A Wandrlust Creatv Story

📸 Edwin R Jaulani

Today on the blog, we are in the thoughts of a very talented and bubbly young lady. She is one of the sweetest and most interesting artist I’ve interviewed and I’m thankful she took the time to sit down with me and answer my questions. Personally, I can’t wait for you guys to meet her. Abigirl take it away.

Hi, I'm Abigirl Mulilo.

I am a graphic designer transitioning into a brand strategist. My background is rooted in art and design. I grew up being the girl who could draw and in my preteen years, I became interested in fashion design after sketching a dress for the leaver's dance 😂 that my friends absolutely loved. So I did that for a bit, coming up with fashion concepts that I would just keep in this big blue file I had. 

I wasn't so great at actually making clothes (sewing) so this was a nightmare 😂 Thanks to my dad for always paying for my crazy ideas with no questions. Fun fact, when I was 16, I designed some ensembles for the contestants at Miss Global Zimbabwe alongside another fashion designer, Eddy (kinda forgot his surname 😂) I was too ambitious for my own good shem.

Anyway, I digress. Some unsettling events happened to me during my teen years (come back for more tea on this another day) during my teen years which led me to go to varsity just after turning 17 and studying creative multimedia at Limkokwing University in Botswana. This is where it all began. We had a couple of graphic design modules in our programs and one of my friends Chisambwe had industry experience in design. He was a design whiz and I was so perplexed at how he could be that good. This pushed me to try harder and learn more about design. And so I became a graphic designer.

Fast forward 8 years later 😂😂😂 

Gosh, It's been that long (since my first day in uni). I've just registered Wandrlust Creatv, a company that offers brand strategy and design. The name Wandrlust comes from a character from a book I used to love when I was a kid. His name was Wanderlust Brown. In the English dictionary, wanderlust means a strong desire/someone with a strong desire to travel. 

I started this company just as a graphic designer trying to get free from their depression but I tell you there is power in starting. It become so much more than just design within a short space of time. 

Wandrlust Creatv has gone from offering design only (years of bedroom corner office) to offering real value, real business solutions to clients to help them create a brand with depth. What we represent is brands of the now and the future, brands that thrive, solve customer pain points and live in the hearts and minds of people. 

We are niching down to Strategy and design for product brands. That's where the idea for Zim Brands Re-imagined came from. So far we're at 2 out of 15. It is inspired by me finally finding what I love, working with product brands. (I'm not an outgoing person but I secretly love to shop. I can relate to product brands because I buy them, I use them, I am their target audience.) So I thought, Zimbabwe is the perfect place to start. Because we have so many amazing proudly zimbo products that have no unique story that have become commodities picked based on price when really they should be well-loved and remembered.

Describe your creative process on Zim Brands Re-imagined?

The first thing is to identify brands that make great products, this involves window shopping 😅 and asking family, friends and followers on socials. Then we're onto doing as much research as possible on the brand's back story. Next, we look for inspiration and start building a story based on the information found and based on the brand's potential that we believe in. Everything else falls together once you have a core, a reason why people should buy this brand. (Also why everyone who has a brand needs a strategy before they do any design deliverables)

    

How has the Re-imagining project been received?

I'm shaken and humbled by the reception, to be honest. I am so grateful to everyone that is supporting our work. People are becoming aware of Wandrlust Creatv and they love the work we're doing because they can relate. We're Re-imagining brands they know and love.

Have you faced any challenges given Covid-19 and the constantly evolving environment we create in?

Covid hit everyone pretty bad, sales went down (during the time we were only offering design) but this really gave me time to soul search and find our new direction (strategy first, design second). That's the biggest lesson I've learned over these almost 2 years of covid. A brand without Strategy is like a human with no soul.

What advice would you give to other artists?

To artists. Just start. Starting is the most difficult and scary thing but your future self will thank you for it. You will grow. To designers, find what you really love and start solving big girl/ big boy problems. We don't just exist to stay up all night pushing pixels and making the logo bigger. We have a superpower hidden within us.

To brands, the value of Strategy is priceless. Prioritize that and you will end up with a winning brand and winning visuals.

Is there another artist you've mentored or trained?

 

No, I haven't mentored anyone but I would love to if given the chance. If it's a female creative or graphic designer that would be awesome.

Where can people find you?

Our website still in the pipeline but you can find our work on the following social links:

Instagram: @wandrlustcreatv 

Instagram: @abigirlmulilo 

Twitter: @abigirl_mulilo  

LinkedIn : Abigirl Mulilo 

Facebook: Wandrlust Creatv