sure how to answer this one. To describe what it’s like to be a creative in general (not really specific to a city) are: passionate, fun, and free.

How did you start your career in art?

Ah, this is a long one, but long story short, I actually have a different background — I never went to art school or have a design education/ background. I was a full-time working mom (as an accountant) and decided to be a stay-at-home-mom after having a second child. While I was staying home, I had a mini-identity crisis and started to draw and learn Adobe Illustrator as a hobby. That’s how I started art! After that, I practiced my skills through participating in contests (99designs) and later fell in love with illustration and lettering (through participating in #HOMwork challenge (a prompt challenge started by Lauren Hom (homsweethom)).

At the beginning, no one really thought (including myself) that I would be working as a creative. It was simply a hobby to express my feelings (and using art as a therapy).

Were the people around you supportive of your decision on working as a creative?

At the beginning, no one really thought (including myself) that I would be working as a creative. It was simply a hobby to express my feelings (and using art as a therapy).

Now, my husband and my kids are super supportive! 🙂

What are some goals and ambitions you have for your future work?

My goals are to expand my client lists and write a book (I have a passion project called @Universe_Buddy which I want to turn into a book). Further, my goal is to grow my audience on my YouTube channel.

If you could collaborate with any person in the world who would it be?

Oh my goodness, I have so many on the list! But on top of my list would be: Lauren Hom, Lisa Congdon, and Andy J Pizza.

How would you describe the women around you?

The women around me are strong and independent.

The women around me are strong and independent.

Were there any local female creatives that you looked up to when you were growing up?

Although I have so many female creatives I highly look up to now, I don’t really have any while growing up as I never thought I would be a creative myself nor did I have any interest in that area.

Are there any challenging aspects of being a female in your industry?

Truthfully, I can say if I have personally experienced any nor do I personally think there are any challenging aspects as I’m still new to this industry (I’ve started art about 3 years ago and only recently (about 1 year ago) I’ve considered being a creative as a career.

Whether young or old, I would say you can be and do anything if you have the passion for it.

Do you have any advice to young women who are aspiring to work in your field?

Whether young or old, I would say you can be and do anything if you have the passion for it. Don’t get discouraged because you are rejected (for a project or a job). Just keep going 🙂 Although your skills and talent matter to a certain extent, what really matters is the consistency and willingness to keep going.

Photos courtesy of Sonia Yim.