When Versatility Becomes a Strength - How Art, Design & Branding Can Work Together

Agapanthus: many flowers make a whole!

Many of my interests seem unrelated at first glance: fine art photography,design, branding, coaching – and much more. I have even bought online courses from different platforms that I haven’t watched yet. There are simply not enough hours in the day for all my interests.

For a long time, I thought I would have to choose one path if I wanted to turn my interests into a profession. That focusing on one thing was the only serious option.

My personal way of connecting art, design and branding

Today, I know: this very mix is my greatest strength. I don’t work despite my versatility – I work with it. Art is the space for my personal expression. Design brings structure. Branding connects content and attitude. Photography and video tell stories. Coaching helps me truly understand people. Each discipline plays its own role – and together, they form something meaningful.

Recognising and using synergies consciously

It is only through this interplay that something truly unique emerges. Something that cannot be easily replaced.

My flower photographs form the basis of my pattern design. My skills in different areas of photography are the foundation for brand photography and styled shoots. I have been in what people like to call a phase of “professional reorientation” for quite some time now: trying things out, learning new skills, still without a concrete direction — or only with a vague sense of where it might lead.

It was only when I began to see how my abilities could be connected that I was able to plan my next professional steps differently.One discipline feeds into the next – and the process keeps evolving. What once felt scattered now feels connected.

Why this combination builds trust

This approach allows me to create offers and products that are genuinely mine –that come from the heart, even if that sounds a little cliché. Because what I create grows out of my real passions. I don’t have to bend or pretend. I don’t have to fit into a predefined box. And people can sense that.

Of course, this path takes longer.

First, because I took the time to learn new skills properly. Second, because I’m starting later with designing and building my business — and I’m allowing myself the time to do that thoughtfully as well.

Someone who already has many competencies and professional experience may be able to shorten this phase. What remains either way is the process of analysing what is already there — everything that belongs on the “assets” side of the equation.

An invitation: take your own mix seriously

For many creative people, this is the key: Not putting everything on one card – but allowing your skills to speak to each other. Even areas that don’t seem to belong together at first can merge in meaningful ways: art and economic thinking, research and craftsmanship, intuition and strategy. Your mix doesn’t have to make sense to everyone. It only has to be true to you.

And I already know that alongside art and design, my pedagogical roots will also find their place again through coaching. Because coaching is something I already have experience in. Only the content — the themes I will work with — will eventually be very different.