Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Manuela Pellegrini. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Manuela, thanks for joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?
I work in the graphic design industry, but I believe Corporate America gets everyone in the creative industry wrong. Since I was a kid I always loved every creative area, and I always felt so misunderstood. At school I always felt “dumb” for not being “booksmart”, and felt like my creative intelligence was never appreciated. As I got older and got into the graphic design industry, I felt the same way. Just because graphic design or other creative jobs are not like the more common jobs like medicine or engineering, it doesn’t mean it’s less important or less difficult. I mean, nobody believes in your work, everybody thinks what you do is so easy and stupid and anyone could do it. Everyone thinks you’re never getting any money, or that you’re never going to be successful. If you work for a corporation, the other workers will never understand what you do, and always think they know better than you. Another thing I always get frustrated about, is that companies think a graphic designer should do EVERYTHING. Sometimes you are a web designer, and they want you to be a web designer, videomaker, marketing director, social media…. It’s like, I’m sorry but I’m not a handyman. It’s really frustrating out here.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Manuela, I’m 21, and a graphic designer student from São Paulo, Brazil. I have always loved everything related to arts and creativity since I was a kid. At school I always struggled with subjects and the only one I truly loved was arts class. I always loved doing digital arts and posters, especially for fanclubs and Instagram accounts when I was around 12. At 14, I discovered graphic design and instantly fell in love. At 16 I started learning Adobe Photoshop and at 18 I got into a design college in Brazil named Istituto Europeo di Design São Paulo. I finally started studying graphic design and I realized that I was meant to do that with my life for sure. Last year at 20 years old, I was a finalist at the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship, located in Los Angeles. Me and another girl from Brazil were chosen to go to L.A. represent Brazil in the championship. It was an amazing experience. I’m currently working at a brazilian gossip magazine named “Revista Quem” at one of the biggest companies in my county named “Globo”. Inside the graphic design industry, I fell in love with editorial design and that’s what I do now. I have a lot of ideas for my future and a dream to start a business of my own, like an editorial design studio. I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and very excited for the future for sure!
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
For me, I think the most important goal in my life is to be happy and make others happy by being a creative. We live in such an anxious, stressed, fast, money centered society, and we often forget that our happiness is the most important thing. Of course, we always have to work to make money so we can afford basic human things and survive. And of course I want to be successful in my career, but for me being happy is the number one on the list. I see so many people hating their jobs, and not living, but surviving. Creativity is what makes my heart happy, and I hope I will always choose my heart first. I want to explore the world, live life at its fullest, share my work with others and discover new people and projects. I believe that’s my main goal in life.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Honestly, I believe the most important resource in the creative journey is networking. Having great contacts is the key to getting good jobs and clients in the creative world. When I first got into college, I knew that, but didn’t take it as seriously as I should. But it makes such a big difference. So my advice would be to go to events, talk to people, make questions, send dm’s, talk to your teachers, follow everyone that you admire on social media and that will definitely benefit you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.behance.net/manuelapellegr
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manupellegrini__
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuela-pellegrini-956708248/
- Other: You can publish if you want to :)
