Vanessa Plaza Lazo shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Vanessa, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I’ve always been a person that likes to have an idea of how to get to a place or a goal, plan it and then walk the path towards it. However, with the pass of the time, I’ve learned that wandering a little every now and then makes me confirm if the path I’m taking is the actual path I want to keep on or if I find new ways to take me to the same place/goal, or even just somewhere new. It’s part of growing while living. We evolve and sometimes we reenforce our believes, some others we change perspectives and so our paths, wandering enriches that process.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Vanessa Plaza Lazo, I’m an Ecuadorian Production Designer based in Los Angeles, California. My job consist in visualizing the tangible and aesthetic environment of a production/story, assign a color palette according to semiotic concept, design the scenery for this environment and turn that visual world into reality with the help a team of very talented craftsmen.
I started my career in Buenos Aires, Argentina working on great TV hits such as Extreme Makeover Home Edition Latin America, Big Brother Argentina (multiple seasons) and Your face sounds familiar (multiple seasons).
I’ve designed TV commercials for NBA, Amazon, LA FC, DoorDash, Call of Duty, Bose, Spectrum and many others. My artistic eye and wide multicultural background has given me the opportunity to design for Weathering (NETFLIX), Dramarama (HULU), Lenovo Late Night IT, Season 1 & 2 (Youtube), as well as being nominated and awarded for her role as Production Designer in multiple festivals.
Throughout my life I’ve had the opportunity to live in different Countries and grow surrounded different cultures and communities. This journey has developed in me a board multicultural perspective and a sharp artistic eye that helps me visualize different environments in a very unique way.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
Two of the people that I will always be grateful to in my career are Ale Isler (Argentinian Production Designer) who gave me my first opportunity to start in this carrier and guide me to take flight. And Valeria Sorge (Argentinian Production Designer) the person who gave me the push to take the courage to believe in my ideas. I worked multiple years with them and those will be experiences I will always cherish and carry with me for the rest of my life.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Many times, I still do, sometimes. The entertainment industry can be very frustrating, as well as very rewarding. I’m very grateful I have an amazing support system that reminds me my purposes, the long way traveled and the passion and effort put into all the things I’ve achieved.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
My public version of me, is the real me, for sure. I’m proud of who I am, where I come from and the journey I’ve gone through to get to where I am now. I love to share it and I embrace it as a super power when it comes to present myself as my own brand at work as well.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What will you regret not doing?
I would definitely regret not doing something for being scared of trying.
I’m very passionate about the things I do in live. Therefore, most of the times I do things following my guts and my desire to achieve something, which always comes with a risk. However, I believe that part of process to get to where you want to go comes with the opportunity of challenging yourself and taking risks. To me, the whole point of enjoying the process is taking yourself out of your comfort zone and not stayed wondering what would’ve happened if you would’ve tried.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vaneplazalazo.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vaneplazalazo/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessaplazalazo/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9818475/
Image Credits
Main image of me on Gray background. Credits: Enrique Aviles @enriqueavilesphoto
