Kody Deretic started designing posters for hardcore gigs at 15, volunteered through council youth programs, and never stopped freelancing. Now running Darkroom, a platform offering free mockups for students, Kody’s practice blends design, generosity, and a clear sense of purpose.
His career is built not just on creative output, but on community—coworking spaces, beer chats, and a belief in sharing what you’ve learned. Whether through mentoring at Headspace or making his income public each year to help others, Kody represents a new kind of creative leadership: generous, grounded, and unapologetically real.
Can you tell us a little about your first few steps in your career. Was there a moment or experience when you realised this was what you'd do as a career?
What lessons from your career have most shaped your style and approach?
Tell us about the core values or philosophies that guide your creative practice.
Last year, Christopher Doyle released a book called Nothing I Know Belongs To Me, borrowing a philosophy from Paul Arden at Saatchi & Saatchi - a sentiment I really resonate with.
I’ve only made it this far because of the kind, generous people who came before me. People I’ve met in co-working spaces who’ve helped with tricky clients, shared invoicing tips, or talked through how to structure contracts. We’re all kind of fighting the same fight, so I’ve always felt a responsibility to share what I’ve learnt too. That’s included volunteering as a careers mentor through Headspace and sharing my income publicly each year as a resource. Both have been, by far, the most rewarding parts of my career.
What needs to change, so emerging and under-represented creative professionals have more opportunity, are seen and heard?
How much does your city influence your work?
What should emerging creative professionals keep in mind as they begin their design career?
As a grad, or someone just entering the industry, there can be a lot of pressure to find your niche. And while that makes sense from a business perspective, I think it’s more important to just be creative and try lots of things. After a few years of putting in the time, you’ll naturally gravitate towards the work you love. And once you find that, the money usually starts to come more easily.
On a more practical level, a few things I wish I knew earlier as a freelancer: always use a basic contract, take 50% payment upfront and 50% before delivering final files, don't do anything for less than $40 and hour, track your time to see if you're charging enough, use a simple accounting spreadsheet to stay on top of things, reach out to creatives you admire, and spend time in co-working spaces - you’ll meet like-minded people and pick up a lot just by being around others.