Artist Statement
As a child I was a visual learner, and with learning in that way, I expressed myself in the form of creativity. I have explored various expressions of creativity as long as I can remember. Growing and learning about the different ways of creativity: ballet, theater, writing, fine art and music, I found out that being able to create graphic art from almost nothing gave me this adrenaline rush that I now crave and enjoy. That sense of pride and accomplishment when a piece of my work is completed is such an amazing feeling that I haven’t experienced with any other art form. I love being able to express myself into artwork that communicates who I am as a designer but also communicates to the people around me.
My personality does come through in my work. Everything that I create has a piece of me as both a person and a designer. The biggest influence and consistent motivation on my work is music. Just like art, music has a way of speaking to us and I find music to be my creative juice to get me through the roller coaster process while I’m designing. My work is just like myself: simple, short, and sweet and to the point. There is no gray area, it is right there in front of me black and white (and sometimes in color). Colors communicate particular emotions or triggers, therefore my use of color is very thought through in where, how and why I am using a specific color. Besides using color, fonts are my main focus in most of my design work. I admire sans-serif fonts for the simplistic, clean look and these fonts are easier to manipulate and contour to my desire taste and need. While with serif fonts have this classic, elegant and historic edge. I like using serif fonts with projects that need that historic, classic feel.
“You are a creative problem solver,” and “Who says?” are the quotes that one of my instructors always told me and I believe them to be true as a designer. I create art in a way that is functional, practical and at the same time, it has this simplistic, to the point and modern feel. I use the current knowledge I obtain, do all the research, find the inspiration, find solutions and release it on paper. Then I transcribe that work digitally on the computer. Being able to find new ways to solve the same problem is a gift within itself, and it is such a rewarding feeling to know when I have reached my “Ah-ha” moment within the process of designing. I can make artwork that speaks volumes to not just me, but for others who admire the world of graphic design.
Leilani Alicea-Rivera
B.F.A Graphic Design
