Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexis Quezada. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Alexis thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve always been a crafty/creative person. Growing up I loved getting art kits as gifts no matter what was inside and was always ready to try something new. In high school, you could find me in the ‘art hallway’ where all the art classes were and I think that’s when I really started to consider that a creative career was something I wanted to pursue. I took every class from pottery to fine art drawing to cartooning to photography, but I took me a while to figure out what types of careers were possible. I knew the starving artist persona so often portrayed in 90s movies couldn’t be the only path for me as a creative.

Cartooning class and a fantastic teacher (shoutout to Mr. Bargman!) really sparked my love for digital art but a lot of my exposure to graphic design came from my mom. She owns a print company, Printwerx, here in Arizona so growing up I got to see how digital art could be applied to so many different products and used for marketing. I was hooked.

Alexis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am currently a Graphic Designer at Harper + Scott, a New York based design and manufacturing studio. I have been fortunate enough to design/develop products and customer experiences for many well-known brands like IMAX, Maybelline, and Wingstop. My projects can be anything from influencer mailers to retail products for their online stores to event merchandise. I really enjoy both the artistic and technical sides of this work and seeing my designs go from the computer screen to functional products is something that gets me excited everyday.

With this experience in product development, I also have my own brand: Casual Nomad Co. I have an online shop where I sell stickers and accessories with a focus on nature, and most recently, books. The story behind the name ‘casual nomad’ is that when I started hiking more, I felt like all the social media pages I found were hardcore outdoorsy people with all this incredible gear. And while that is awesome to see, the reality is that most of the time I wouldn’t be on a mountain and more likely just walking through my neighborhood, but I still enjoy nature just as much. I thought, where are the people who like being outside but also like binging Netflix too? Those are my people.

Casual Nomad Co. is really an extension of me and the things that I love but finding people who appreciate my work and enjoy the same things I do is so much fun.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think creatives are always fighting to prove the value of their work since it’s such a subjective practice but I think society can help by truly believing in our worth. The creative process is so much more than just the outcome. The entire process of creative thinking and giving life to an idea is something we put our hearts and souls into. Art is a part of everyone’s life whether you are creating it or consuming it so to say it doesn’t have value just isn’t true. We see it in music, in home decor, on billboards, and every product we interact with, someone’s creative mind made it. I truly believe everyone is creative and we should foster an environment that keeps us curious and lets our ideas flow freely.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding part of being a creative is seeing my ideas become a real, tangible things. There is just something so exciting about being able to hold and interact with an idea that once lived only in my head or on my computer screen. It’s even more satisfying when other people enjoy it just as much as I do. This is true not just in my professional life but also in the things I make at home or as gifts. I enjoy the process through and through.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alexisqzada.com/
• Instagram: Business Insta: https://www.instagram.com/casualnomadco/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexisqzada/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexisQzada
• Other: Personal Insta: https://www.instagram.com/alexispeschke/
  Etsy: www.casualnomad.co

Image Credits
Lindsay Smith