Leandro Assis makes use of his design work to precise what’s vital to him
“I always try to see the good in things, and I think that is reflected in my work,” says Brazilian art director and writer Leandro Assis. "My font style is simple and bold, combined with vibrant colors, and the things I write are always fun or positive."
Assis has been freelancing for a number of years and has enabled him to work with an exciting number of clients, including working with Studio Moross on Season 13 of RuPaul & # 39; s Drag Race, creating posters for the Tudum Festival of Like Netflix and a whole host of other projects with the Nike, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat and more.
Above: Snapchat Pride Sticker Set. Above: Ru Paul's Drag Race Season 13 Promo with Studio Moross. All pictures: Leandro Assis
“I found out what design is through magazines that I collected as a teenager. What caught my attention the most was the graphic design on these pages. The fonts, the use of colors, the way they put it all together, ”says Assis. "I already had a cousin in my family who went to design school and she introduced me to design tools so I could practice and learn more about them."
Typography has always been a passion of Assis. Illustration has only recently become part of his practice to aid his design work. “Lettering is my focus. It's funny because I see that calligraphy has always been very present in my life. My handwriting was always very charming, and I had to deal with the prejudice that I had a beautiful handwriting but that I was a man very early on, "recalls Assis. “Today I see that as a result I looked a lot more at my handwriting and tried to simulate other spellings in order to escape the bullying and appear 'less gay'. In the end, I used this ability (to my advantage). I reproduced the fonts that I saw as a hobby. For me it was always something that was very much related to the expression. I am a very introspective person and I think I use lettering to express myself today. "
Ru Paul's Drag Race Season 13 Promo with Studio Moross
Nike Remix Pack
Assis grew up in a motivated and inspiring environment where several family members became business owners due to a lack of opportunities in their community. This encouraged him to use his art and design as his own way to grow, learn and express himself. For this reason, he is passionate about using his work to talk about the causes that are important to him.
“I believe that it is not possible to separate my work and who I am: a black gay man in the racist and homophobic society we live in today. I define my work as a form of expression and deal with these topics every day, inside and outside the work area, ”explains Assis. “Including this in my biography is a way of making it clear to those who hire me what my beliefs are and what I stand for. I do this to avoid embarrassing situations of prejudice during the process and to make it clear that I am available for opportunities to use my life experience to contribute to projects to inform and fight for equality. "
Nike Remix Pack
Snapchat Pride Collection
The best type of projects for Assis are those that have an open mandate as they create an opportunity for discussion between them and the client, which then leads to a better, more unexpected solution. “I think one of my favorites was the work I did for Nike last year where I had the opportunity to realize my dream of working with them and designing sneakers while putting together some posters, writing and illustration mixed, ”he says. “Another two that stand out are the stickers I made for Snapchat to mix different font styles and the ones I worked on with Studio Moross on the promo for RuPaul's Drag Race season 13. I believe these three projects show my potential in different ways. The design process was great and had a fantastic team behind it which makes all the difference. "
Assis & # 39; work is joyful and powerful. To keep his designs fresh, he tries to mess things up on every project, although he admits it can be difficult when you have an established style. “It's very easy to fall into the trap of what's already working. A color combination that is more accepted, a typographic style or an illustration that is used the most, ”he says. "I always try to get customers to do different things in my style that can achieve the same goal."
Hellow Festival 2020 poster
Not only does Assis believe that managing expectations and making sure that what you do and that of your colleagues are valued is important. "Some people don't understand or respect the time it takes to get work done," he says. "Everything has to be so fast that you don't have time to make mistakes and learn from them. This pressure makes you believe that your work is worthless."
Fighting this requires trust, and building a network of trustworthy creatives has been an integral part of Assis' success as a freelancer. “Being an independent freelancer without a creative network is almost impossible. There are a lot of behaviors in this industry that you don't learn in design school and I think sharing information and experiences is very important, ”he explains. "You stop wasting time knowing and predicting situations through other people's mistakes and sharing your victories with others who support you. This is very important to maintaining your sanity."
Netflix Tudum Festival Poster
His advice to people looking to get into the industry also comes back to a community of people to talk to, especially if they are further in their careers doing things that you would like to do.
“Ask for opinions on your projects. This has given me more confidence in myself and my work, ”he says. "It may seem difficult at first, but it will make all the difference."
Snapchat Lit Stickers Set
lebassis.com; @lebassis