The Six Degrees Creative brand is all about connection. With the Connecting Creatives segment, the goal is to highlight creatives and entrepreneurs in our communities and share their journey. No matter the outlet or industry, it is important we support each other’s growth both professionally and personally. Together we can make being a creative or running a small business sustainable and successful.
This week we highlight the elegant designs and creations of Maura Geiselman of MG Design & Photography. Inspired by the city and people around her, Maura incorporates textbook design elements with a forward-thinking approach to create beautiful eye-catching pieces. Those skills translate directly to her photography where she has a keen eye for composition and editing. Check out some of her work and learn more about her creative journey below!
Read more about MG Design & Photography below and support her business by giving her a follow on Instagram, reaching out about a project, or by simply telling a friend!
Hi! Thank you for taking the time to be part of Connecting Creatives. Can you tell us more about your background and how you got started on your creative journey?
I have loved creating aesthetically appealing things ever since I was a kid. My family was always super creative and I was inspired by them from a young age. I think I realized my interest in design when I started creating scrapbooks in my spare time in middle school/high school. I was fascinated with layout and making my photos and text fit together in a visually interesting way. I got my first camera when I was 13 and loved how a photo could capture a moment in time before it was gone. Over the years I’ve enjoyed taking photos of landscapes, architecture, and animals. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania so there were a lot of beautiful sights to photograph around my hometown.
When I got to college, I declared Graphic Design as my major immediately, but I can’t say I fell right into it. I stumbled my way through my first two years at school and really struggled. At one point, I had a serious conversation with the head of the department, wondering if design was the right major for me. I stuck with it and by the middle of my junior year in my package design class, I was working on a beer 6-pack and something just clicked.
With the remaining year and a half of college, I was in the design lab working on improving my skills from 7 AM to 10 PM at night. I was absolutely fixated on honing my skills as a designer, and it has been that way ever since!
What keeps you engaged and passionate about your small business and creative endeavors?
Looking at content that other creatives have done always inspires me to become a better designer and photographer. I love chatting with fellow designers about techniques and strategies because I am constantly aiming to learn. I find that hand lettering on my iPad or in my sketch pad always keeps me excited, as well as exploring my city in order to find interesting content to photograph.
If you could give advice to your younger business self what would it be?
Have confidence in yourself and your abilities. Don’t compare yourself to others and focus on bettering your creative skills. Challenge yourself to think outside the box and expand your knowledge any way you can!
I feel like I also have a hard time being proud of my work, and accepting that a project is finished. I tend to continue working on projects even when they are “done”. I guess I’m a bit of a perfectionist!
What is a challenge you have faced as a creative/small business and how have you overcome it?
A challenge that I have faced is being stuck in a creative rut and taking the easy route when it comes to a design project. Sometimes it takes stepping back and finding a new spark of creativity in order to feel motivated and excited about it again.
What do you want people to take away from your small business?
I would like my work to be thought-provoking, and leave people with a positive reaction. I take a lot of pride in my craft, as I make sure every detail is polished and damn near perfect. I try to take the most boring subject matter and make it creatively stimulating. I hope that viewers can see that. That is a major purpose of graphic design - to bring life to otherwise bland topics.
What is the next milestone for you?
At some point in the future, I think it would be great to work for a creative agency and have the ability to produce design AND photography content. I would love to marry my two passions together in a career. Baby steps, though! I’m happy to be learning and growing in a field that I am so excited about.
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