We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ana Colon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ana below.

Alright, Ana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

All that I’m trying to do during my lifetime is leave the world a better place than how I found it. After studying architecture in college, I realized how connected the built environment is to our physical and mental health, and how many architects and designers are not designing for humans. Being a Mexican-Puerto Rican queer woman, there were not many people like me in these spaces, because they’re intentionally hard to access.

There is so much power in knowledge. And there is so much power in experience. Everybody has experience in something, and nobody can take that away from you.

A long-term goal is to help our communities find their power and to facilitate healing within ourselves in order to access paths that we didn’t even know existed or were possible. I also want to help provide training/education on architecture/design and connecting back with the land, in order to bring us back to who we are as humans, and start designing actually for humans.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Ana Damari and I am a designer and photographer. I love to make art and music on the side, too. Currently, I am doing freelance graphic design work with the intention of starting my own studio. I like to incorporate cultural relevance in my design work, in order to steer away from cookie-cutter designs and something that feels more authentic. Using my design tools and knowledge to leverage others (whether it’s through their branding, or their strategy) is a passion of mine.

In my personal projects, I like to include elements of my Mexican and Puerto Rican roots. I emphasize never forgetting where you came from, but also striving to become better at any given chance.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I hear a lot of people say “I’m not creative.” Creativity is a practice. You can practice it by trying on a new outfit, by cooking a different meal than usual, or even by brushing your teeth in a different direction. The more you play around with your day-to-day tasks (consistently), the more you’ll realize how much of an impact the smallest things have on your life. You can draw a stick figure, or play 2 minutes of guitar. If you do one creative thing each day, it will start compounding into something bigger. It’s worth it.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

In life, you’re taught not to share your secrets with others on how you do things because they might “steal your ideas.” I’ve learned that by sharing ideas and collaborating with others, you can get a lot further with a bigger impact. We need to learn to work together in order to tap into our power for change.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: xdamarix

Image Credits

Ana Damari