Life & Work with Maria Zangone

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Zangone.

Hi Maria, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always been drawn to images and to the way they can completely change how we perceive something. My journey started in graphic and digital design, but over time it naturally expanded into art direction, photography, branding and, more recently, AI-assisted visual experimentation.

Rather than following one perfectly linear path, I’ve built my career by allowing these different disciplines to influence one another. I’ve always been curious about what happens when you blur the boundaries between photography, design and imagination, taking something real and pushing it slightly beyond reality.

A meaningful milestone in my journey was receiving a D&AD New Blood Yellow Pencil in 2022. Beyond the award itself, it gave me confidence in the idea that having a distinctive visual point of view – and not necessarily fitting neatly into one creative category – could actually be a strength.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work across different industries, particularly beauty, fashion and premium brands, developing identities, digital experiences, campaigns and visual concepts. At the same time, I continued developing my personal artistic practice, experimenting with surreal photography, digital manipulation and image-making.

AI eventually became another tool in that process, and today I’m also part of Runway’s Creative Partner Program. I don’t see it as a replacement for photography or traditional creative work, but as an extension of the creative toolbox. I often combine photography, AI-generated elements and extensive Photoshop post-production to create images that sit somewhere between the real and the imagined.

Today, these two sides of my work coexist. Through Marysse Design, my independent brand and creative studio, I work with brands on identity, art direction and digital experiences. Alongside it, through Marysszang, I explore a more personal visual world through photography, digital art and AI.

Looking back, I think the common thread has always been curiosity. I love learning new tools, combining disciplines and finding unexpected ways to translate an idea into an image or an experience. I’m still evolving, and I hope I always will.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road, but I think most creative careers are built through a certain amount of uncertainty.

One of my biggest challenges has been learning to embrace the fact that I don’t fit neatly into one creative category. For a long time, I felt that I had to define myself as one thing: a graphic designer, an art director, a photographer. I worried that being interested in too many disciplines could make my work feel less focused. Over time, I realized that the opposite was true. The connections between those different skills are actually what shape my visual language and the way I approach a project today.

Working independently has been another huge learning experience. Creativity is only one part of it, you also have to learn how to run a business, communicate your value, manage clients, negotiate, deal with uncertainty and make decisions even when there isn’t a clear roadmap. Learning to put the right value on my own work was probably one of the hardest parts.

There have also been moments when I questioned whether I was moving in the “right” direction, especially in a creative industry that changes incredibly fast. But I’ve learned to see change as something to work with rather than fear. Photography, digital design, new technologies and AI are constantly evolving, and staying curious has helped me evolve with them without losing my own point of view.

I’m still figuring things out, of course. But today I’m much more comfortable with uncertainty. I’ve learned that not having everything perfectly mapped out doesn’t necessarily mean you’re lost, sometimes it simply means you’re building a path that didn’t exist for you before.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work sits at the intersection of brand design, art direction, photography and digital image-making.

Through Marysse Design, my independent brand and creative studio, I work on brand identities, digital and physical experiences, creative direction and visual systems, especially for beauty, fashion, hospitality and premium brands. I’m particularly interested in projects where strategy and aesthetics have to work together – where the goal is not simply to make something beautiful, but to build a clear and recognizable visual world around a brand.

Alongside my commercial work, I also develop a more personal artistic practice through Marysszang, where I experiment with surreal photography, AI, digital collage and Photoshop post-production. That side of my work is more instinctive and exploratory, and it often feeds back into the way I approach client projects.

One of the things that defines my approach is the ability to move across disciplines while keeping a strong visual coherence. I can look at the same project as a designer, an art director and an image-maker, connecting strategy, identity and imagery rather than treating them as separate worlds.

What I’m most proud of is having built a creative identity that feels genuinely mine. Winning a D&AD New Blood Yellow Pencil in 2022 was an important milestone, but I’m equally proud of the body of work I’ve continued to build since then and of the trust clients place in me to shape how their brands are seen and experienced.

My approach combines precision with experimentation. I care deeply about structure, typography, hierarchy and brand consistency, but I’m equally drawn to unexpected images, surreal ideas and new technologies. I like when a project feels polished and intentional, while still containing something slightly unexpected.

Ultimately, I try to create work that is not only visually strong, but memorable, something with a clear identity that stays with you after you’ve seen it.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Since I’m based in Milan, I can’t pretend to know Los Angeles like someone who lives there, so my perspective is definitely from the outside.

What has always fascinated me about LA is its visual culture and the incredible mix of creative industries that coexist there. Photography, fashion, cinema, music, design and technology seem to constantly influence one another, and that kind of cross-pollination really resonates with the way I work. There’s also something about the light, architecture and landscapes of California that has shaped so much of the visual imagery we all grew up with.

As for what I like least, it would probably be the distance… quite literally! I would love to experience the city and its creative community more closely rather than mostly through the work, images and people that travel from LA to the rest of the world.

So perhaps this interview is a small first connection.

Pricing:

• All projects are individually quoted based on scope, complexity, timeline and deliverables.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://maryssedesign.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marysszang/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marysse/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/maryssedesign/

Image Credits
Maria Zangone / Marysszang — Original imagery created through photography and/or AI, with Photoshop post-production