“I love being able to share ideas & develop concepts & designs that transform a complex idea into a simple one.”
Emily is an Art Director, illustrator, and motion designer whose work centers on transforming complex ideas into simple, engaging visuals. In this interview, she shares what it’s really like to work in animation, the challenges of freelancing, and how building a routine, a community, and a creative life in Barcelona has shaped the way she works today.
What do you do?
I work as an Art Director, but I’m also an illustrator and specialize in motion design.
What are the best and worst parts of your job?
Best: Working with people. I love being able to share ideas & develop concepts & designs that transform a complex idea into a simple one. It fills the need to constantly learn new things, and I genuinely like hearing about an issue and seeing how my skills can be used. I’m very fortunate to work in a creative field and use critical thinking. I rarely feel like I’m just producing things mindlessly and feel challenged creatively which is a great thing.
Worst: The long hours, sometimes you have to pull 12 hour days or work the weekends for a deadline, and that can be exhausting.
What common misconception about your profession would you like people to better understand?
Animation can be extremely time intensive, and there’s many steps. Once you get to the animation stage, if you want to change something it can mean you have to redo all of the previous work. I’ve been lucky to have a lot of clients that value the outcome and build the time & resources into the budget/timeline of a project.
What does your daily routine look like?
Since I mostly work with US clients at the moment, I most often work afternoons & nights. So my mornings are a bit different: I exercise, prepare meals, and live a slower life. Fernando, my dog, and I usually go to a park and walk to MOB from there. I’ve never been a strict morning person so it works out for me.
Why Barcelona?
I lived in Berlín before the pandemic, but the city did not click for me. I’ve always wanted to return to Europe and live by the ocean in a creative city. Coming from having lived in Mexico for a bit it seemed like a better match. And, I already know enough Spanish to get by. So I’m here checking out Barcelona.
What advice would you give your 10-years-ago self?
Make a habit of drawing every day, and enrolling in some business courses. I learned design & animation in my college years, but it took a bit more time to run a business efficiently.
I’d also get a mentor, and learn about finances. Fair or not, financial knowledge means freedom, especially for women.
Tell us about a project you’re especially proud of and why.
A few years ago I created illustrations for a learning platform to use on their website. I enjoy working with clients that focus on education, health, travel, community, finances and who are a bit silly. Any project that meets those interests are a plus.
Last year I was able to work on a few projects for Adobe as well, which was a dream. I was able to craft the creative direction, illustrate, and animate their short pieces for social media. The team gave great productive feedback and it’s always a win when you show a design and a client’s face lights up. That can make any challenge so much easier.
And finally, what would you say to someone considering becoming a freelancer and joining MOB?
Settling into a new city is really hard, let alone a new country. Being able to go somewhere every day and get into a routine affects so much of your mental health, and I’m grateful to have a place to go every day and see familiar faces. Also, Fernando will likely beg you for attention so you’ll get a bit of therapy out of it.
