How lucky are we! We met with Liza Enebeis of long time admired Studio Dumbar. We spoke about how she started out in the industry, how intern's are an important part of the team at Studio Dumbar and her AWESOME passion project.
Where did you study and what were some of your first jobs?
I studied at Parsons School of Design and Royal College of Art. My first job was at Pentagram in London. I had a bout 10 interviews with different studios in London. The 10th one offered me a job. My first project was to design a birthday invite for a long standing client at Pentagram — she was having a huge party because she was turning 40. I presented my first ideas — she was in complete shock —I had a huge 45 on her invite. Luckily she calmed down and I continued working at Pentagram for another 7 years.
Whats your take on internships? (do you take interns now?)
Having interns at Studio Dumbar is part of our culture. Interns play an integral part in the team.
Our internship program is all year round and lasts for a period of 3 months per internship. We always take 2 interns and they mostly come from abroad.
Interns bring new ways of seeing and doing—different cultural perspectives which is very inspiring for the whole team. They participate in the whole design process.
The majority of designers that work at Studio Dumbar were ex-interns — as an intern its the best way to see if you like the mentality of the studio, the work, the people and of course vice versa for the team to also to get to know you.
What qualities and skills to you look for in a graduate?
Of course we look for the usual, passion drive, strong portfolio BUT at the end of the day its whether you will fit in the team—we spend most of our day working together.
You might have the best work but its important that you enjoy working with the team and this is not always in your control.
Any passion projects you would like to share?
I collect books, I don’t know the exact number but I think I have around 5000 at the moment. I think its an addiction. I buy more than 1 copy usually to keep one sealed and one to look through. Or if I find a second copy of a rare book — I will buy it because its so thrilling to find it.
I don’t limit myself to graphic design. There are several areas that I am interested in. Artists books, Stedelijk Museum Catalogues, Anatomy, flower arranging, cartography, typography, outsider art, bibles, erotica, fashion, illustration, photography, children books, collections, snoopy paperbacks, James Bond paperbacks, astronomy and architecture.
I don’t limit myself to graphic design. There are several areas that I am interested in. Artists books, Stedelijk Museum Catalogues, Anatomy, flower arranging, cartography, typography, outsider art, bibles, erotica, fashion, illustration, photography, children books, collections, snoopy paperbacks, James Bond paperbacks, astronomy and architecture.
What has been some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt along the way?
Be honest
Trust yourself
Never design on an empty stomach
Work with people that are better than you
What goes around comes around - so be kind
What advice would you give students starting out?
Do what you love the most.
No matter what degree you graduated from — do something that you enjoy and not what is expected from you or what you think is expected from you.
The motivation of just loving the work you do in any field will drive you to do great things.
Where to find Studio Dumbar online.
Website: studiodumbar.com
