Hanna Kastl-Lungberg

Give us the elevator pitch on what you do

I’m a graphic designer and visual artist. I do digital art, mostly prints and patterns, and I also draw and paint. My work is very colorful and playful and I’m very inspired by Los Angeles during the early 90s, to be precise. I like to create happy vibes and I want people to smile when they see my work.

Did you have a plan for graduation and what actually happened?

I started freelancing while I was still in university (I studied design with focus on sustainability) and my plan after school was to continue working on my own, and I also wanted to visit Los Angeles. I took the summer off and then went to LA in the fall. I knew I’d like the city which is why I wanted to go, but I fell in love with it even more than I expected. Now I spend as much time here as I possibly can, while freelancing and working on my own stuff. So I guess it turned out pretty much exactly how I wanted it to :)

What is the design landscape like on your city and where do you fit in?

I’m from Gothenburg, on the west coast of Sweden, and I gotta say I feel a little miss placed there. Sweden is very good with design, people and businesses have a great sense for it, but for my part - people don’t really understand what I do, and it’s not what Swedes are particularly looking for (yet?). Coming to Los Angeles has made me feel like me and my work belong in a way I haven’t felt anywhere in Sweden, it’s more appreciated here. The creative climate is so evident in LA, the city is colorful and vibrant, everybody I meet do art or design in one way or another, and people are not afraid of color or of visually expressing themselves. Art is becoming more accepted in Gothenburg and street art is showing up more and more, and I’m very excited to see what it develops into and to hopefully be a part of it! But for now I’m happy to be a part of the art/design community in LA :)

How did you develop your style as an illustrator and what tips would you have for others?

I started making patterns with squiggly shapes and little dots and lines - just uncomplicated stuff like that. But I saw others doing the same thing and I didn’t feel unique in my expression, but that’s where I started and from there I just grew into my own style more and more. I went from sketching simple geometric shapes to drawing more fun and creative elements taking inspiration from architecture, interiors, furniture, objects… anything. It’s cool to see your work develop.

What I would recommend for others to do is to just practice. I feel like I’ve been sitting around waiting for my style to just suddenly hit me, but it really came to me when I was practicing trying to find it, which is pretty obvious (lol). Just like — produce and produce and produce. Decide to take a challenge or something, like one poster a day or whatever you’re into. It will make you find your thing, there's really no time to lose here.