Elena Vela Rey

Elena Vela Rey is a London based Art Director and multi-disciplinary designer originally from Madrid. With over twelve years industry experience Elena started her career in digital design, before progressing into senior art direction roles. Currently working as a Conceptual Designer at Edelman Deportivo, Elena specialises in conceptual thinking and brand experience. Her portfolio is packed full with beautiful visual identities featuring clean lines, well-balanced layouts and elegant geometric elements produced for a broad range of clients including Disney, Mercedes-Benz, Loewe and YSL.

From an early age Elena was exposed to the world of art and design, constantly experimenting with, and inspired by her creative mother. The theme of experimentation carries through into her adult life and in 2017 she took a sabbatical to spend time travelling around Asia. Setting herself the challenge to learn something new in each country she visited – ranging from block printing in India to ceramics in Cambodia – she explored new skills and rediscovered her passion for craft: ‘It was an incredible experience that gave me the creative boost which I needed.’ This experience solidified Elena’s belief that it is important to experiment and learn continuously from disciplines outside graphic design.

Whether it’s moving between different areas of design or relocating to a new country, Elena has found every new beginning can bring with it an element of self-doubt: ‘My most recent experience was when I arrived in London two years ago… I was in a new country, starting a new job in a new industry and my English wasn’t very good. It was incredibly scary.’ Focusing on self-improvement and developing new skills has helped her to progress. She has also found great support in likeminded colleagues and understands the value of teamwork and collaboration. Elena believes that you learn by failing and having to find a way to make things work.

Going forward, Elena would love to be more connected to the environment, and less to her laptop, enabling her to explore, experiment and develop her visual style—something she believes is a continuous process. As she tells us when approaching any new project, ‘We have to open our eyes, think about the concept and figure out how it could be useful.’

We caught up with Elena to find out more about her career path working across different creative disciplines, challenging self-doubt and learning through failure.

How did you first become interested in working as a designer and art director?

During my early years, I was exposed to many forms of art thanks to my mum, who used to paint, practice crafts and make delicious dishes at home. She was always hands-on and experimental! I would follow her around and smell and touch everything that she had created and then imitate her.

From watching movies, I was always curious about how people who work in the creative industries are able to travel around the world to present their ideas and projects. I dreamed of living abroad, visiting other countries and learning from other cultures. So when I had to choose a subject to study at university, it was very clear to me that it would be related to the creative industries.

Can you tell us about your career path and how you got to where you are now?

I studied Advertising and Public Relations in Madrid. When I graduated, I was certain that I wanted to be an art director or designer in an advertising agency and decided to study for an MA in Digital and Graphic Design. Over the years, I’ve continued to study several different creative disciplines such as, illustration for advertising, photography, editorial design and art direction for fashion.

The first three years of my career were linked 100% to digital design. After that, I worked in a creative agency that provided a 360 degree service to clients and discovered that my love was not only designing for digital platforms but also across different media types such as print, OOH, posters and more…

After six years of working as a designer, I moved to HAVAS as an Art Director. Initially, I was definitely out of my comfort zone and wasn’t sure if I could conceptualise ideas for types of briefs and clients that ranged from a Disney movie premiere to the new Givenchy perfume launch. However, I loved the experience and was happy to have the opportunity to mix my background as a designer with my job as a creative art director.

In 2017, I decided to take a sabbatical. I spent a year travelling around Asia and rediscovered my passion for crafts and working with my hands. I decided to challenge myself by learning a new skill in each country I visited. I did block printing in India, leather bag making in Bangkok, basket-making in Laos and Bali, and ceramics in Cambodia. It was an incredible experience that gave me the creative boost which I needed.

Post sabbatical, I was back in Spain working for a year as a freelancer specialising in visual identity and creating brand experiences. I was looking for the next challenge and London was calling. I took a short course at Central Saint Martins and fell in love with the city. I thought that London could be my place for a while and after two months started working at Publicis Sapient as a Concept Designer. Recently, I’ve just started in a new role as a Conceptual Designer at Edelman Deportivo.

Finally, I have found my balance between design and advertising and I’m on my way to specialising more in branding and brand experiences!

Where do you get your inspiration from and how do you approach a new project?

My sources of inspiration are very diverse and depend on the nature of the project and timescales involved. Although I’m constantly researching different design trends on blogs and websites, I usually get my inspiration and references from other disciplines such as architecture, photography, crafts, or fine art. I think that it’s quite important to learn from other disciplines, to experiment and combine elements from different resources. I often ask myself: ‘why not?’ Or ‘what if…?’

Above all, I’m one of those people who think that sometimes the best sources of inspiration are around you, in places like sky gradients, building shapes, products and colours you can see in markets, street art… Everything and anything can click in my head and somehow be useful in a project. We have to open our eyes, think about the concept and figure out how it could be useful.☺

How would you describe yourself as a designer? Do you have a design style?

Although my job title is Conceptual Digital Designer, I consider myself a multidisciplinary creative because I like to make things in all mediums. Whether I’m designing a brand system, website or crafting a leather bag, my style is contemporary, delicate, and geometric.

How has your style developed throughout your career? Have there been any pivotal moments?

Luckily, I’ve had very good mentors throughout my career. I’ve had the honour to meet smart and talented people who have supported me and believed in my skills. They have always challenged me to push myself and encouraged my ambitions to learn.

Two pivotal moments come to mind as helping to define my creative style. The first was and still is going to design festivals – they open my mind to studying different creative disciplines. The second was in 2013 when I started to work for luxury brands in the beauty, automotive and alcoholic beverages industries. I realised that while the way I communicate and my design outcomes was different in each case they had something in common; they were all simple, clean and elegant. I think that developing a visual style is a continuous process. I’ve tried different things, keeping some elements I love, and also adapting with changing trends. Slowly and along the way, I have defined what suits me best. I guess this is similar to music preferences, flavours types or hobbies.

A lot of people in the creative industries struggle with imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Have you experienced this and, if so, how do you deal with it?

Of course! My career has not had what people would consider a linear career path. As mentioned previously, I started my career as a web designer, then became an art director and most recently moved to London and began working on digital experiences again.

Each and every beginning has been tough and has made me question myself a lot. I often ask myself, ‘Are you good enough to do this? Will you be able to work as a creative?’ ‘Do you have those skills?’’ Are you going to be able to learn the “x” or “y” program or adapt to this and deliver quality work?’.

My most recent experience is when I arrived in London two years ago. It was a difficult time. I was in a new country, starting a job in a new industry, and my English wasn’t very good. For me, it was incredibly scary. I had to take a few steps back in my career and take a digital role that was very different from what I had experienced years before. Almost every week I would cry and think, ‘Why are you doing this?’ ‘What are you trying to demonstrate?’ ‘Are you going to be able to overcome this?’

One day I realised that I’ve just been learning, and I’m now able to do the work and see a lot of improvement. I say to myself: ‘This whole journey was worth it, and now I have a broader range of skills and an amazing experience to look back on.’

Do you have any female role models or mentors who have shaped your career?

Funny thing, the two people who enabled me to start in my professional career and my career abroad were women. Both of whom were from the HR departments and had something in common; they were very empathic and had compassionate personalities. I’m forever grateful to them.

Also, I’ve had the chance to work with some amazing female Creative Directors and talented team members including copywriters, art directors, motion designers, UX designers, content strategists, illustrators and photographers. All of those I’ve connected with enabled us to create great work. I truly believe in the power of working as a team.

If you could go back to the beginning and start your career again what would tell your younger self?

I would tell myself to get out of my comfort zone as you create the best things when you’re in alert mode. Explore, experiment and don’t be afraid to fail. The best way to learn is by failing and hopefully this will present a new path for you.

Be kind and be patient, help others and share your knowledge. The magic of creativity happens when you exchange thoughts and ideas.

Search for your style and the kind of work that makes you passionate. Don’t give up, you’ll find a way and make it possible.

Where do you see yourself in 5 year’s time?

I would love to be developing a multidisciplinary creative project connected with the environment, working with artists/creatives to craft it and less attached to my laptop! Let’s see if I need five or more years to make this a reality☺

Finally: can you recommend 3 other female creatives currently working in the industry who you find inspiring!

Silvia Gil Roldán: designer and photographer based in Canary Island. Her work is really delicate and beautiful and the way she captures nature and light is amazing.
Natalia Parra: a huge talented copywriter who has worked for some of the biggest agencies (McCann and HAVAS). Her sensibility, empathy and talent make her one of the best creative partners I have worked with.
Vicky Yang: motion designer, illustrator (she has published a couple of beautiful and funny books), incredible Thai food cook and amazing human being.