VALENTINA CIANDRINI:

WHEN COMMERCIAL DESIGN BECOMES MEANINGFUL AND PROVOCATIVE

ART

VALENTINA CIANDRINI:WHEN COMMERCIAL DESIGN BECOMES MEANINGFUL AND PROVOCATIVE

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If you are looking for a design with meaning and engagement – Italian visual artist Valentina Ciandrini must be on top of your wish-list specialists.
Despite her young age Valentina, who masters branding, packaging and content design has a highly impressive list of international projects. By the age of 25 she worked for such big players as Unilever, Nestlé, Whurt and Benetton.
While remarkable talent and original vision are the essential components of Valentina’s success, early determination might have played an important role in her rapid carrier rise too : at the age of 12 she created her first brochure!
The worldwide recognition and demand do not come out of sudden: Ciandrini’s signature’s style, colourful, provocative and sometime quirky pushes the boundaries of our imagination, making us ask questions not always comfy to reply.
Her eye-catching digital images defy the “analog” art. Commercial and fun at the same time – that’s probably such a rare combination which makes the creations of Valentina so compelling.
Exclusively for FOXYLAB NY here is Valentina Ciandrini.
 

- Valentina, tell us: how to become a visual designer with multinational clientele? How did everything start?

As a young girl, I was always interested in applied arts, and computers were also one of my great passions. I was constantly coming up with new ideas about hypothetical artistic or commercial activities that I could put into practice. I created my first brochure at the age of 12. When I was 17, I contributed to the set design of the play “Accidental Death of An Anarchist”, by Nobel Prize-winner Dario Fo. The following year I was mentioned in my city’s newspaper as Valedictorian for my class (highest grades at the “Federico Fellini” school of graphic design). I can therefore say that it all started from here.

By the time that I was 25, and while I was studying advertising at University, I had already worked as a graphic designer and as a pre-press technician for brands such as Unilever, Nestlé, Whurt and Benetton. During this same period, and before I’d graduated, I was beginning to receive requests for freelance commissions. I accepted mostly for the fun of it at first, until the requests started to increase and that I was getting noticed by international companies based in the United States.


I decided to go live in San Francisco and then in New York. Over the course of the next 4 years I became a digital nomad where I worked and travelled in different European cities, including Berlin, London and Santa Cruz. This experience offered me to the opportunity to come into contact with many interesting and inspiring people – some of which have become my clients today. I still happen to be a digital nomad – these days for instance,I’ve been surfing on an island in Spain.

How would you describe your style (in design)?

Some time ago during an interview, I was presented as “The Italian visual designer Valentina Ciandrini specialises in quirky and colourful digital art, branding, packaging design and social media content. Her work is bright, bold and eye-catching, and her creative style is all about combining everyday objects, textures and patterns to create thought-provoking yet satisfyingly aesthetic results”. I find this definition to be very appropriate in reference to my style. I prefer a fresh and minimalist visual language, which is my personal expression of a neo-pop counterculture.

Can you share with us a few of your favourite designs?

A selection of my works can be found on my website or on Behance.
My favourites are the ones included in this video and instagram posts:

 

 
 

Last year you completed the Master in Digital Marketing and Communication, so I guess such words as “metaverse” and “NFTs” might be very common to you) do you have any project in this new reality? May be launching NFTs of your works or collaboration with brands in metaverse?

Of course, the Masters degree allowed me to learn more about all these new realities and it has greatly helped me to improve my communication skills, as well as to expand my client portfolio. Nowadays I also manage social media pages both in terms of marketing and content. I think that this knowledge, today more than ever, is fundamental for those who work in my field.
As far as “Metaverse” and “NFTs” are concerned, I am extremely fascinated. Since my university days I was deeply intrigued by these topics, especially in relation to the socio-psychological aspect that the dichotomy real reality / virtual reality would have determined over time. I had also carried out an experiment to study its dynamics and consequences.
Speaking of NFTs, my first collection will be out soon on Opensea, and the 7% of all royalties will be donated to associations across the world that support Peace.
In the future, I would love to be able to collaborate with brands in the Metaverse. It’s nice to venture into new worlds. I have a lot of ideas about this that I hope to put into practice.

 
 
 

As a brand of “wearable art” street wear we promote the artists whose work can be translated into cloths. What is your relation to fashion, and in particular to street fashion?

For a short time I worked for an Italian fashion company. Street Fashion is absolutely my favourite. I have always loved Graffiti and Street Art, which today is closely related to Brands and graphic design. I also wrote a book entitled “Writing and Street Art: origins, evolution and future between art, communication and graphic design”, where the last chapter delves into this. The book will be published by the end of the year by “Edizioni del Frisco”.

Can you mention the artists who did influence your work most?

Jessica Walsh, Maurizio Cattelan, Leta Sobierajski, Yayoi Kusama, Andy Warhol, Magritte and many more.

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Valentina Ciandrini (@valentinaciandrini)

Where do you get your creative ideas from? Can you mention some of your inspirations sources?

I’m usually inspired by my surroundings and daily social events. I also follow the work of large advertising agencies and try to combine their adverts with an image in an ironic way to create a double meaning.

Your works seem also to pass a massage. What are the issues which you rise in your design?

I’m always looking to create a conceptual look with a playful yet ironic meaning. The intention is to always have a message at the core, and to be able to transmit this message visually. I like the idea of making the viewer smile, but at the same time to also get them to reflect and think about particular issues (society, health, politics, sexuality, etc.)

You have both experienced freelance and employee path. Can you tell us what do you prefer?

I prefer freelancing because it grants me more flexibility to merge work and travel together. Also, I can more easily meet clients and designers from all over the world and keep an open mind. It’s extremely important for me to stay updated and focused, while keeping an open mind. On the other hand though, I sometimes miss the economic stability of a steady job.

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Valentina Ciandrini (@valentinaciandrini)

Can you share with us your future projects?

I’m working on several projects at the same time, two of which I cannot share, because I have signed a non-disclosure contract.

Recently in partnership with Air Studio we created an AR FILTER of one of my graphics (Nuestra Señora del Capitalismo By Ciandreamy)

I recently finished the branding Balacchi, World Champion Pastry Queen, of which I will soon prepare the online presentation. I also just finished some social contents, including this animation created for Lumen (The St. Regis Rome).

 
 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ON AiR Studio (@on_air_studio_)

 
 
 
 
 
 

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