Today we’d like to introduce you to Rapha Moraes.
Hi Rapha, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a Brazilian designer, and I just started my MFA in Graphic Design. My sister is also a designer, and she is the one that influenced me the most to follow this career. She highly recommended me to do graphic design in my undergrad, but I ended up starting as a Communication Major back in Brazil. I decided for Communication because it has a lot of different paths. In the end, I got my degree in Marketing, but I dedicated most of my time working with graphic design. Therefore, I opted to come to the US to study more in-depth Graphic Design and pursue my master’s degree at ArtCenter.
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?
My undergrad was not smooth road at all, specially dealing with the pandemic and graduating online. But that’s a challenge that everyone faced in some degree in the last 2 years. The road to the US is being a fun ride. I’ve been well received by most people I met and, to be honest, I found out to be rather lucky here.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In design, I mostly do branding, social media, and motion design. I am known for having a very personal style and most of my friends say that is very easy to recognize my work. That’s great but, for some jobs, it’s also a challenge. Some people believe that a designer’s work must be so good it’s imperceptible. I personally believe that it’s great to add personality to the work and have people recognize it’s yours. I am very proud when someone looks at my work and say, “That’s so you!”. That’s one of my favorite compliments because, as an artist, I love to show people who I am and what made me. What sets me apart is my strong sense of self that allows me to translate my personality to my art.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
The thing I heard the most when I was starting out was “don’t get attached to your design”. I agree to that in some degree, but I like to add: don’t get attached but don’t lose yourself in the process. Even though some clients will make your job harder and will want something you don’t necessarily agree, there’s (almost) always space for you to stick to what you believe. One of the greatest challenges in design and art, when working with clients, is to translate their wishes, specially the craziest ones, into something great.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://be.net/raphamoraes
- Instagram: instagram.com/rapha.gif
