24: Stop Waiting For Permission // Haruko Hayakawa (CG Artist, Creative Director, Cat Mom)

In this episode of 5to9, I had a chat with Haruko Hayakawa, a Computer Graphics Artist, a Creative Director, an introvert, cat mom and a cookbook enthusiast.

Haruko developed a love for computers and art at a young age and went to School of Visual Arts to study 3D art and graphic design. She then went on to be a designer at agencies like Anomoly and Superunion and brands like Chobani. Always knowing that she wanted to have full control of her work, Haruko left corporate to create her branding studio right before the pandemic then serendipitously fell back into making her first love, 3D art.

These days, she creates beautifully detailed 3D art for brands like Google, Apple, Fly by Jing, Bon Appetit, 88Rising, Blueland and more. 

We talked about her years of feeling lost and what she did during that time, how she first got into 3D art as a child and then got back into it as an adult, what she learned as a corporate creative, why she decided to work for herself, important mindset shifts she made as a creative business owner and more!

This is Haruko Hayakawa for 5to9.