Tim Read does not remember a time when he didn’t love art.

“I’ve always drawn, for as long as I can remember,” said Read, owner of 5 Fingers Creative, 427 Douglas Ave. “There was no conscious day or moment when I decided it’s what I wanted to do.”

5 Fingers Creative, a graphic design company owned and run solely by Read, has been an Ames institution since 2007.

Before opening the studio, Read worked at Wells Fargo in West Des Moines managing the design department. There he designed advertising, and was in charge of brand management. He did freelance designing on the side for about 20 years before deciding to leave the corporation and start his business.

“It was something I needed to do; it was a dream I had,” Read said. “As an illustrator it was important to me to follow my dream and see it through.”

Read said he enjoys not having any restriction on his art like he did working for a large corporation. Now he gets to perform custom work based on his artistic vision.

5 Fingers Creative focuses on illustration, children’s art and designs for businesses. Currently, Read is getting into the licensing industry, helping businesses design their look. He does logo illustrations for many companies.

Read serves a wide range of businesses, anywhere from small locals to large corporations like the ones he used to work for.

“People who come to me are looking for something unique and fresh with lots of personality,” Read said.

Read works on logos; web illustrations; and graduation, wedding and retirement gifts, just to name a few. People wanting him to illustrate children’s books often just approach him, which is what he is working on now — he frequently has to turn down the authors.

“Self-publishing is very difficult,” Read said. “Usually with large publishing companies, the illustrator is assigned to the book.”

While he usually advises authors to talk to other publishing companies before choosing him as the illustrator, Read said for those ambitious enough to want to publish independently, it is “a great opportunity to get a book together to send and show to a larger publishing company.”

He is also approached by people that have creative ideas for their businesses, but they don’t always know what to do with them. Read helps them brainstorm and come up with a plan. The brainstorming may not always result in work for Read, but part of his job is helping people with their creativity.

Read chose to open 5 Fingers Creative in Ames because his wife owns a chiropractic clinic here, and he thinks Ames is an “outstanding community.”

He said while having a company in a more metro area may have been easier, since he works mostly online, he could have opened 5 Fingers Creative from any location.

People hear about his company mostly through word-of-mouth, but Read also has portfolio sites online, and he actively searches for clients.

“I pick up the phone and call them,” he said. “They’re research calls, and then I send them samples of my work, and I just keep in touch with them until they’re ready for my services.”

Additionally, Read sends online newsletters to more than 300 people each month to let them know what he has to offer.

He’s learned how to run 5 Fingers Creative by getting as much experience in the corporate world as possible. For those design students at Iowa State looking to start their own businesses, Read has a bit of advice.

“Build relationships with the marketing department [of a corporation] and find out how they reach people,” he said. “Learn the marketing side of business. Sixty percent of it is marketing.”

Read attends freelance conferences to learn about marketing, and he has a marketing coach to teach and help him. He is also involved with the design community on the internet, participating in blogs and learning as much as he can from others.

“Have capital before you go [start your business],” Read said. “Build your business in layers. Don’t spend everything right away.”

Over the years, Read has stayed in touch with trends in the design world, and continues to draw even if it isn’t for a client.

“The majority of my work doesn’t have a client behind it,” he said.

He does this work to continue to build his portfolio. He encourages design students to have works included in their portfolios that aren’t their college projects.

“Show your vision and imagination; show your thought process. People are more interested in that than the actual work.”

Read’s work has evolved over the years. He said he is more knowledgeable, and his skills are sharper.

“I’m more in tune with the market and what I want to do,” Read said. “At first I was doing too much for too many. I’ve honed in on what I do best and have focused on doing the best work I can for the client. If you make the agency look good, then they’ll come back.”