Tell us about where you studied and some of your highlights and favourite lecturers.
I am in my final year of a degree called Design and Creative Technologies in Valencia, Spain. I study at UPV, a Polytechnic university that offers many engineering degrees, and the influence of them shows up in our curriculum with the offer of modules like web and app design, development, UX/UI… It is design but with an additional approach to new media and tech! I honestly do not want this year to come to an end because I have had so much fun and learned a lot during my studies: from typography and UI to illustration and branding, plus my lecturers are so close to us and have a lot of knowledge in the design field.
I would like to mention my teachers (and now friends <3) Álvaro Sanchis and Melani Lleonart for teaching me during these past four years and also for being my internship tutors! And another shoutout to Sabina Alcaraz for teaching me the Portfolio module that helped me build a portfolio that has been chosen by the jury of the awards!
What weird and wonderful things are you obsessed with right now that inspires your creative work?
I have a little obsession with typography in the street. Whether it is old lettering (I used to do lettering as a teen, and that is what got me into my graphic design studies!), supermarket tickets, or car license plates (I especially love when they are from other countries and the letter design changes!), I am always reading and admiring the forms.
Also, I am such a geek about scientific things like evolution, biology, and science, and I like to incorporate that into my work or my design process.
Favourite travel destinations that inspire you?
- My grandparents’ town. It is a small village called Mosqueruela, in Teruel, Spain. It only has about 500 inhabitants, but since I’ve traveled there every summer and Christmas, I have such fond memories. The best part about it is the old buildings and the forests that surround the village. You can get lost so easily! Having that place that allows me to reconnect with my roots and the magic of nature always inspires me. 🙂
- Valencia! I moved to this big city in Spain to study design, and everything about it is a source of inspiration. The way the sun falls on the facades of Ruzafa, sunrises running next to the beach, or the lively atmosphere in the bars all add up to my creative process. Also, the design culture is so big in the city, and I’ve met so many people who inspire me on a daily basis.
- Paris. The French capital was my first-ever trip outside Spain, and I can still remember almost every detail. It was also a gift from my brother, so you can imagine how excited I was visiting all the museums and architecture. I was like a child in Disneyland! (which we didn’t visit, btw, hahaha). The fact that you can enter the museums for free if you’re young, that we encountered so many talented people on the streets of Montmartre, or just seeing people singing and dancing in the streets… Wow! What a city to be inspired by. I would love to come back and spend days just wandering the streets alone, with a notebook to take notes and sketches.
Tell us about your tools / what tech, programs, equipment and environment do you do your best work in?
I am 70% my beloved MacBook Air. It feels like an extension of myself! In school and in my personal projects, we use Adobe CC for almost everything, but I am a huge fan of Procreate for my little illustration attempts and Blender for anything 3D.
Oh, but if I could choose only one tool, I’d say Figma has changed the way I design. Not only has it made me fall in love with UX/UI design and prototyping, but it’s so efficient and easy to use that I would dread designing without it now!
As for the environment, please give me my headphones, my desktop at home (which faces a huge wall covered in windows), and a sunny day. You won’t be able to find me for hours.
Which 3 creatives do you look up to and why?
Tough question!! But I’ll do my best.
First, I’d like to mention Dos Punts Estudi (Insta) because they originated from my university and have done such amazing projects in these past years that they are a great source of inspiration! I adore their style and have had the pleasure of meeting them in real life.
Next, since the beginning of my studies, I have admired Jessica Walsh (Insta). I feel like many design trends are heading towards… minimalism? And I love seeing such a successful, entrepreneurial, and capable woman using design as a bold and colorful communication tool! Also, the way she puts her values first is such a reference for us, the youth, to speak out loud about the injustices that matter to us.
And, finally, I couldn’t leave this interview without mentioning the guys from Requena Office (Insta). They are a design studio from Barcelona that blends type design and branding so seamlessly. I have such a love for custom type and its power to convey the values of a brand that every project they post, I look forward to it! I’d love to meet them one day.
What are your biggest hopes and dreams for 2025, both for the world and your career?
2025 looks a little scary—but in the good meaning of the word, of course! I am finishing my degree in June and presenting my final project, which I’ve been working on for the last couple of months. After that, I would love to do an Erasmus Internship abroad and see where life takes me! So these coming months are going to be all about preparing my portfolio and website and sending a thousand emails!
I would love for this year to be the one that implements better (and paid!) opportunities for the youngest of us starting in the field, as well as better conditions in Spain, my country, for the design industry as a whole. I feel like it’s still not a well-recognized job, and it is part of our job to change that and educate with good examples.
On a more personal and specific note, I would love to make more personal work, like designing a typography of my own, learning how to code better, improving my filming and editing for my YouTube videos (my handle is Estrella Gracia if you want to check it out!), and trying to make every single piece of work I share meaningful and valuable in some way.
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