Meet Edwin Jean-Baptiste | Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Edwin Jean-Baptiste and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Edwin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The short honest answer is: freedom. I been hustling through my craft since I was a kid – from selling drawings of DBZ characters to kids at school to freelancing making party flyers for entertainment groups & mixtape covers for underground rappers in college. I learned early that when you have so much skills but your back is against the wall and you wake up to rejection on the daily, you forced to start your own thing. Everyone is one idea away from freedom. A lot of brands come up that way. I never seen this as a full time career though. I’m still not full time. I was always this person that never wanted to be pigeonholed and controlled even though I know how to play the game. But all in all i just wanted to create, produce a language and see my ideas come to life. That sole way of thinking birthed this path.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Im a graphic designer / digital creator. I’ve freelance many different mediums but I specialize in cover art direction for the music entertainment industry. My style is very versatile and it’s synonymous to my taste level which is art, fashion, music, pop culture & all the nerdy, miscellaneous stuff. I’m still figuring out my signature but my closest style is to a photo collage. Photoshop is my best friend. I started learning graphic design in 10th grade but 2012 is when I enrolled in college for design and that’s when I started getting my feet wet freelancing. I couldn’t find any work study so I made my first party flyer for this fraternity and word got out about me from there. I built my portfolio since then but I didn’t take my brand seriously until i finished college in 2016 when I actually had time to focus and rebrand. 2017 is where I landed my first couple of accomplishments – from my first official single cover art for rap artist A-Boogie to co-creative directing a pop up shop designing merchandise for the team of the late Chinx Drugz to celebrate his life. Same summer, I started designing & selling my own vintage rap tees. Since then, I’ve landed contract gigs for companies like Bleacher Report & Complex Magazine. While all that sounds gravy, I did all this while still struggling to find a day job. Freelance money is what kept me afloat for like 3 years. It wasn’t rosy but I rolled with it. I was essentially depressed. I’ve landed jobs, quit, got laid off, had temporary contracts – but during that span, I became a vegan, I was meditating, reading more, going to the gym, galleries and restaurants by myself just to stay productive. It was a lot of groundwork. I partied a lot of course with my homies and traveled a lot which kept me sane looking back. That’s just the life of a New Yorker, where Hell is a hell of a time. The saying “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere” is a true testament. It was a personal growth of a journey & while I was building my online presence, I didn’t realize that I was branding myself the whole time. Professionally, it was a lot of challenges. Freelancing is not for the weak and after nearly a decade of building my clientele, I experienced my first creative burnout. I’ve learned to step away & create more boundaries because this industry will rob you of your superpowers. It’ll also take the fun out of it which is what you don’t ever want. That can apply anywhere – Keep your craft fun and don’t ever let anybody belittle what you do. The more money you make doing what you love, it can also make you less hungry and my message to anybody is to never lose that essence and that love of why you first started. Here I am today, still rebranding and trying to challenge myself daily on how to keep design fresh, push the envelope and speak the language the best way I can.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A typical day out with me involves a mixture of everything and NYC is best place for that.

PLACES: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Jones Beach, Highline, Flatbush, Williamsburg, Astoria, Industry City, Lower Eastside, Coney Island

ART: The Met, MoMa, Local Train, BK Museum, The Vessel

SHOPPING: Jamaica Ave, Soho, Kith, Aime Leon Dore, Roosevelt Field Mall, Round Two, Uniqlo

BAR/RESTAURANTS: Any local corner store & chinese store, Omars kitchen, Carbone, Smorgasburg, Miti Miti, Fishermans cove, Timeout Market, Williamsburg Hotel, Brooklyn Crab, Bleachers, Imani, Lips Cafe, Hotel rooftops, Peachys,

CLUBS/LOUNGES: Schimmi, 333, Harbor, BK Mirage, Starlets, Public Hotel, Pianos, Art Walls


Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To my core friends & family, To anybody that’s ever complimented my art, uplifted me to keep going, liked & shared my posts, bought a few hats, rocked a tee or two, gave me or alley-ooped an opportunity to me – all my fellow creatives out there figuring it out with their superpowers & finally making it out – Thank you.

Website: dsigndon.com

Instagram: designdon

Twitter: dsigndon_

Image Credits
Photo by Nia Adams