Today we’d like to introduce you to Unitha Ramirez.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Ever since I was three years old, I have always wanted to be involved in art/design in some way. While my dad played around with the idea of me becoming a judge or an astronaut, I was busy drawing Pokémon characters and creating my own protagonists. You could say that Pokémon is what really inspired me to get into art and become interested in a character design career. It didn’t take much for my dad to give in to my art-related career goals because he himself would have loved to pursue art when he was younger too.
While attending high school, a lack of inspiration and time to commit to my art was what led to the downfall of my character designer goals. However, upon discovering the world of Korean Pop music, I became interested in package design. Unlike many American CDs that are cheaply made with easily breakable plastic jewel cases, the norm of K-Pop albums is a package that includes a photo book with beautifully executed visual concepts and photography, carefully considered typography, and little photocard freebies that culminate into a really rewarding experience.
This discovery propelled me into pursuing graphic design in college, with a portfolio that largely focused on package design because I always believed (and continue to believe) that nothing can replace the experience of opening a physical product.
Please tell us about your art.
Although my portfolio’s focus is package design, I actually don’t currently work in that field! After college, I did do a package design internship with Hexbug, a toy company in Texas whose products get children interested in robotics and STEM. However, as an associate designer for Disney’s Yellow Shoes (Disney’s internal ad agency), I create logo concepts for upcoming attractions and resorts, redesign ad templates based on client needs and evolving design, and design print collateral. With my job, there are clear goals and messages to portray in my work and have less to do about what message I’d personally want to show.
Because I work in a creative field, I find it hard to continue designing outside of my normal work hours before I feel burned out. Because of this, the kind of art I do for myself now leans more into photography. I’ve always had wanderlust, so I enjoy photographing my travels and experiences. It’s a different creative outlet that allows me to search for a composition rather than create one from scratch, and I find that very therapeutic. Rather than creating art for others (in this case photographing), I do it for myself. Maybe my travels could inspire others to see the world, or at the very least, I hope that talking about what I do as another creative outlet inspires other industry creatives to find their own getaways!
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
Every artist is going to have a different definition of success, but for my own work, I define success as any little step in trying something new, even if the results might seem unfavorable. And that “something new” doesn’t have to be an insane change in personal style. Too many of us get caught in trying to reinvent the wheel and when it doesn’t go right, we immediately give up. I think it’s essential to know when to take small steps and accept “good enough for now” before we stifle our creativity.
In that same manner, we shouldn’t give up on our personal art if we don’t think an audience will like it enough. Your passion for self-promo can work in tandem with your passion for art, but if your passion for self-promo is bigger, then you will become a prisoner of your own doing with something that should bring you joy.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
A lot of the work I am most proud of from my job is either non-public facing or just not released to the public yet, but currently, most of my college portfolio is available on my Behance page at https://www.behance.net/UR_Design. For my personal photography, I upload to my Instagram @unitha.
I’m hoping in the near future, I can enter some of my photos from my trips abroad into photography exhibitions, so be on the lookout! 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.behance.net/UR_Design
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unitha/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/unitharamirez/
Image Credit:
Unitha Ramirez
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