Interview with Deborah Avila

Deborah Avila ("DA") interviewed on Tuesday, 13 June.

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

DA : I have over 15 years of experience as an Art Director and UI/UX Designer. I’ve been in leadership roles and have experience managing creative teams. Throughout my career, I have honed my skills in designing and developing user-friendly interfaces, not only for apps, but also for games.

How did you become a designer?

DA : I was applying for History school when I was 17 years old. My father told me to search for other options, since I have been drawing since birth. Then, he sat next to me on the computer and helped me find a new course, and he found it: a new course was starting at the closest University in our town. He said: “This is Graphic Design. Do you know what it is?”, and I didn’t. I didn’t have a clue of what it was. He said: “Look at the pictures. Some people are drawing. You like to draw, don’t you?”, and I answered yes. I applied for this course without even knowing what a designer does. And here I am, after 15 years working as a designer, as happy as anyone could be.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

DA : My priorities are always the best quality I can give to my work, and how fast I can be when doing it. My techniques are within the time management I can give to all my demands, I am highly organized and I can work under pressure and in fast-paced environments. I would describe my design style as flat, modern, and vectorial, especially for illustrations. I feel like this style matches my lifestyle and gives me the best results I can when I’m creating new layouts.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

DA : All kinds of emotions. It can be anxiety when I am struggling with a challenging design. I can be happy and proud when I finish it with all the excellency I wanted to give. I can also be sad or angry when I feel a client isn’t honest, and I finish the work all the same. But, mainly, my emotions are as if I were an adventurer climbing a tall mountain - all very thrilling, challenging, and worthy.

What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?

DA : I guess working under pressure taught me how to be so fast. I can create the best layouts for websites, apps and branding within a day or so, using a time management skill I developed with experience. I come from an aggressive environment in my family, since an early age, and it taught me to have patience and to be focused on the important things ahead, like a due date during work or not to get too distracted.

What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?

DA : I started as someone who didn’t even know what design was, to someone who can’t live without design. I started very young and worked for several companies, having some difficult bosses and great ones. I can’t even count the time I spent working all night to deliver the best design I could to the clients. All this experience taught me everything I needed to be a successful designer now. My future plans would be to work more, and more, until I get comfortable enough in life and rest. My dream job would be to release an app that everyone around the globe would use.

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

DA : Patience and tolerance with critiques. During a designer’s career, they won’t hear only good things. It’s more likely they’ll get more critiques and will have to redo an entire work if they must. But this is all experience and fuel the designer can use to achieve even more success in their career.

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

DA : I would say never to stop working and creating the best design they can do. It is normal to feel insecure sometimes, but never let that overcome your heart. Always trust yourself, your knowledge, and your experience. Bring design to your life, and you won’t ever work a day.

What is your day to day look like?

DA : Well, I wake up around 5 am in the morning and start working. I take a look at my priorities and start in there. I don't stop and don't get distracted, ever. There's never a boring day, since I am always receiving a heavy workload.

How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?

DA : I am always taking a quick look at websites such as Awwwards, and Dribbble. The best UI/UX Design releases are there, and the best professionals are also. The trends flow in these places; I get the best of them by watching videos and reading articles.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

DA : A successful design is one that can be used, no matter by who. It is also that one where you can see you’ve earned experience to keep going, advancing in your skills. For me, almost all Apple products are like that: simple, clean, beautiful and practical.

How do you decide if your design is ready?

DA : To be honest, a design is never completed. You can always give new inventions and qualities to your designs, features, and trends. There’s always a way to improve them, but basically, I decide a design is ready to go, as a first version, when it achieves all the requirements the client wants and also has the quality and cleanness I wanted to give.

What is your biggest design work?

DA : My biggest design work that came to the public and got famous was the Black Beans Design Branding. I created their logo and identity, and that earned me an A’ Design Award & Competition prize. It was a big challenge as well. I had to create their full logo and identity in one day, and to see how important it got, made me very happy.

Who is your favourite designer?

DA : For me, the best designer and inventor will always be Steve Jobs. He revolutionized technology as we know it, bringing the start of new design products, new design thinking, and all.

Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?

DA : I live in Rio de Janeiro, one of the most beautiful cities in Brazil. The bright colors are very important to our culture; I think my colorful work comes with this environment. The pros of designing are the beautiful color palette I have at my disposal: so many bright and clear colors representing the happiness of my country. I suppose that the cons are related to not all the clients and companies will understand this happy, bright side of design - some would prefer monochromatic works and perhaps would consider it juvenile.

Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?

DA : My work culture is basically to give excellency all the time. Not only related to the quality of the design itself, but also during the call with the client, the time I will have to work on it, and how I approach the client if he doesn’t approve immediately the art I created. It’s important to keep in mind how excellent you can be if you want to. The challenges are always in giving the best experience to the clients, without losing time, and mostly always being flexible.

What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?

DA : I am always creating pro bono designs for people who don’t have ways of paying me. I treat the pro bono works as if they are regular tasks, and deliver them with the same excellency I work for all the clients. They are all equal to me. I am also always mentoring new designers, giving workshops and tutorials on how to use design tools, all for free. Knowledge is important to pass on, and not everything has to be paid with money. The simple fact that people are also learning and becoming designers is the payment for me.

What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?

DA : It was very nice to earn the Silver prize and to be able to display and show it to the world. It earned me several more clients, and I believe that’s just the beginning. Design competitions are relevant to professionals who are aiming to be discovered among the best ones in the market, and to become a better designer by having more experience when earning prizes. I am proud that all my years of work sent me to this place now.

Deborah Avila Profile