Julie Noens

As a multidisciplinary creative, Julie Noens works across strategy, storytelling, and music to create understanding between people and places. Having lived in five countries before 25, she now draws inspiration from the connections she’s built through community, mentorship, and everyday life. We caught up with her about STEM, owning a “jack of all trades” identity, and learning-through-play.

What I do

How would you describe what you do?
I am a multidisciplinary artist, designer, musician, and occasional researcher—all rolled into one. My creative practice is rooted in storytelling and strategy, crafting narratives across different kinds of media to connect with audiences from all walks of life. Having navigated the gaps between my many identities, I see visual communication and moving images as powerful tools for bridging worlds and creating shared understanding.

What are the main influences and inspirations behind your work?

My influences exist on many scales. On a broader level, the world has been feeding my imagination since I could waddle around. My parents work as travel advisors and made it their mission to show my sister and me as much of the world as possible, even long before we could grasp just how big it really was. Seeing faces and places that I’d only encountered on a screen or in a book with my own eyes shaped my understanding of identity and culture, and in a way, how we can all be unique but still belong somewhere. This early exposure gave me the courage to embrace living in five different countries before turning 25, even when it meant stepping into the unknown.

If the world gave me the canvas for how I see myself, the people around me keep adding to its colors. I am deeply inspired by my communities, whether it’s the small weekly film screening group in Beijing I helped co-host during the pandemic, or the connections I’ve built in every place I’ve lived. The stories and lives of everyday people are what fuel me most.

And of course, I can’t forget my mentor Soohyen, whose guidance at the Savannah College of Art and Design continues to shape the way I think and create.

What’s been your favourite project to work on from the past year, and why?
Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to work with BlackMath and the City of Boston on their campaign for Boston Family Days, a city-wide initiative encouraging students and families to visit and engage with the city’s cultural institutions on free-admission days. This project combined many of my interests. I’ve always been drawn to maps, and I loved highlighting the institutions that have inspired me while helping connect the next generation with these spaces. It was also such a joyful experience creatively, allowing me to combine graphic design, wayfinding, and children’s illustration all in one, making the project both meaningful and fun.

What does a normal day-to-day usually look like for you?
I like to rejuvenate myself through a variety of different activities, which often means balancing my creative practice—reading, sketching, more reading—and my other passions. I find that doing the other things that I love, such as cooking and making music, is what keeps the spark alive.

If there was a starter pack for your job, what would be in it?
I have multiple beverages—water, coffee, juice—my cat Panda loafing right beside me, some books to flip through for inspiration, sketching tools, my trusty iPad, and a curated playlist I made for that specific week (yes, I do this every week).

Julie's work-from-home setup with her trusty companion Panda

How I got here

What was your journey like when you were first starting out in your career?
I knew from a young age that I wanted to do something creative, though narrowing it to one path felt practically impossible. My early interest in developmental psychology. sparked an interest in illustration, with the goal of helping children understand themselves and adults reconnect with their inner child. A year into my illustration degree, Covid hit, and I pivoted to design and interactive marketing to explore a different side of the creative world.

Finding my footing was far from easy, and it often felt like searching for light in the dark. With time, and a lot of trial and error, I realized that every detour expanded what I knew was possible. Much of my current work in brand strategy and freelance projects stems less from my degree and more from these “off-the-beaten-path” explorations.

How did you go about landing your first few jobs, clients and/or commissions?
I’ve always taken a shamelessly open approach to sharing my work. I didn’t see social media or creative platforms as a place to sell, but rather as a playground to connect with like-minded people. Similarly, I never hesitate to share my work with friends or acquaintances, even if they don’t fully understand what I did. Somehow that led to some of my most interesting projects and experiences. I mean, one of my projects happened because I decided to talk to my seat neighbor on an airplane.

I also don’t shy away from a challenge. While I’ve learned the value of knowing when to say no, stepping outside my comfort zone has been key to growth and expanding my clientele. By embracing curiosity, I’ve been able to land work that’s both meaningful and creatively fulfilling.

What has been your biggest challenge along the way?
The hardest challenge for me has been deciding whether to fully lean into and own my identity as a jack of all trades. Creative projects are often multi-step journeys, and I naturally want to be involved from brainstorming to prototyping to final delivery; I want it all. I’m also drawn to improving technical skills that might seem unrelated to my role, whether it’s photography, animation, or videography, which can sometimes feel like losing sight of my creative identity or getting distracted.

Over time, I’ve realized that these seemingly unrelated experiences give me a deeper understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. This dabbling in everything has also helped me learn to speak the languages of those I collaborate with, and doing so has been vital to working effectively while expanding my creative capabilities.

What skills from your creative work have you found helpful – and vice versa?
The skill that’s helped me most as a creative is critical thinking. Maybe at heart I am still a STEM person. It often feels unintuitive in a field where the focus is usually on making the final product visually appealing. I’m a strong advocate for content-and-strategy-driven work, and it’s easy to forget why you’re creating something while fixating on the how. This mindset informs both my personal work, which pushes me to clarify creative intentions, medium, and approach, as well as my professional work, where much of agency work involves helping clients understand why they want what they want.

While this approach is invaluable for clarifying expectations and intentions, it can sometimes slow progress. It's good to learn to communicate when deep thinking is truly essential, and when it’s time to just move on!

How important are social media and self-promotion to your work?
I see social media as more of a space to connect than to commodify my work. Early on in my career, I really felt my creative spark dim while trying to prove myself during a month-long Instagram illustration challenge. Once I shifted my perspective, seeing it as a place to experiment and gather feedback when useful, it became much more enjoyable. It’s hard to deny that it does really lead you to interesting opportunities that you might not find otherwise.

Nowadays, I mostly use it to share non-professional projects, like my band’s music or my occasional film photography, which allows me to engage with others creatively without feeling like a product on a store shelf.

What are three things that you’ve found useful to your work or career, and why?
I often start my workweek by browsing the latest articles on It’s Nice That. It’s always interesting to see work whose expertise either aligns with or completely differs from my own. In addition, I watch a lot of documentaries and films, since creative media in other formats can offer insight into the ideas people are exploring. Lastly, I enjoy the podcast How I Built This for an entrepreneurial perspective on building brands and bringing them to life.

What have been your greatest learnings with making money and supporting yourself as a creative?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that, while it can feel scary at first, especially when you’re starting small, it’s always worthwhile to invest in yourself, whether that’s software, art-making tools, an online masterclass, a printer with a crisp scanner, or anything else. Having the tools to explore your ideas can really accelerate growth. Sometimes that also means relying on communal resources like library maker spaces or learning to lean on other creative professionals who already have the tools you need.

Advice

What’s the best career-related advice you’ve ever received?
Fake it till you make it. Seriously, sometimes we’re the only people stopping ourselves.

Where do you go to feel connected as a creative?
I’m fortunate to be surrounded by friends who, even if their careers aren’t equally creative, dedicate time to creative hobbies and passions. It’s inspiring to learn from people who actively pursue creativity in their free time. In a city like Boston, being a creative can sometimes feel isolating, but I’m grateful for coworkers and directors I can connect with, sharing experiences and learning from one another within the small community we’ve built.

I’ve also taken on mentorship with students from my university, SCAD, which has been equally rewarding, as teaching and guiding others has exposed me to new tools, exciting communities, events, and fresh ways to keep expanding my own practice.

What advice would you give to someone looking to get into a similar role?
Put yourself out there. Attend online seminars, go to in-person networking events, reconnect with old friends in the industry, or even awkwardly message someone you admire on LinkedIn. Connecting with other creatives is the first step to understanding who you are and where you fit in this world. Listening to other people’s journeys has taught me how many end up exactly where they need to be by following their own unique paths. Being surrounded by others not only inspires growth—it helps you embrace and understand your own creative identity.