Giulia Zoavo by Laura Bertinelli
Giulia Zoavo is an Italian-born, Brooklyn-based freelance illustrator with a background in graphic design and advertising whose client list includes, Adobe, Sagmeister&Walsh, The New York Times, and IKEA – to name just a few!
Giulia’s work focuses mainly on editorial and commercial illustration, executed using a super colourful style made up of geometric shapes and clean strokes with a touch of humour. Her work is often inspired by urban life (Giulia likes to call NYC her true artistic muse), diversity and pop culture. She merges fantasy and reality, animals and people, childhood and adult life in an array of playful illustrations that always have multiple layers of detail and meaning. When describing her style, she says, “I try not to put myself in a specific role or niche, and I don’t like to differentiate children’s illustration from ’grown-up’ illustration. I think that there’s something special in mixing and blending visual languages, experimenting with simple and complex ideas, and adding a bit of that magic and tenderness that’s typical of childhood.”
After studying both advertising and design, Giulia started her career working in a Milan advertising agency, where she quickly realised that her talent lay in illustration. Straightaway she decided to start a freelance career: “I spent several years refining my style and illustration skills and coming up with personal projects until the first commission came in. In a relatively short period of time more commissions arrived, and I took the plunge into the freelance world. I was expecting it to last a few months, but after five years I am still here!”
One of the projects that perfectly represents Giulia’s creative approach is the self-initiated ‘Italian Plates’. A project where she imagines: ‘How would Italian number plates look if they had the same features as American ones?’ Preferring to work on projects that have multiple layers of meaning connected to a core theme, the project is a brilliant evocation of Giulia’s identity and highlights her unique illustrative style. “There’s a lot of me in this project, including my passion for food and travel, all surrounded by the continuous mix of Italy and USA in my life, that feeling of constantly being in between two worlds – my homeland and where I live now.”
We chatted to Giulia to find out more about her career path working as an illustrator in both Italy and NYC, refining her illustration style and learning not to compare herself to others.
How did you first become interested in working as a designer and illustrator?
Looking back, I know I have always been interested in the visual arts, something that probably started with comics and illustrated books and grew over time through knowledge of the history of art and visiting galleries and museums. I always prefer inventing new things rather than following instructions, and since I was young I knew that I wanted to draw, write and tell stories – even if I didn’t know how to make it happen. I enrolled in a design and advertising course because it felt like the closest thing to what I wanted to do. Thanks to this course I started to understand what graphic design and illustration really are, and it was love at first sight.
Describe your career path of how you got to where you are now.
I currently work as a freelancer, mainly on editorial and commercial illustration projects. However, everything started with graphic design: I worked in design studios and advertising agencies before I even realised that illustration could be a viable career. My style has definitely been impacted by my design background.
Moving from design to illustration has been a gradual process: I started with designing icons and small illustrations and understood that that was the field where I could express myself in the most natural and personal way. I spent several years refining my style and skills, coming up with personal projects until the first commission came in; in a short period of time, more commissions arrived and I took the plunge into the freelance world. I was expecting it to last a few months, but after 5 years I am still here!
The Milaneser: The Milaneser is an imaginary magazine, a collective artistic project whose aim is to portray the city of Milan through the illustrations of 52 artists, while also paying tribute to the New Yorker. For my cover, I chose to celebrate humorously the epitome of the old, bourgeois Milan: the Sciura, a name that identifies a very specific type of upper-class elderly woman from the center of the city.
How have you developed your visual style throughout your career? Have there been any pivotal moments?
My illustration style has been more or less the same from the beginning: I like using geometric shapes and a few, simple strokes; distilling complex concepts with a touch of humour is my trademark and a bit of an obsession too. Obviously over the years I have worked on refining my style, perfecting elements such as composition and colour palettes – and I am still working on understanding the human figure and its movements.
I’m not sure if there have been any pivotal moments, but what I know for sure is that for a long time I felt I was ’lacking’ something, because I my style is not traditional and I use shapes rather than a pencil to create illustrations. Over time I came to understand that what I thought were weaknesses could be transformed into strengths. I think this is the biggest evolution in my work. Over the years I have come to compare myself less to others and learnt that being yourself is what makes the world varied, richer and more interesting.
“Over time I came to understand that what I thought were weaknesses could be transformed into strengths. I think this is the biggest evolution in my work. Over the years I have come to compare myself less to others and learnt that being yourself is what makes the world varied, richer and more interesting.”
Where do you get your inspiration from and how do you approach a new project?
Each brief is welcomed with that mix of excitement and panic typical of creative work. Usually, I need to find an idea that I really love before moving to drawing, so the first few hours of a project involve brainstorming, research, concepts, and incomprehensible sketches. If I get stuck, I go out for a walk and find inspiration in the streets of the city, which is my true muse and source of inspiration.
826 Valencia: 826 Valencia is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco. Founded by author Dave Eggers and veteran teacher Nínive Calegari, its aim is to support under-resourced kids with their creative and writing skills. In spring 2020 I designed the cover and internal patterns for one of their publications, called What We Have in Common, which features several works by students from their writing programs.
Tell us about a favourite project that you’ve worked on and why it’s important to you.
One of the projects that represent me the most is Italian Plates, something I started over a year ago when I began imagining and drawing what Italian car license plates would look like if they were American. There’s a lot of me in this project, my passion for food, and travel, all surrounded by the continuous mix of Italy and USA that is part of my life, and that feeling of constantly being in between two worlds, my homeland and where I live now.
I usually prefer working on complex projects made of lots of elements that are bound together by a theme, and I’d say that Italian Plates is a sort of manifesto of mine.
Italian Plates: What would Italian car plates look like if they were designed like the American ones? With this project I wanted to visualise these ’dream plates’; each one of them is a tribute to an Italian region and its culinary traditions.
How would you describe yourself as a designer and characterise your illustration style?
I like to think of myself as a visual storyteller, because I always try to tell stories through my illustrations. My biggest satisfaction comes when I manage to design something that, as well as being accessible to everyone, has lateral meanings and multiple layers of interpretation.
I try not to put myself in a specific role or niche, and I don’t like to differentiate children’s illustration from ‘grown-up’ illustration. I think that there’s something special about mixing and blending visual languages, experimenting with both simple and complex ideas, and adding a bit of that magic and tenderness that’s typical of childhood.
“I try not to put myself in a specific role or niche, and I don’t like to differentiate children’s illustration from ‘grown-up’ illustration. I think that there’s something special about mixing and blending visual languages, experimenting with both simple and complex ideas, and adding a bit of that magic and tenderness that’s typical of childhood.”
How has being a woman impacted your career?
This is something I think about very often because I’m not a person who defines who they are by their gender. I’ve always been allergic to stereotypes, and for a long time I thought (maybe naively) that this would be the case for most people; I entered the professional world with a lot of hope and without fear of discrimination.
The reality is that during the last 10 years of working there have been instances where I have felt undervalued because I’m a woman (and young, too). For example, meetings with clients where they would address the men in the room first, even if they were less experienced or not as involved in the project as I was.
But I also have been in opposite situations, where I was instantly trusted and given more responsibilities because I’m a woman, and therefore considered more reliable and careful. Both cases are examples of gender stereotyping. There is still a lot of work to be done, and it’s something I try to make a difference in every day.
NYC Votes: Series of 3 posters part of Visualize the Vote 2020 campaign by NYCVotes and Link NYC. The goal was to encourage everyone in the city to vote, so I chose to depict diverse groups of New Yorkers at the polls. They were displayed on LinkNYC kiosks across the five boroughs for 3 weeks before Election Day.
In your experience, do you think there is equality and diversity across the creative industries today?
This is something very important and close to my heart. I love seeing how, thanks to social networks and more awareness, we are starting to see more and more diverse artists who up until recently were struggling to be seen. I also really appreciate that finally there seems to be more awareness of topics which were considered taboo, or not important. Sadly, there is still a long way ahead, but I am hopeful!
For me diversity is a constant source of inspiration and in each of my illustrations I try to be as inclusive as possible. I like working with like-minded clients, who support good causes and try to make an impact on the community, such as non-profits, LGBT magazines, etc.
Let’s talk about your experience working in Italy versus other countries. What do you think sets Italy apart and what needs to be improved?
Creative professions in Italy must be valued and respected more. Designers are paid less by comparison to designers who live abroad, and all too often creativity is seen more as a hobby rather than a real career which demands effort and hard work.
On the other hand, thanks to our incredible artistic and cultural heritage Italy is also seen as the country of creativity, good taste, design. When I say I’m Italian it’s almost like having a guarantee of quality, which is a great advantage to have but at the same time something that keeps me on my toes, like having a reputation to uphold!
Urban Jungle: an illustration about the quintessential urban jungle, a tribute to the crowds of people on the New York subway at peak time – something that in these social distancing times I am unexpectedly missing.
A lot of people in the creative industries struggle with imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Have you experienced this and how do you deal with it?
I definitely know something about imposter syndrome! For a very long time I struggled even to define myself an illustrator, I thought I wasn’t good enough. I don’t think I will ever rid myself entirely of these feelings, but maybe it’s for the best. Of course, it’s not nice to feel like an imposter, but it’s something that pushes me to go further, grow, test my limits, and create something I am really proud of.
If you could go back to the beginning and start your career again what would tell your younger self?
Three pieces of advice: worry less, allow yourself more free time, and don’t be afraid to quote the right amount for the fee. To be honest, I still need to hear these! 🙂
Which female designers have most inspired you?
Without a doubt, my first true crushes were Paula Scher, Lella Vignelli, Malika Favre & Jessica Hische.
Can you recommend 3 other female creatives currently working in the industry who you find inspiring!
- Liana Finck: @lianafinck
- Chiara Quadri: @quadrichiara
- Elena Xausa: @elenaxausa
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Article by Laura Bertinelli
Laura Bertinelli is one of our DesignbyWomen collaborators who has curated and written a series of features celebrating Italian female designers.