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Interview with Nathanna Érica |
Home > Designer Interviews > Nathanna Érica |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Nathanna Érica (N) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Nathanna Érica by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
N: I have always loved to draw, ever since I was very little but it was around five years ago that I really started to consider a career as an artist. Initially, the big plan was to follow on my parents' footsteps and become a lawyer - I even graduated from Law school -, but after I had finished it, it dawned on me that Law wasn't my passion at all. I was born to be an artist.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
N: My design studio is pretty much just myself (with the invaluable help and support of my friends and family, of course).
FS: What is "design" for you?
N: It’s an extension of the artist’s soul. It takes so much courage to show to others something that is so close to us, and to design something is exactly that. It’s the visual expression of one’s identity. If we add that subjective aspect to the functionality and relevance expected of an object, I believe we can have an idea of what design means.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
N: I really like creating my own art, which is basically pretty much all I’ve been doing lately in order to complete my visual development portfolio. Illustrations are my one true love, so that’s what I like to design the most!
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
N: This Tiny Little World set of illustrations was my favorite even before I knew I was going to be awarded for it, so it’s definitely my favorite piece now!
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
N: One of my first designs was a logo made with paper cutting and collage for a lovely boutique called Monika Rose San Francisco, in 2016. I had never designed a logo before, and it was so fun and challenging to create it using only paper and gouache.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
N: My favorite material is paper, absolutely! As much as I love drawing and painting on my computer, I always come back to basics, which, in my case, is paper collage.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
N: Artists are very sensitive people, and being a Highly Sensitive Person, I need to be free of anxiety in order to unleash my creative powers. It’s not always easy, but a good playlist and a 30-minute walk usually help me put me in the right mindset for a new artwork!
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
N: Oh, the composition and the color palette. I like to spend a bit more time on these aspects before I start working on the art itself.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
N: At the beginning of the whole process, I feel a bit anxious because of the many challenges I have to deal with until the artwork is finished. The composition, the color palette, the art style, all these aspects need to be carefully thought of. Once things are well underway and there is at least a semblance of an artwork coming together (ha!), then I get to feel a bit more relaxed.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
N: Relief! Oh gosh, so much relief and joy! I can get pretty stressed out when working on a new project, but once it all starts to fall into place, it’s so nice to get that wonderful feeling of accomplishment wash over me.
FS: What makes a design successful?
N: I believe a design is successful when it achieves its purpose. When it conveys the message that the designer intended to express.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
N: I think that aspects like functionality, creativity, the degree of its impact on society etc., can ultimately helps us determine whether the design is good or not. I like the idea of the “ten principles of good design”, according to design legend Dieter Rams: he said that design should be innovative, make a product useful, be aesthetic, make a product understandable, be unobtrusive, be honest, be long-lasting, be thorough down to the last detail, be environmentally friendly and involve as little design as possible.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
N: As an artist, we have the ability to evoke people’s emotions, which is, for me, one of the most rewarding aspects of this career. Art is such a sublime form of communication and we own it to society to use it as tool to help fight the good fight.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
N: I’m pretty terrible at predicting things, but I’d say that we are going towards virtual reality and designs that are more related robotics and other technological advances. It’s just a guess, but we are probably heading that way!
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
N: I never had my artworks exhibited before, so this is all pretty new to me!
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
N: I’m very inspired by the movies and TV shows I watch. Classic animation films also played a huge part in my development as an artist and I guess all this shows in my style.
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
N: My style could be seen as a mixture of vintage children’s illustrations and early animation movies. This is a style I have always found fascinating and I try to constantly explore it.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
N: I live in São Paulo, Brazil. My city is one of the biggest and busiest in the country, and living here certainly affects the way I create my designs. I was born in a very colorful and diverse country, and I think my fascination for color and diversity can be seen in many of my artworks.
FS: How do you work with companies?
N: Being a freelance artist, I haven’t had much experience in working with companies. Although I have done work for some companies, I’ve retained some freedom to create what was asked of me. I hope to also experience the dynamics of working inside a company, being an employee rather than working independently. I think it will help me grow a lot professionally.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
N: I believe that companies are interested in artists who can relate to their brand, who can bring their own unique styles to the table and help them grow their intellectual property. I think social media can be a very useful tool in helping young artists display their body of work and make this connection between the designer and the company.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
N: The project usually starts with reference research before the initial sketches. The second part is sketching some ideas and then copying the graphite sketch to the papers used for the creation of the artwork. After that, it is necessary to put the pieces together, like a puzzle, in order to create the 3D effect of these illustrations. Once the art is finished, it is ready to be photographed and printed.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
N: I have some fashionable lamps on my desk and a very exotic pair of scissors called Phi, that I bought from Italy (yay!)
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
N: I usually start my business mornings going through my emails in order to organize my priorities. After I sorted out what I need to do first, I tune up my favorite playlist and get right to it! At the moment, I work from home, so I need to pay attention to not get too involved with work and forget about the other aspects of my life.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
N: My biggest advice would be that they should listen to their hearts way sooner than I did! I always had that great inclination towards arts in general, but it took me five years of Law school to realize that I didn’t want to follow any legal career. I’m very grateful for all that I learned during those years and for the friends I made along the way, but I think it would have been nice to be preparing myself to be an artist for longer than I have.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
N: Being a designer is no different from other professions, but I could list some of the positives as: we get to work with what we love; we get to put our creativity and imagination to some good use; we get to draw for a living, basically. As for the negatives, I’d associate them with the fact that, being a freelancer, we can easily blur the lines between our business hours and the rest of our day. There aren’t really fixed working hours, so we have the risk of being burned out or just plain stressed out. I can’t really speak for those artists who work in a company, but the demands of the job and the many rushed deadlines can be listed as slightly negative I think.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
N: I believe my golden rule is to go with instinct. We can think of several “do’s and don’t do’s” when working as a designer, but in the end, each project is different and the only constant is our experience.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
N: I would venture to say that an imaginative mind is essential to anyone who wishes to work with design. Other than that, it’s practice, practice, practice.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
N: I use a lot of colorful papers, my trusted pair of scissors, gouache, color pencils, sketchbooks and a copy of “The Nine Old Men”. The software I use the most is Adobe Photoshop, and I’ve just started playing with my iPad Pro.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
N: I really need a constant reminder to separate my social life from my professional life, because being a freelance artist can totally blur the line that separates my business hours from the rest of my day. It’s the burden of loving what you do, I suppose.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
N: It usually takes me one week. Ten days at the most.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
N: People often ask me if my artworks are made with digital or traditional media. The layered papers and the overall 3D look of my paper pieces make people wonder if they were digitally created or not.
FS: What was your most important job experience?
N: I think I’m about to experience it, in the next few weeks. I’ve recently been contacted by a company that basically offered me my dream job, so I guess my most important job experience is yet to come!
FS: Who are some of your clients?
N: I’ve been fortunate enough to work with HarperCollins Publishers, Blue Dream Studios, Storytime Magazine, Correios do Brasil, Birdo Studio, just to name a few. There’s also a big one to be added soon! Things to come!
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
N: I love illustrative designs, the kind that allows me to tell a story using just visual elements.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
N: I have many plans, but my biggest one is to have the opportunity to work in an animation studio. Among other things, I’m working on my first picture book, so let’s see how that goes!
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
N: I am a one woman army haha! All by myself, except when I’m freelancing for a company/studio, in which cases I need to follow their instructions and/or work with a team of artists.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
N: I have so many projects in progress right now! Apart from my freelancing work, I’m currently working on my visual development portfolio, which comprises of many different styles of art, such as life drawings, painted backgrounds, character model sheets, and every visual element that is needed for the animation industry.
FS: How can people contact you?
N: They can send me a message on my website (nathannaerica.com) or email me at nath.hanna.erica@gmail.com. My Instagram (@theartofnathannaerica) is also open to comments and suggestions!
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
N: These have been some pretty comprehensive questions! Nothing to be added! I’d like to take a moment to thank you all for the opportunity to share some thoughts about my work. It means the world to me and to think I’ve actually come all this way is something more gratifying than anything I’ve ever experienced.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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