I discovered the talented artist, Paola Delucca, about a year ago on Refinery 29 and instantly fell in love with her designs. I loved her Kama Sutra illustrations because they were the perfect balance of playful, artistic, and sexy. Not to mention brilliant.
I reached out to her to see if she would be interested in working together on a design and here we are my friends:)
For these designs, A.M. will be donating a percentage of profits to Planned Parenthood, The Human Rights Campaign, and the Ali Forney Center.
But back to the genius behind these designs, Miss Paola Delucca.
Shop Paola's designs here.
Read on to get to know Paola and how she got started as an artist.
Tell us about how you got started as a graphic designer? When and where was the “ah-ha!” moment?
When I was a child, my mom used to pick me up from school and take me to her office to wait for her to finish her day. As a result, I developed a need to draw my own stories of magic and just general child life on the backs of scraps of legal documents that everyone had in their office. Thats how my love for art started, I think after that it just naturally evolved into graphic design.
You have created your own, strong, amazing aesthetic and style – what inspired you along the way? Any words of wisdom for all artists out there who are still finding their own style?
Thank you! I’m always a fan of exploration I suggest any emerging artist or designer to never stop exploring and never settle for a ‘style’. It’s good to establish an identity through a specific style but I was never a fan of staying in one stagnant aesthetic.
What about graphic design first interested you?
I actually fell into it as my highschool in Puerto Rico never offered graphic design related courses. I actually didn’t even know what graphic design was until I researched the Parsons ( the college I would then graduate from) Summer high school program!
What have been some of your favorite projects and why?
Right now the layout design and animation I made for Puma x Refinery29 Facebook Canvas is definitely my favorite! They gave me the freedom to push the boundaries on video & design for that specific platform.
Any movies, books or people that have inspired you?
I’ve always been a fan of Sci Fi space novels, I think thats just my nerdy side talking here.
How do you stay inspired and creatively charged?
It’s important to always take a step back from designing certain projects and come back to them! It allows me to have a fresh look on it and come back recharged ( unless it’s due same day, then I end up asking for a lot of feedback from my peers)
What other passions do you have?
I actually have a large group of friends who I play video games with every day after work! It’s something I enjoy doing.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received from a mentor or colleague?
Keep trying.
What’s the first thing you do every morning?
I look at a picture of my grandma I have on my windowsill! It reminds me she's with me every day.
Dream or next travel destination? Previous favorite?
I want to go to Disney with a big group of friends! I would also love to go back to Paris ( I loved Paris so much!)
Top 3 favorite Instagram accounts?
@thedogist
@lorienstern
@benjamin_rumpus
