MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In the Filipino creative landscape, few names resonate with the dual force of global credibility and unwavering creative independence, and AJ Dimarucot is no exception. His distinctive graphic style has swaggered onto powerhouse brands like Nike, Jordan, Vans, Adidas and alike.
In the fifth episode of the adoboTalks podcast | the business of creativity, hosted by adobo Magazine Founder, President, and Editor-in-Chief Angel Guerrero, renowned freelance graphic artist AJ shared his philosophy on creative independence and career security.
A self-taught artist, who championed the next generation as a co-founder and director of the Communication Design Association of the Philippines, AJ has initially left a stable advertising job.
“I was in an ad agency for about five years,” he recalled. “But when I got married, I realized something — the pay, though good, wasn’t enough to sustain the life I wanted to build. So I started freelancing on the side to augment my income,” AJ candidly told Angel.
What began as a side hustle quickly became a revelation when he discovered that freelancing, especially with clients from the U.S., paid far more than what he earned as a full-time employee. While leaving a stable job for the uncertainties of freelance life might sound risky, AJ believed it was the opposite — he realized freelancing could be done from home, allowing him to earn more and while spending time with his wife.
“All those late nights, pitches, and stress — they were taking a toll on my health and relationship. Freelancing gave me back control.”
Finding stability as freelancer
Freelance life comes with its own set of challenges including the importance of constantly putting yourself out in the market. Long before the advent of social media, AJ posted his work on platforms such as Behance, design blogs, and online forums — anywhere his art could gain visibility.
“Finding gigs is a job in itself,” AJ admitted.
Through this, he understood that marketing and networking are non-negotiable parts of the work. He learned that freelancing wasn’t just about showcasing skill; it was also about making sure people knew he existed.
“It’s a job to let people know that you exist, and that you are a designer and that you need work.”
And from there, the world opened up — projects with Nike Global, Jordan Brand, Adidas, Vans, and even special collaborations involving stars like Manny Pacquiao and Cristiano Ronaldo poured in.
“I’m living my life and then I’m working around it”
Perhaps the most profound shift in AJ’s mindset came when he realized that freelancing wasn’t about fitting life into work, but rather about designing work around life.
At first, AJ imposed a rigid 9-to-5 schedule on his freelance work. However, life’s interruptions — like a doctor’s appointment or a parent-teacher meeting — caused frustration; only then did he recognize the error in his approach.
“Maybe I’m doing freelancing wrong. Maybe I should be living that life, which is the…, the daily tasks of doing things, and then work around those things, those schedules. And that’s when I told my wife, what I think working around this life is better than working on a schedule.”
He continued, “Freelancing and looking for clients that allow you to do that and allow you to just be independent, and create the work without watching over your shoulder, is like the best setup for me to be able to live a life. So it moved to a point where I can go around, I can travel to wherever I want, and spend some time with my family, and still get to do the work that I need to do.”
This mindset became his core to freelance success. Instead of chasing work-life balance, AJ integrated work into life — enabling travel, family time, and meeting deadlines. He now sees “work-life balance” as outdated.
“I’m living my life, and I’m working around it,” he added. This mindset, he said, is what the younger generation is beginning to embrace.
“They don’t want to go back to their offices. They want flexibility. And I think that’s beautiful.”
How to land global brands according to AJ
Over the years, AJ has developed what he called the “CREATE Method,” a simple but powerful framework that aspiring creatives can follow, and a key he believes helped him to get noticed by global brands.
The “CREATE Method” is defined as follows:
- Chasing Dreams: Dream big. For AJ, set his sights on clients like Nike and Michael Jackson, believing that the bigger the dream, the better.
- Reach for the stars / Empower yourself: Know your strengths and amplify them.
- Amplifying your voice: Showcase your work constantly. He landed a Nike project after a staffer saw his work on a streetwear blog, which he had diligently shared. Another time, he was found through fan art posted on Behance.
- Taking risks: This means saying yes to projects that scare you, like the high-stakes film project for Cristiano Ronaldo’s first visit to China, which required creating a portrait out of paint splatters from a kicked soccer ball. “If I had said no to that, then I would have probably felt so bad,” he reflected.
- Evolve constantly: Adapt to the times. Like an artist reinventing their medium, AJ has moved from web design to social media, and more recently, into Web 3, NFTs, and AI. He believes this openness to new technologies is key to a progressive career.
‘Freelancing, to me, is a safer choice than being in a full-time job‘
Beyond the creative process, AJ highlights the importance of practical business skills, viewing freelancing as a business. As a non-negotiable rule, he insists that a freelancer and a client should agree on fees before starting. Payment services that have personally helped him — such as PayPal, Payoneer, and Wise.com — are among his recommendations. Although crypto can be controversial, he advocates its use for speedy transactions.
Moreover, as a self-taught graphic designer, AJ urges aspiring freelancers to get legally registered, especially for those with local clients.
“It’s very simple — I registered as a business, and my business is my name. Just register your name. There’s a category for small or freelance businesses, and you can go to your local LGU to process it. Once done, you’ll get your own official receipt.”
Meanwhile, for aspiring artists and designers who lack formal education, AJ noted that they can take advantage of the abundance of free resources available today. These include “YouTube University” and the “College of Google.” He also recommends X (formerly Twitter) as a valuable platform, where one can learn everything from crypto to AI.
Similarly, AJ underscored that freelancing is a powerful testament to define a new meaning of career safety, as this work method for him served as a strategy for job security in an uncertain modern economy. He argued that traditional full-time employment is an illusion of stability, a vulnerability exposed by crises like the pandemic, where even long-tenured employees were suddenly laid off.
“Freelancing, to me, is a safer choice than being in a full-time job,” he noted, “The way the pandemic has shown us that there is no job that is secure. I’ve seen clients who have been with the company for like 25 years and now have been let go because of the crisis.”
“So to me, it’s safer to freelance and have multiple clients, run your own business, do the work and live your life,” he concluded.
Ultimately, AJ’s success story is more than a creative portfolio; it’s a manual for building a resilient, fulfilling career outside the traditional corporate structure. By challenging the illusion of stability offered by full-time jobs and pioneering a “life-first” approach to work, he provides a compelling philosophy for the modern creative.
The following key takeaways distill his insights on how to achieve genuine independence, market your skills globally, and adapt to technological change, demonstrating that freelancing isn’t just an alternative — it’s a strategic path to ultimate career security:
- Freelancing as a path to financial and personal Stability: AJ left a stable advertising job because the income wasn’t enough to sustain his desired life after marriage. He found that freelancing, particularly with international clients, offered significantly higher pay and allowed him to avoid the stress and late nights of agency life, giving him back control.
- Work-life integration over balance: The core of his success is viewing work as an element to be built “around life,” not fitting life into a rigid work schedule.
- Find your existence in social media: For Aj, freelancing requires constantly and actively putting your work in the market. “Finding gigs is a job in itself,” which means marketing and networking are non-negotiable.
- Freelancing is safer than full-time employment: AJ argues that traditional full-time employment offers an “illusion of stability,” especially exposed by crises like the pandemic. He views freelancing — having multiple clients and running your own business — as a safer strategy for job security in the modern economy.
- The CREATE Method for Global Clients: AJ developed a five-step framework for aspiring creatives:
- Chasing Dreams: Set sights on the biggest possible clients (like Nike).
- Reach for the stars / Empower yourself: Know and amplify your strengths.
- Amplifying your voice: Consistently showcase your work across different platforms.
- Taking risks: Say yes to projects that challenge or scare you.
- Evolve constantly: Adapt to new technologies (Web 3, NFTs, AI) to ensure a progressive career.
- Freelance work as practical business and continuous learning: Freelancing is a business that requires practical skills. Non-negotiables include agreeing on fees before starting, using reliable payment services (PayPal, Payoneer, Wise.com), and legally registering as a business with the local government, especially for local clients. Likewise, he believed that in the creative world, education is very accessible with abundant free resources like “YouTube University” and the “College of Google.” Hence, the absence of formal education is no longer a barrier for self-taught artists.
Catch the insightful conversation with AJ Dimarucot on Episode 5 of the adoboTalk Podcast on Spotify, YouTube, and Soundcloud. The adoboTalks | the business of creativity, is presented by adobo Magazine, the word on creativity and produced in partnership with The Pod Network and Hit Productions.
