Type C Energy and Design With Soul with Sunni of Sunni Aesthetics.

Ep 133: Type C Energy and Design With Soul with Sunni of Sunni Aesthetics.Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤Only about 4% of designers in the US are Black. She named her podcast after that number, and it's gone down since.Sunni runs Sunni Aesthetics, a creative studio doing branding, creative direction, and visual storytelling. She came up through film production and set decoration in Atlanta, flunked out of design school right before the pandemic, spent quarantine drawing and painting, and taught herself the rest. Six years later, here she is.What We Talk AboutWhy she left set life behind, and what she means when she says money comes back but time doesn'tHow she uses AI as a resource rather than a replacement, and what happens to a brain you stop working outHer advice for anyone thinking about design: don't go to school for it yet, watch a YouTube course and see if it's actually for youThe unexpected turn: the 4% number that named her podcast has dropped to 3.86%, and she has thoughts on why designers are walking away from the fieldIf you love a conversation about building a creative career on your own terms, this episode is for you.All about SunniYou're gonna love Sunni — she's bold, intentional, and soul-aligned, and yes that's her own language for it. Through Sunni Aesthetics she partners with small business owners on branding, web and UX/UI design, graphics, social media, e-commerce, video editing, and email marketing. She also hosts The Four Percent Amplified, a podcast celebrating BIPOC designers and turning up the volume on voices the industry overlooks. Her logo puts her initials together with the sun and the moon, because the sun is identity and the moon is intuition, and she wanted both.Chapters:00:07 - Introduction to Black Business Month01:54 - Understanding Visual Storytelling11:46 - The Evolution of Storytelling in Design15:05 - Understanding the Emotional Labor in Creative Work22:51 - The Evolution of Design Philosophy31:09 - The Importance of Connection and CommunityThings We MentionedSunni AestheticsThe Four Percent Amplified podcast, also on YouTubeAIGA, where she found one of her mentorsConsultations are free — she wants to make sure it's a fit before anybody paysThis series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤Connect with SunniIG: @sunniaestheticsSunni AestheticsPodcast: The Four Percent AmplifiedStay Connected📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it freeMore ways to connectEmail: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.comSupport & FeedbacknoseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear thisEpisode CreditsProduced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick