From searching for temporary projects online to starting my branding studio, I have come a long way. But I did not begin as a branding guy.
I grew up in Guwahati, and since childhood, I was inclined towards fine arts and dreamed of becoming a Director. As a result, I did my graduation in animation and went on to work in Regional Movies in Assam. Even though I had basic knowledge about designing, I established a right name for myself in my area. But I felt my reach was limited, and I needed to grow. In 2016, I moved to Mumbai with a dream to be part of the film industry.
I lived with my college friends; we tried to get ourselves VFX projects. I was fortunate to be part of the National Award-winning film Alifa.
“However, that did not provide a much-needed boost to my Mumbai dream. We did get some small projects, but it was difficult to get more work as the competition was high, and I was losing hope in movies. I did not have many tasks at hand. Unable to get any projects for animation, I had hit a rough patch in my life,” confirms Priyam Chakraborty in an interview with Prittle Prattle News.
My fiancé, whom I had met in Mumbai, provided me much support. I never believed in doing a 9-5 job, so she suggested I put my creative skills to use and create something. To test the waters in the field of designing, I interned in a few places through Internshala. It also helped me build my work profile, establish a client base, and, more importantly, give me a clear picture that this was the field in which I was making my career.
In mid-2017, I started my branding agency – Leopard Dots Creative Studio. Social media platforms played a significant role in getting me projects. I also used my contacts in the film industry to get myself projects. Initially, it was not easy; I took up almost any project that came my way. I was continually working on increasing my knowledge of branding and designing. I realized that design was not just some shapes and forms, color scheme balanced to be appealing to the viewer. I had realized that it had a definite purpose.
In the middle of 2018, my hard work started paying off; I started getting big projects. My client base increased on an International scale. Soon, I reached a stage where I was able to filter projects based on the payment and value of work. Eventually, my base location no longer mattered. All my clients and work were in the virtual workspace, so I decided to move back to my Home town. Mumbai was a big learning lesson for me, and it had served its purpose.
The start of the year 2019 was great. My span of clients had increased nationally and internationally. I already had more than 100 projects under my belt. However, I still found it challenging to crack the local market. My thought process did not align with my local clients. As a result, my steady flow of work began to slow down, and the projects I received were not challenging enough. Work became monotonous. It was time to broaden my avenues. In May 2019, I did something that no one expected from me- I joined an office. I joined a digital agency called Curiousmind Consulting as an Art Director/Creative Director. This decision changed my life; I found what was missing. I need a new perspective to look at things. I started looking at my career from a new angle, slightly broader and higher aspect. I had worked on social media designs. I had designed a few advertisements, but now I was running things from the backend. I saw how things worked behind the curtains and understood that there was still so much more to learn. It gave me the boost I was looking for. I found the elements that were missing in Leopard Dots Creative Studio and started to piece everything together.
The year 2020 could not have had a better start. I found stability both in personal and professional life. However, in the month of March, the nation-wide lockdown began. Fortunately for me, I have been used to working from home, and most of my work is in virtual space, so adjusting to the new culture of work from home was very easy for me. The workflow, initially, decreased because other businesses were affected by the lockdown. But this gave me time to increase my knowledge. I started reading extensively about branding. In May 2020, I decided to share the experience I had been acquiring over a while. So I put on a coat, clicked some photos for the cover page, and launched my Podcast- “Branding and other stuff.” After my first episode, I received some great comments, and that motivated me to move further. The thought behind my Podcast is to help people like me to understand branding and its dimensions. I do not have a college degree in branding, but that does not mean that I cannot make a living out of it and if I can do it, so can anybody else. I am preparing my 6th episode, as I’m writing this.
I am grateful for all the things I have achieved in my life. I read somewhere that – One should do something extraordinary to make something unusual, which remained with me. We cannot decide for ourselves as to what is exceptional; the definition of it is exhaustive. So we must take the steps that make us uncomfortable only then can we grow and create something extraordinary. Never stop learning; never stop growing optimistically stated Priyam Chakraborty to a reporter of Prittle Prattle News.
