Meet Liliana Becerra of STUDIO LILIANA BECERRA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Liliana Becerra.

Liliana, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I opened my design studio in 2008 as a creative consulting business, after working in the corporate world during 7 years for Nokia Design. I originally relocated to Los Angeles from Milan to work as a color, material and finish designer at Nokia. In Milan I worked for Castelli Design, a consultancy focused strategic design, product identity, and advanced color & material design.

Currently, besides running my business, I am also a professor at Art Center College of Design where I teach in the product design and humanities departments. Throughout my 16 years of living and working in Los Angeles, I’ve had the opportunity to combine my experiences from the corporate, the academic and the independent consulting work to create unique projects full of meaning.

This includes consulting client work for corporate clients including Nestle, Lenovo and Simple Human, to writing several books, editorials and curating design exhibitions.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road at all. LA is a very big and spread-around city and it takes time to get used to the long distances, the driving and getting around the traffic. This also makes it hard to connect with like-minded people, especially when you are independent. It takes a lot of effort just to agree to meet someone for coffee or lunch and after that, the driving around town takes an entire morning or afternoon.

I guess I miss the spontaneity with which you randomly meet and interact with people in smaller, more compact cities. To counterbalance this, I decided to open my studio specifically at the core of Downtown LA, where besides producing my best creative work, I enjoy hosting clients and creatives in general to nurture conversation and mutual inspiration.

Discovering and establishing a professional network in LA has also taken some time as there are many creative industries in the city but the tangible connection between them, you have to discover and nurture them yourself. I work on this on a daily basis in order to be able to reach out to the right people in any given moment and also to be connected to the right projects and opportunities.

Despite the difficulties, however, I find the creative, multi-cultural energy of LA, very inspiring and energizing. It can be very granular and dense but at the same time very high brow and glamorous.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about STUDIO LILIANA BECERRA Inc. (Inc. is part of the name) – what should we know?
My studio practice specializes in strategic design, trend foresight and advanced Color, Material and Finish Design for consumer products, including soft and hard goods. Most of our clients are interested in understanding relevant emerging trends that are influencing their industry, and most importantly, what these trends mean for them in order to touch upon the heart and soul of consumers. There are a series of “soft values cues” behind every product and brand that are almost imperceptible at first.

However, if you know how to articulate them in terms of physical form, visual language, look & feel as well as, real and perceived value, your product has a better chance of being successful. The focus of our work is to detect and articulate intangible and ever-changing perceptions of value – from luxury to entry-level brands – into tangible design elements that can be touched, felt and seen as an overall experience.

Besides client work I am also very proud of my most recent book – CMF Design – The Fundamental Principles of Color, Material and Finish Design, published by Frame where, I compile practical thinking around material processes, manufacturing and how to use them to create unique customer experiences.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Actually, I consider myself to be a mentor for creatives. I am an enthusiast of young talent and try to support design entrepreneurship as much as possible. I have a long list of mentees and protegees who’s talent I support guide and inspire.

For my business, I have to be thankful from day one, for having global clients who continue to see the value of an expert external perspective with a keen eye for design aesthetics.

Contact Info:

• Address: 420 S San Pedro St # 320
  Los Angeles, CA 90013
• Website: www.lilianabecerra.net
• Phone: 8182923895
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: liliana_becerrap

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