Becoming a Design Entrepreneur by Lita Talarico

Author:Lita Talarico
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allworth
Published: 2016-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Celia Cheng

A DIGITAL FEAST

Cravings started when, as a student in the SVA MFA Design/Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program in 2005, Celia developed a guide to finding specific dishes in restaurants. Over the ensuing years it evolved into a design-conscious online publication that highlights food, wine, travel, and lifestyle. To make it more expandable, Cheng founded Cravings Productions, which produces videos, custom letterpress, photography, design, and consulting services. Now she travels between New York, Taiwan, Hawaii, and Japan.

You left a good job to start Cravings. Why and how?

Cravings brought out the entrepreneur in me. What started out as a database of recommended dishes at restaurants soon grew to include events to meet and eat with chefs, sweepstakes giveaways, and travel videos. The creative ideas just kept pouring out and I was having so much fun with it, the growth was organic. Two years after findyourcraving.com launched, I quit my job to focus on it full time. My timing was just right, since blogging, food culture, and social media were all experiencing explosive growth.

What triggered your interest in developing Cravings?

I saw a need in the marketplace. I was getting so many inquiries on where to eat and drink, and what to order, that I realized I needed to create a guide that could be easily accessed by a large audience. Print-version Zagat guides were still in their heyday back then, but I knew that this tool I was creating needed to be online. Being online allowed us to expand quickly from a food guide to a lifestyle guide extending to topics on wines, champagnes, travel, and culture. I also knew that Cravings needed to be colorful, lively, and luscious, just as food should be, and as a designer, I could make my guide unique by incorporating design, creativity, and fun. One of the main aspects that differentiates Cravings from other guides is that we are just as focused on the design as we are on the content. I am both a food editor and a graphic designer, and I find gastronomy and design to be completely complementary, and what sets us apart.

How have you gone about making it into a business?

A combination of online advertising, partnerships, organizing events, and providing consulting, video production, and graphic design services. Cravings focuses on food, wine, travel, and lifestyle, all of which is presented through thoughtful design. People noticed the design immediately and started to ask us to help them with design services from the beginning. As the demand for these different revenue streams grew, I decided to pull them together and launch Cravings Productions, a company that produces videos and provides letterpress, design services, and photography, with a focus on the food and beverage industry.

Have your plans and goals always worked out the way you want? Were there failures, and how did you overcome them? What did you learn from them?

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