Introducing a team member with a love of colour, illustrative design, languages and wind instruments …
and who has a creative outlet that will either get you super excited or leave you cold!
What did you do before joining Alive?
Before joining Alive I was freelancing, working on the rebrand of a street furniture company. The pandemic saw a change in my work circumstances when I lost my job at STA Travel. I have worked in a number of roles for design led hostels, Bibendum and Asia Onlus – an NGO in Italy involved in long distance adoption of Tibetan children, elderly and monks.
How did you get into design in the first place?
The road to graphic design stemmed originally from a love of illustration. I have always been very passionate about drawing from a young age as my Mum had a printing/stationery shop and I was surrounded by colour, paint and drawing resources.
But to get to where I am today I had to take a few small detours. After compromising with my Mum by initially studying languages (which to be fair has come in very useful) I was then finally able to pursue my love of drawing through studying illustration. During this time I published a pop-up book for children (a mini guide about cities of the world). I went on to learn digital illustration and subsequently touched upon graphic design. In Italy it’s hard to find a job within design or illustration so after some research I discovered I needed a degree to work in the field and embarked on my BA course where I fell in love with all types of creative projects, changing my interest slowly from illustration to graphic design.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
I always try to have fun with any kind of job and task. I have changed a lot over the years so I have enjoyed different things at different stages of my life. At the moment my favourite part is finding concepts behind a brand, researching and studying. Design offers choice and always gives me the chance to evolve and change my tastes. Brand development is the part I enjoy the most, I love the narrative behind it, creating the identity and the concept that will shape a business forever.
Where are we most likely to find you outside of work?
When I am not working I am drawing, building my tattoo portfolio and having fun with some fake/real skin (…shhh, that’s a secret as my Mum doesn’t want me to tattoo).
During the pandemic I taught myself how to play the trumpet by following online tutorials. You can imagine how happy my neighbours and housemates are … fortunately I live in the middle of Walthamstow market so there is even more noise outside! I study German (I’ve been super in love with the language since I was a kid) and Brazilian Portuguese. I have just started to learn Japanese … just to keep things simple and easy 🙂
You can also find me eating and having a nice pint (FYI Weißbier is my fav kind).
Finally, something we’d never guess about you?
I have spent 10 years in the betting industry as cashier and duty manager in the UK and Italy. I know that it might be viewed as a controversial industry to work in, but the jobs supported me while I was studying. Moreover, after the pandemic hit and I lost my design job, it helped me to survive and make a lot of my new best friends. I also met a lot of funny customers and had lots of laughs. It was fun getting to know their lives. They used to cook for me, bring me sweets and I have so many stories I could create a mini design project about the humanity behind the stigma (and the mental health related issues). Watch this space 🙂