How Freelancing Kept My Creative Edge Sharp While Working at HSBC and RBC

Hello everyone,

One of the questions I get asked most often is how I managed to stay passionate and creatively sharp while working in large corporate environments. Today, I want to share the honest answer: freelancing.

Throughout my time in senior design and creative roles at organizations like HSBC and RBC, freelancing became my secret weapon for growth, innovation, and keeping my skills alive.

The Corporate Reality

Working at big banks comes with incredible opportunities - stability, large-scale projects, and the chance to design for millions of users. However, it can also mean navigating layers of approvals, brand guidelines, and more structured processes. While these experiences taught me discipline, scalability, and how to deliver under pressure, I sometimes felt the pure creative spark needed extra fuel.

That’s where freelancing stepped in.
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Why Freelancing Made All the Difference

Freelancing allowed me to work on a wide variety of projects outside the corporate bubble. Every side project brought fresh challenges that directly strengthened my day-to-day work:

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• Staying Technically Current Corporate projects often move at a certain pace. Freelancing forced me to stay on top of the latest design tools, trends, and technologies — from new prototyping software to emerging UI/UX practices - so I could bring cutting-edge ideas back into my full-time role.
• Creative Freedom & Experimentation Working with startups, small businesses, and independent brands gave me the freedom to explore bolder concepts, different aesthetics, and unconventional solutions. This kept my design thinking flexible and prevented me from becoming too comfortable with a single corporate style.
• Building a Diverse Portfolio Balancing both worlds helped me develop a richer skill set - moving between highly regulated financial design during the day and expressive, passion-driven work in the evenings and weekends.
• Maintaining Passion for Design As many of you know, my love for The Beatles and John Lennon has always inspired the name Imagine Creatives. John’s message to “imagine” a better way deeply resonates with me. Freelancing let me protect that imaginative spirit. It reminded me why I fell in love with design in the first place: the joy of turning ideas into something meaningful.

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The Real Benefits I Experienced

Freelancing didn’t just keep my skillset current - it made me a better designer overall. I became faster at solving problems, more confident presenting bold ideas, and far more empathetic to clients with different needs and budgets. The variety kept burnout at bay and continuously reignited my creativity.

Many of the approaches and techniques I refined through freelance work later enhanced major projects at HSBC and RBC. It created a positive cycle: corporate experience gave me structure and scale, while freelancing gave me soul and innovation.

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Looking Back and Moving Forward

Today, as the founder of Imagine Creatives, I’m grateful for every late-night freelance project and every corporate brief. That balance shaped who I am as a designer and entrepreneur.

If you’re working in a large organization but feel your creative muscles tightening, I highly recommend finding space for personal or freelance work. It might just become the best investment you make in your craft.

I’d love to hear your experiences too - have you found ways to stay creative in a corporate setting? Drop a comment or reach out.

With creativity and gratitude.

‍Richard
‍Owner/Creative Director, Imagine Creatives