Andrew Bowen
Professor Walker
Graphic Design
November 19, 2018
The world around is influenced by the field of graphic design. Every product on every shelf is carefully planned by marketing team down to the finest details and refined by graphic designers to appeal to the maximum audience. Some designers use traditional methods and in recent years digital media has gained a greater presence. One of the young designers making a name for herself is Leta Sobierajski. She has become a world-renowned artist by combining her creative talents, unique style and hard work into each of her designs.
Leta has lived in New York for her entire life. She was born in Manhattan but at the age of one her parents moved to upstate New York to the small town of Jefferson. The town is so small she attended school in the same building from kindergarten through twelfth grade (Essmaker). She lived in an isolated area, her home was surrounded by the forest. Leta is an only child and spent her free time drawing, making her own toys and stories. When she was twelve her family got the internet, which opened a new chapter in her life. She was drawn to anime because she watched the TV show Sailor Moon, and the internet gave her a place to share her drawings. For her twelfth birthday she asked for Photoshop, so she could import her drawings, color them and share them on DeviantArt. In her interview with Essmarker, Leta commented “I posted my work and people commented—that was so exciting for me! There was life outside of Jefferson.”
Leta attended the State University of New York, Purchase College and earned a Bachelor of Graphic Design (Behance). In her interview with O’Driscoll, Leta said of her formal education “I don’t know how - or if - I would have learned those techniques otherwise. So yes, I feel school can be really beneficial in that respect.” Leta’s work experience includes working as a designer for Brand New School, junior designer for HunterGatherer and became a multidisciplinary designer, freelance since 2013. According to Behance “she combines mediums in design, photography, art, and styling to develop tangible compositions for both print and motion.” By working as a freelance designer Leta had to learn to “embrace uncertainty, to open up to more people professionally and personally, and has made so many friends in design since working on her own, which has been so stimulating.” (Essmaker) In 2016, Leta with her husband and collaborator, Wade Jeffree, established a design studio, “in which they focus their unusual eye on projects ranging from branding, art direction, installation, to video.”(GDUSA) She has an impressive list of clients including AIGA, Adobe, Bloomberg Businessweek, D.S. & Durga, Google, Gucci, IBM, Kiehl’s, Refinery 29, Renault, Target, Tate Modern, The New York Times, and UNIQLO among others. In the field of design Leta has been recognized has been recognized as an Art Directors Club Young Guns 15 recipient as well as Print magazine’s New Visual Artist and has given talks at conferences all over the world including North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. (GDUSA)
This photo is of Leta’s rebranding and packaging design which she did for RŪH fashion company. RŪH is based out of London, England. They continue to use Leta’s designs, produced in 2016. RŪH collective is a London based women’s fashion brand founded by entrepreneurs and creative people from New York, London, and Istanbul. The orange, neon blue, black and white pattern, and salmon color scheme is magnificent. Her art is eye-catching.
This vibrantly colored photo is of Leta’s design for the 2017 AIGA Eye on Design conference. Leta was one of the speakers at the conference. She was also hired to design an advertising campaign and the pamphlets they were giving out at the conference. The colors Leta uses grasps your attention and it tells you the hierarchy of the design. I love her use of black and white color to show depth.
This photo is of Leta’s rebranding of Beth Comstock. In 2017, Beth hired Leta to rebrand her as a person. At the time Beth was the CEO of General Electric. Beth has since retired from General Electric. I love the depth of her design and how she combines traditional and digital methods in her artwork.
Leta is happy with where her career has led her and when looking to the future she tries not to plan too far ahead because every year looks so different. She and her husband Wade hope to continue expanding their business and enjoy working together because they understand what it is to be creatively inspired as graphic designers. As far as feeling satisfied in her work Leta states “I haven’t done everything I’d like to do yet. But that might come eventually. I’d say that my temporary satisfaction level is pretty high.” (Great Discontent) I believe Leta and Wade will continue to get high level jobs and will eventually be associated with the graphic design every time it is mentioned. Their eye popping, out of the box designs are truly unique.
Leta Sobierajski is a young and upcoming artist/graphic designer who has consistently proven her talents as a multidisciplinary designer. In recent years common graphic design methods have evolved in many ways. Every product has been closely designed by graphic designers and a marketing team. Graphic design has significantly influenced the world.
Kaye, Gordon. “Leta Sobierajski.” Graphic Design USA, 31 Jan. 2018, gdusa.com/peopletowatch2018/leta-sobierajski.
Sobierajski, Leta. “Leta Sobierajski on Behance.” Behance, 2018, www.behance.net/letasobierajski.
O'Driscoll, Conor. “The Freedom of Making: An Interview with Leta Sobierajski.” Creative Market, 2 May 2016, creativemarket.com/blog/the-freedom-of-making-an-interview-with-leta-sobierajski.
The Great Discontent. “Leta Sobierajski on The Great Discontent (TGD).” The Great Discontent, 2018, thegreatdiscontent.com/interview/leta-sobierajski.