Dribbble & Creative Market have teamed up to launch a new marketplace channel allowing designers like you to find and sell digital goods right on Dribbble! The marketplace channel will also help Dribbble creators with digital assets to sell reach millions of potential customers on Dribbble and Creative Market with one seamless shop owner experience.
Today, graphic designer and veteran shop owner Ricky Rinaldi drops by to share his creative journey and top tips for designers who want to earn extra income selling their digital goods.
Hello, I’m Ricky Rinaldi. I’m a type designer and graphic designer from Bandung, Indonesia. My daily activities are cycling, helping my wife with gardening, enjoying coffee while managing the Aiyari Studio, and playing with my daughter.
Tell us the story behind your shop. What inspired you to start selling digital goods?
In 2014, I met my college friend Ghilky who said there was big potential in the digital asset space. He suggested that I try selling my typefaces since I had tried making my first non-commercial typeface back in 2012. At that time, I needed more income to get married. My girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife, gave me full support to pursue a career in font design, so I was confident to pursue my enthusiasm for the typefaces design world.
How has your business evolved since its inception?
In 2014-2015, retro design style was on the rise, which may have been fortunate for me because my design style was heavily influenced by the nuances of music and pop culture from the 1950s to the 1990s. My product sales increased until I finally got married in the same year.
I’m so grateful to have been in the right place at the right time to begin a career in digital products. Honestly, I like my entire font collections, and of course, my recent work is my favorite. However, Thunderstorm Typeface and Dreadful Font Family have had a significant impact on my life and perspective at that time, and I’m not sure I could have made it without them.
How has selling your typefaces impacted your career?
I started work as an illustrator and graphic designer, and font design was my alter ego. For a long time, I would only work on type design every night after my day job when my energy was already depleted.
When my product sales grew enough to support my daily needs, I finally decided to resign from my day job in 2016. Now, I focus on type design full-time. However, graphic design and illustration are still great ways to refresh my creative juices.
In your opinion, what’s the key to running a successful shop? How have you found success?
For me, success is a bonus. The point is to do what you love, be consistent with your desires, and stick to what you love. Hard work pays off.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received as a designer or business owner?
Enjoy the process. Perfection belongs only to God. If you try to make your designs look perfect, you will become stressed and lose your purpose in doing the work. Do what you love.
What advice do you have for designers who want to sell digital goods?
- 1. Anytime, anywhere, is research. Be a curious and open-minded human being because inspiration doesn’t always come from design. You could be inspired by cycling in the forest, walking around the city, or simply looking around your daily surroundings.
- 2. Pay attention to design trends. Seling digital products is a business so follow the trends but create your own versions of them.
- 3. Anything needs a process. You don’t know how long your process will take but the important thing is that you keep going and focus on what you are doing.
What excites you about Dribbble’s Marketplace launch in partnership with Creative Market?
I’m genuinely excited about this kind of collaboration. I believe Dribbble Marketplace will significantly increase customer traffic because both Dribbble and Creative Market are the world’s most inspiring design platforms for designers. ■
Want to keep up with Ricky? Find him on Dribbble and Creative Market.
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