“I'm half-Mozambican but I also grew up traveling around the world thanks to my dad's job in civil engineering,” shares designer and illustrator Emma Hall, who goes by Emma Make on Behance. “This international upbringing with African roots has given me a large and vast eye for aesthetics, as well as an appreciation for different folk styles and color.” 

Her vibrant artwork has caught the eyes of clients like Oatly, Penguin Random House, and Anthropologie, and graced the pages of Teen Vogue, Buzzfeed, Good Housekeeping, and more. 

Before she became a designer, Emma studied architecture, which she credits to building her foundations in design and relationship management. “Some may not see architecture as a pure arts subject, but it gave me the tools to make what I create today. Without it I wouldn’t have the grasp of the Adobe suite which makes up the breadth of my work today, nor the discipline or approach to my design — especially with clients.” 

Les Fleurs a Wavy Fluid Font by Emma Make

Emma started selling creative assets when she decided to leave her career in architecture. She needed an income stream while she built her portfolio. “I taught myself a lot of what I do today through video tutorials, and noticed that the work I was creating through the tutorials wasn’t too dissimilar in quality to the tutors — or so I thought! So I began selling on the same platforms as them.” 

Today, Emma splits her time in thirds to work on a wide range of design projects: “In one I have my part-time job for a publisher, in the second I work for clients and the third is for font, art and template development. I also do markets at the weekend so as you can imagine I’m very busy!” 

Mystic and Achilles Art Font by Emma Make

“I like to create fonts that feel current and exciting,” says Emma. Her inspiration often comes from her surroundings, both in the digital and the physical realms: “I'll see what's going on around me in the graphic design world and general design world through websites, Pinterest and even posters in my neighborhood.” 

Designing digital assets is where Emma creates some of her most personal work. “Last year I was inspired to directly reference my roots and create a diversity illustration pack, African font as well as African patterns. This was spurred on by the reading I had done about African-painted houses and current African designers like Yinka Illori.” 

Dear Camille by Emma Make

“With Dear Camille I wanted something childlike and cute, like a letter from a film,” says Emma of her hand-drawn font. “I mocked it up as a wedding invite font and consequently some brides have contacted me about the font.”

Emma’s advice for succeeding in the digital asset marketplace is to find the balance between staying true to your creative voice and catching on to rising trends. “Create work that is authentic to you rather than following every single trend out there. Find your niche. Otherwise you’ll be pigeon holed into work that might not fit your style.” 

Afro Futurism Pattern and Graphics Set by Emma Make

“It’s good to follow trends, but put your twist on it so the work becomes more timeless and outlives the trend. It’s better to be daring in your designs than play it safe.” 

See more projects and assets available for purchase from Emma on Behance.