Today we’d like to introduce you to Aviva Atri.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I always knew I wanted to do something creative with my career. I went to Parsons School of Design and that was the beginning of my graphic design journey. I majored in communication design, which is a very broad major. I came to learn that branding was what I enjoyed the most. I just love the creative process! When I graduated from Parsons, I worked at 2 ‘corporate’ jobs and did not feel as creatively fulfilled as I would have liked to. I freelanced on the side of my 9-5 jobs and tried to build that up as much as possible in order to make the leap into the full-time freelance world. A year and a half later, I have my own creative studio which encompasses all design: branding, packaging, illustration, animation, and web design.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Yes and no. I am very lucky to be in the space I am currently in. I think as millennials in this generation, we have such a high demand for visuals to be a huge part of our brands, whether it be a personal brand or a product/service-based brand. This is especially true in the world of social media, Instagram specifically. At the beginning of my freelance career, I was reaching out to brands I felt needed help with their visuals. Many responded and many didn’t, but I did not stop reaching out. A large part of design is finding solutions. I wanted to build a body of work that I was proud to showcase on my Instagram feed and website. Once my portfolio was curated to my liking, people started to notice my art and wanted to hire me for design work! I am so grateful to be at this point in my career, where I feel happy with the work I have created!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My creative studio specializes in branding, packaging, web design, illustration, and animation. Lately, I have been doing a lot of GIF making, specifically for Instagram stories. I started by creating GIFs for my own Instagram so that I could curate my stories a bit more. People started to use my GIFs and wanted to have GIFs of their own. I just love seeing designs come to life with movement! I think I am most proud of my determination and drive. I never saw myself as someone who would own their own company, but sure enough here I am and I am really loving it more and more every single day. I like to think of my designs as rather cheerful. My absolute favorite thing in the world is hearing that my designs brought a smile to someone’s face.
What were you like growing up?
Oooo, taking it way back! Art has always been a huge part of my life. My mom would always do art projects and crafting with me and my siblings. She is extremely talented and I am so grateful to her for the creativity she instilled into my life. I was also raised on really excellent music. My parents are both super musical. Music is a huge part of my creative process. I literally cannot work without it. It really calms me down and helps me to focus. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had crippling anxiety. As a young kid, my anxiety would prohibit me from doing many things. I think I would have been great at. I was always a homebody and still am for the most part (I work at home, too!). My parents used to joke that I liked spending more time with them than with my friends. I just always felt safer at home. I think that staying home allowed me to build a solid relationship with myself. I really enjoy spending time alone, although a lot of the time I get very in my head, which isn’t good at all – still working on that!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.avivaatri.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avivaatri/
Image Credit:
Photo Credits: Amanda Valdez + Alexandra Register, Nicole Gonzales
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
