Build a future-proof
design business with our minimalist & calm approach
design business with our minimalist & calm approach
For quietly ambitious illustrators, designers and solopreneurs
About Irina Hello! I’m Irina from Crocus Paperi. I’m a line-art illustrator and designer based in Finland. I create versatile designs inspired by nature and its forms, beautiful paper textures and soft palettes. Crocus Paperi was born out of a childhood hobby and my love for stationery. Long forgotten passion for drawing came in handy in times of uncertainty, when I started experimenting with watercolors and line art to relax and reflect. 8 years later Crocus Paperi is mostly running on its own - digital products market themselves and bring custom orders. I’m a bit shy to say this, but I truly believe that I’ve created a healthy design business. Since 2016 I’ve been working in many areas of design creating both digital and physical products: illustrations, branding, packaging and wedding stationery. Runnning a business in a foreign country and in foreign languages, felt extremely challenging also because I am completely self-taught in both design and business. |
Why we created
kuu & co.
kuu & co.
Recently, I've been stunned by what's happening within the design community on Instagram. The shift of focus from creating quality work to prioritizing marketing, social media popularity and sales in our opinion, distort reality and provoke anxiety and insecurity among creatives.
Many creatives, including me, feel disconnected from these modern trends, trying to carve out a space for themselves in the current landscape. I feel that today there is a demand for a return to reality.
This is the main goal for me—to show both beginner and experienced creatives how to shift the focus to creativity, product quality, and honesty with clients and with oneself.
With kuu & co., I want to bring a blend of delicate care and practical insight to help aspiring designers transform their freelancing efforts to a thriving business.
Courses & Tools
Here it is, no gatekeeping 😉 It consists of 9 blocks, each taking you through a crucial step on your design business journey.
After completing the full circle you have a functioning and sustainable design business that grows naturally and stays true to your values and creative goals.
After completing the full circle you have a functioning and sustainable design business that grows naturally and stays true to your values and creative goals.
What makes our approach different and effective? - Our system.
try for 29 EUR
Not sure where to start?
Take our free quiz to get a personal advice on how to upgrade you creative business and what to focus on right now
Coming soon
Building Blocks of a Future-Proof Design Business: Your gentle guide to thriving as a solo designer
Building Blocks is an extensive online course that guides you through establishing and nurturing your own creative business.
The course is based on our carefully crafted 9 STEP METHOD.
Join us to nurture your design practice in a way that is as peaceful as it is profitable.
The course is based on our carefully crafted 9 STEP METHOD.
Join us to nurture your design practice in a way that is as peaceful as it is profitable.
Program
Overview of the key chapters of the course.
⒈ Your starting point: Where are you now with your design business? Questionnaire + personalized results from us.
⒉ Foundation of our system: Core elements of our design business approach.
⏺ Overview of the course key chapters:
⏺ Skills & Experience
⏺ Mindset
⏺ Goals
⏺ Commercially valuable product
⏺ Audience
⏺ Pricing
⏺ Legal foundations
⏺ Customer care
⏺ Showcasing your work
⏺ Practical marketing
BONUS: Daily routine planning for a balanced life
⒈ Your starting point: Where are you now with your design business? Questionnaire + personalized results from us.
⒉ Foundation of our system: Core elements of our design business approach.
⏺ Overview of the course key chapters:
⏺ Skills & Experience
⏺ Mindset
⏺ Goals
⏺ Commercially valuable product
⏺ Audience
⏺ Pricing
⏺ Legal foundations
⏺ Customer care
⏺ Showcasing your work
⏺ Practical marketing
BONUS: Daily routine planning for a balanced life
Find out what kind of a designer you want to be and what results you want to achieve.
⒈ What do I want to achieve as a designer? Your long-term vision in the design field.
⒉ Time investment: how much can you commit? Evaluate the amount of time you can dedicate to your design work considering your current commitments and lifestyle.
⒊ Assess your current skills: Take stock of your existing skills, both within and beyond design, to understand your strengths and areas for improvement.
⏺ Professional skills: drawing, design techniques, technical software proficiency
⏺ Other skills: entrepreneurial skills, project management, communication, customer service, financial literacy
⒋ Identify skills to develop: Determine the new skills necessary to reach your long-term goals
⒌ Set 6-Month / 1-Year goals (skills and business milestones): Establish short-term tasks and milestones for skills development and business growth aligning with your long-term vision.
⒈ What do I want to achieve as a designer? Your long-term vision in the design field.
⒉ Time investment: how much can you commit? Evaluate the amount of time you can dedicate to your design work considering your current commitments and lifestyle.
⒊ Assess your current skills: Take stock of your existing skills, both within and beyond design, to understand your strengths and areas for improvement.
⏺ Professional skills: drawing, design techniques, technical software proficiency
⏺ Other skills: entrepreneurial skills, project management, communication, customer service, financial literacy
⒋ Identify skills to develop: Determine the new skills necessary to reach your long-term goals
⒌ Set 6-Month / 1-Year goals (skills and business milestones): Establish short-term tasks and milestones for skills development and business growth aligning with your long-term vision.
Develop your own product / service list for the upcoming year.
⒈ Exploring your products/services options as a designer
⏺ Ready-made digital products: graphics, templates, fonts, mockups and where they sell best
⏺ Ready-made physical products: prints, stationery, fabrics, clothing; production, marketing, sales channels
⏺ Custom digital services: logos & branding, packaging, digital illustration
⏺ Custom physical products: wedding and event stationery, paintings and custom drawings
⏺ Consulting and teaching: online courses, personal consultations, guides, books
⒉ Compare and evaluate your options: consider factors like time investment, profitability and personal preferences
⒊ My personal insights: balancing various types of products/services, what worked and still works best for me, thought on the future of freelance design
⒈ Exploring your products/services options as a designer
⏺ Ready-made digital products: graphics, templates, fonts, mockups and where they sell best
⏺ Ready-made physical products: prints, stationery, fabrics, clothing; production, marketing, sales channels
⏺ Custom digital services: logos & branding, packaging, digital illustration
⏺ Custom physical products: wedding and event stationery, paintings and custom drawings
⏺ Consulting and teaching: online courses, personal consultations, guides, books
⒉ Compare and evaluate your options: consider factors like time investment, profitability and personal preferences
⒊ My personal insights: balancing various types of products/services, what worked and still works best for me, thought on the future of freelance design
Make a list of audiences, sales channels and price lists for each product / service type. Make your products public.
- The importance of knowing your audience
- Identifying your target market: individual clients, small businesses, large corporations
- Client needs analysis: what different clients look for
- Tailoring your approach for different client types
- Pricing pre-made digital products
- Pricing custom services
- Pricing physical products
Register your business (or decide you don’t need to), learn the basics of taxation and accounting in your country.
- Business setup: to register or not?
- Tax essentials
- Accounting basics for creatives
- Copyright infringement and remedies
- Branding yourself: individual vs. company
Decide if you actually need to a portfolio, how to put one up, and where to host it.
- Building your portfolio
- Crafting your website
- Maintaining consistency across platforms
Identify any unnecessary marketing efforts and develop your own consistent and minimalist strategy based on your product, audience, your personality and preferences.
- Exploring Options: Identifying effective promotion methods tailored to different design businesses.
- Personal Brand: What is a personal brand for a designer? Do you actually need one?
- Instagram: What’s the true value of Instagram for a designer? How to use it as an introverted designer?
- Pinterest: Why it is the best marketing tool for designers in our opinion and how to benefit from it with minimal effort
- Design Marketplaces: What resources do marketplaces offer for designer marketing? Ambassador programs. Best practices.
- Networking and Events: Word-of-mouth and personal connections are still here in 2025.
- Paid Advertising: Do we actually need it and when can it be useful?
- Collaborations: How to work with other businesses and creators for a win -win outcome?
- Giveaways: When these might be useful? Collaboration project ideas for different design businesses.
Optimize and automate your client interactions to avoid misunderstandings and learn how to handle inquiries and conflicts in a healthy and professional manner
- Client happiness vs. designer’s emotional and mental health
- Anticipating client needs
- Minimizing direct interactions
- Implementing the balance principle throughout key steps of the work process (from before an order was placed until offboarding)
- Handling unhappy clients
- Customer care for digital product sellers (Etsy, Creative Market)
Keep your products relevant, build a semi-passive income stream to secure your future and work less
- Social security for self-employed in your country
- Retirement systems and funds in your country
- Financial literacy for creatives
- Future service / product ideas
- How to keep your designs in demand
Meet our team
kuu & co. is a team of two sisters. Our last name starts with ku 🙂 Also, "kuu" means "moon" in Finnish. We just think it looks and sounds pretty.
Illustrator & graphic designer
Natalia 🏝️
Marketing ans social media specialist
More tips & tools on our Instagram