Yuko Shimizu: Money or Control – Pick One

About this presentation As creatives, we're often put to the test of makin tough decisions and sacrifices for our work. However, according to Yuko, our biggest decision needs to happen at the beginning of our career asking ourselves: "What kind of artist do [we] want to be?" and having a clear picture of what that looks like. In this talk, Yuko distills insights from her own personal story of being fired just days before her 99U appearance, gives advice on learning to say no, her thoughts on personal work, and tying it all back to the reality that while we might not win every job or shine on every project, sometimes it's for the best. About Yuko Shimizo Yuko Shimizu is an award-winning Japanese illustrator based in New York. Her work has appeared on the pages of the New York Times, TIME, and Newsweek, on the covers of DC Comics, Penguin, Abrams and Random House books, on the Gap and Nike T-shirts, and on Pepsi cans. Her monograph Living with Yuko Shimizu will be published this spring. A Wild Swan, her collaboration with Pulitzer-winning author Michael Cunningham, came out in 2015. She was chosen as Newsweek Japan's "100 Japanese People World Respects" in 2009.

As creatives, we’re often put to the test of making tough decisions and sacrifices for our work. However, according to Yuko Shimizu, our biggest decision needs to happen at the beginning of our career asking ourselves: “What kind of artist do [we] want to be?” and having a clear picture of what that looks like.

In this talk, Shimizu distills insights from her own personal story of being fired just days before her 99U appearance, gives advice on learning to say no, her thoughts on personal work, and tying it all back to the reality that while we might not win every job or shine on every project, sometimes we can recommend someone who will.