Building a brand

Women in Business & Regional Development Scholarship winner ready to keep learning

“Have a break. Get some clarity. Build up again something that aligns with where you want to take your career.” That is the advice of 2023 Women in Business and Regional Development scholarship winner Rene Veno, who did just that. She took a step back and away from more than a decade in the retail apparel sphere and set up her own business Raison Detre Creative Co – using her graphic design skills and life experience to create a brand for a new business or lead a rebrand.

Rene intends to use the scholarship windfall to upskill in the AI universe – using the latest technology to enhance what will always be a human-led hands on approach to the brand creation process – and she has already touched base with one of the international leaders in making AI work for you to learn as much as she can as quickly as possible so she her clients can start reaping the rewards.

It is 20 years since Rene graduated from university with a Bachelor of Visual Arts, majoring in graphic design and with a minor in art history.

“I loved art history but it doesn’t lead to any specific job – it did, though, help foster my love for meaning in art,” she said. “When you study art history you are impacted by the meaning of art and that has helped shape my graphic design.”

The original plan when Rene was looking to her future was to be an interactive graphic designer – put simply, working with animation. That didn’t pan out as she instead studied straight graphic design and then the question was ‘where to from here?’

“When you are a student and in your 20s, you are asking where is this going to lead me – what is the job at the end?” she said. “And they are fair questions but it does mean you get a job for the sake of getting a job because you have to pay bills – you don’t really think about what your career is going to look like.” With a clear talent for illustration, Rene found herself immersed in the clothing industry working for boutique studio that had major clients in surf and skate wear, designing prints for T-shirts and other design tasks.

“It was a nice job to get straight out of university,” she said. “A good job for a 21 year old. I have always had an interest in fashion – I love the opportunity it gives you for self expression.”

Once she was in the apparel industry it was where she stayed for almost a decade, working on Torquay and Melbourne, but she did start to ask herself those questions about the future. “I started thinking ‘is this really where I want my career to go?’”

Rene said. “You have to give yourself permission – it is OK to have a career change.” The career change coincided with a move back to Mount Gambier – a tough decision but one both Rene and her husband are so glad they made.

“It is such a great place to live and my husband is not from here and he just loves it,” she said. “I think for a long time we had the mentality that you had to leave Mount Gambier to make it and if you moved back people would ask ‘what happened?’ We are conditioned to think you have to move elsewhere to have a successful career but that’s just not right.”

The move back home saw her move into roles as an executive assistant in both the private and public sector.

“It gave me that break from a certain career path that wasn’t really working for me anymore,” Rene said. “When you take a step back and take time away from something you get a lot more perspective.”

She did keep her hand in. though, with her freelance work, much of that still in the fashion industry.

Motherhood arguably sparked the next change and the move to establishing her own business, taking her graphic design skills but offering so much more with her work in the brand creation space.

“I knew when I had my first baby, she is now seven, I couldn’t work full time anymore – for me personally, time with her was the priority,” Rene said. “When I first started the business I saw myself as a freelancer but then I realised that I was a personal brand – it really changed how I approached client work.

“It has taken a few years to work out what mu unique offering is and I have made sure I just keep learning, upskilling all the time.” Rene has tackled online courses, sought out mentors and accessed business coaches to ensure Raison Detre Creative Co is the best brand creation business it can be.

“I am focussed on how I can best serve someone and get the best result for them and get their dream realised,” she said. “I am all about creating a brand identity and it is an important thing to get right from the start – it is so much more than just coming up with a logo and moving on. Your brand needs to be strong and consistent.”

Locally Rene has spearheaded rebranding projects for Metro Bakery & Café; Vanity, Jolly Soles and Soul Physiotherapy.

“I sit somewhere in the space between logo designer and brand strategist,” she said. “Creating your brand identity should be seen as an investment – it is a holistic process and it needs to have longevity. Customers connect with brands through their stories and that connection creates brand loyalty.”

Making sure she leaves no stone unturned is why Rene applied for the scholarship – so she could access the best possible mentorship in the AI space.

“Rather than complaining about people that just use AI, I decided why not learn more and see how it can assist me in my work – it will never replace my creativity, my relationship building with clients and my personal, hands-on touch to every project. I want to learn how to harness the power of AI in my business, to use it to strengthen my offerings.”