MEET BRENDA

Brenda Acosta, an Art Director at MOCEAN, settles down at her laptop in front of her couch, filled with fun accent pillows. She laughs, noting her two fluffy pets curled into one another behind her. 

We met during Hispanic Heritage Month to discuss Brenda’s experience as a Latin Creative, and how she thinks the industry can better make use of talent who subscribe to Latin identities. A woman of Mexican descent, Brenda hopes to inspire more up-and-comers to pursue creative careers and provide advice to other female creatives hoping to get into the business. 

BRENDA’S BEGINNING

After attending design school, Brenda’s creative career began in fashion, where at one point she was doing it all. From designing jewelry to producing marketing assets, designing packaging, researching, and branding. Says Brenda, “That’s where I got the feel of being more in the art direction role, doing a lot of modeling casting and talking to photographers.”

After the jewelry world, Brenda began taking on more art-direction focused roles, eventually landing at MOCEAN to help take projects to the next level visually. “I really do it all, still,” she remarks, noting her various brand-building pursuits, style guides, and other asset-driven tasks that might come across her virtual MOCEAN desk on any given day.

“As a graphic designer, you’re not really married to one avenue. You could do branding, you could do packaging. You could be an art director, a creative director, you could place yourself in so many types of creative mediums and still find ways to find your voice through them,” she explains, referring to the professors who helped direct her creatively. 

Brenda says inspiration can strike from anywhere. But, she’s an idea-first person. “What’s really great about MOCEAN is that [we’re] really good at selling ideas, [often] the visual part comes later. That way we’re not working on a full idea and fleshing it out for a pitch. It’s more selling it first, and then visualizing what it will look like.”

Often, when presented with a brief, she undertakes countless hours of research. She’ll go out and find other brands who are doing things that appeal to her. Because often, she’s the audience. “Every brand you see on Instagram is young and cool. And every brand you end up buying something from is because they’re young and cool.” She laughs. “[When you’re] marketing something to yourself, you need to make sure it feels authentic, but still of the brand.” 

Continuing on, she says, “Sometimes you just need something really simple. Like a border around an image. I tend to do 10 things and then realize the simplest thing is best.” So, first overthink, then… under think. “I feel like it’s always better to do the most and then subtract design elements one by one, to be able to pull back and see that THIS route was the best.” 

DESIGNING MID-PANDEMIC

Speaking of her current challenges, Brenda points to missing the camaraderie of in-office life. “The between-time at agencies was always my favorite,” Brenda explains, smiling. “You could go around and say what’s up to everyone. It was just a fun environment.” 

Even so, it’s been a big learning experience for her. “Communicating with other creatives,” is still tough, she says. “That’s been a lot to work on, especially during the pandemic. Because it’s not like my creative director can just come over to me and show me what he’s working on.” But, she doesn’t let that stop her from constantly connecting with her team to make sure great work happens. “In the agency and entertainment space, it’s all a team effort.” “[I’m] always hopping on the phone….. we have very, very patient creatives here at MOCEAN so I’m very lucky. There’s always this sense of accountability that we’re all going to get it done at the end of the day.”

Brenda points to a particular project she’s most proud of recently: one during which she was able to collaborate closely with her ACD, even during WFH. Says Brenda, “Working on a Style Guide for Showtime’s Black Monday and pitching it to the people at Showtime and being able to work on that was really great… As a team effort that was really a success.”

HER HISPANIC IDENTITY SHAPING HER CREATIVE WORK

When asked if she feels like she can bring her whole self to her work today, Brenda nods. “I feel like it’s an asset to be Hispanic and to speak, read, and understand Spanish… And even working on this show I’m on now -- it’s been really great to work and design in Spanish.” 

She also mentions that it’s been extremely helpful to not just to know her own experience, but to also be able to bring in insights from her family life to new projects. “Understanding not just my generation of Latin audience, but also my parent’s generation of that audience. It’s really fun to bring in all of my knowledge. When I came into the agency world, it was really interesting to be pulled onto Latin-focused projects. Because I felt like I was essential to the pitch.” 

A CALL-TO-ACTION FOR THE INDUSTRY

As our conversation continued, we began to speak about ways the entertainment and marketing sectors can improve on how they handle hiring. Says Brenda, “When I came into the agency world, there was a huge shift in the way diversity was seen. And it’s interesting that it had to happen this way, but everyone suddenly clicked and said ‘We need to hire more people of color,’ and I just happened to be in the peak of that.”

“As agencies, we should have the responsibility of not speaking for [anyone].” Which means, to Brenda, having diverse voices already staffed. Who can provide any level of insight needed for any particular project. However, it’s not like anyone deserves a pat on the back for this. “I think that as agencies, there should be a responsibility to hire people of color not only because it should have been done a long time ago, but because it should just be…. normal. It shouldn’t be something that agencies brag about,” she continues, “It’s great that people are hiring like that, but just do it!”

Looking to the future, Brenda is excited for MOCEAN’s growing creative department as it continues to diversify. “It’s interesting to be a part of this team because I started in the beginning when they were first hiring,” she describes. “There are a lot of female designers who are coming on at MOCEAN, feel like they’ve brought on more diverse people [since then].” 

HOW TO BECOME BRENDA

When asked what she thinks makes her an exceptional art director, Brenda says, “Hard work, really.” For folks thinking about a creative career, Brenda says, “Whatever it is you really want to do, you can do it anywhere,” she explains. “You don’t have to go to a super-fancy school. Nowadays, I feel like so many illustrators, designers, creatives just start an Instagram page. And then the next thing you know, they’re designing for Nike.” 

For Brenda, finding awesome candidates is all about who they are as people. “Art direction is just pure trust.” She goes on to say, “In the creative world, it’s never about being the best at designing. Or having the most beautiful portfolio. I feel like a lot of the time it’s just people trusting you. And if you have a really great work ethic, and if you position yourself to be trusted, it’ll be easy to find your footing in this industry.”

BRENDA’S ADVICE

As we began to close out our interview, Brenda offered some advice she wishes she’d received as a newly-minted designer. “I feel like as a creative, sometimes you think things feel impossible. I remember being a junior designer and it just felt like such a long road ahead of me. Like I wasn’t going to be an art director anytime soon,” she laments. “But I would say, nothing is ever as far away as it seems. Everything is doable and achievable if you just put your all into it. Which sounds so cheesy, but it’s true. If you want to become something, just do it! Just try it!” 

Patience, she says, is what gets you there. “You have to start from the bottom. It is what it is, and you just have to keep going. And then people will just trust you and hopefully you’ll get to where you want to be.”

You can find Brenda’s work on MOCEAN.com

By: MOCEAN Team