Alessandra Vargas

Despite a place at Snap Design Academy, which led to a funded diploma and MA at the Royal College of Art, landing a first full-time role proved the biggest challenge for Alessandra Vargas. Now a Junior Designer at OK COOL, Ali shares her advice: be unconventional and go that extra mile in a way that feels authentic to you.

What I do

My creative practice
I’m a visual designer, originally from Los Angeles and currently based in London. I love printmaking and exploring different tactile processes. All I want to do is make books for the rest of my life.

I currently work as a designer at London creative agency OK COOL, which has been a fun and interesting way to delve back into design with a more digital focus. Translating language into visual work for clients and seeing it come to life, whether in person or digitally, is really rewarding. Especially when making culturally forward work for brands and people I’ve admired for ages.

Influences and inspiration
Surrounding myself with other designers, creatives and artists is the most effective way I’ve found to draw inspiration. Most of my friends work in the creative industries, and they’re all incredibly talented; seeing all the sick work my friends are making makes me want to make more. I firmly believe in spending time with people you aspire to be like or admire.

A significant portion of my inspiration also comes from writing. Writers Chris Kraus (her book I Love Dick was particularly influential), Sophie Calle and Douglas Coupland have influenced my practice. Writing is an important tool behind most of the work I do, especially a stream-of-consciousness approach, which mirrors how I want my personal work to be visually.

My training
The first time I touched any kind of design software, I was 14. It was the height of the Tumblr era and my high school taught us how to use Adobe Dreamweaver. From there, I got really into making flyers for friends’ theatre productions and little garage band shows.

I went on to do a bachelor’s degree in design at the University of California, Davis, where I focused on user experience and interface design for apps. Afterwards, I completed an apprenticeship at Bridgegood, a nonprofit design studio in Oakland, and a summer stint at Snapchat’s Snap Design Academy.

Through the generosity of Snapchat and its partnership with the Royal College of Art, I received a full scholarship to the RCA’s Graduate Diploma Art & Design programme, specialising in communication. I was then very grateful to receive another full scholarship for the RCA’s Visual Communication MA.

Favourite recent project
When it comes to my personal practice, I’d say my degree project. It allowed me to explore different printmaking techniques and ways of designing physical objects. The idea was to walk around a London neighbourhood associated with memories of a relationship, collect discarded objects, and print them with excerpts from letters and texts I never sent.

It taught me a lot about what it means to take personal writing and a private life and put them into the world. The main question was: can design provide any opportunity for closure? For me, I think it did. I was also curious about the effect a street sign printed with my writing would have on someone walking past.

A day in the life
A sugar-free Red Bull is basically the first thing I reach for in the morning, and then I get into my work at OK COOL. My role bounces between more traditional design, art direction and creative thinking, which keeps the day interesting. My colleagues are so creative and smart, and it’s an amazing environment – I love feeding off that energy.

You’ll also find me doing some freelance work here and there. I’ve been working with some really cool clients back in LA, where I’m from. Other than that, I love sitting in the park (with another sugar-free Red Bull).

A starter pack for my job:
I’m such a Photoshop girl. Some of my designer friends hate it because there are plenty of things I should be using Illustrator or InDesign for, but I’m sorry, I just love Photoshop. I’ll name my firstborn after it.

How I got here

Starting my creative journey
When I first started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life and whether I even wanted to go to uni, I was under the impression that I couldn’t build a successful visual creative career. Although I always knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to pursue design or something creative, it was nerve-racking. I was lucky to come from a family where, although no one works in the creative industries, everyone was incredibly supportive of what I wanted to do.

I was a communications major for one semester before I realised I wanted to work in the field, focusing on the visual side.

Landing my first few jobs, clients and/or commissions
My first freelance client was a stylist who also ran her own accessories shop in LA. She’d put out a call for a graphic designer and I reached out, got the job and made some illustrations for her. I was about 16 and was paid in the cutest hair barrettes ever. Obviously, I’ve since learnt that bartering isn’t the best way to make a living, but it taught me a lot about making work for other people, not just for assignments.

Joining the Snap Design Academy opened a lot of doors and encouraged people to take me and my work more seriously. From there, I went on to complete two internships at Venice Music, first as a creative content intern and then as a product design intern. I got to see both sides of how a distribution label works. Working in music introduced me to many people who share a similar philosophy. Six years later, I’m still working with some of them.

Biggest challenges along the way
There are so many exciting roles at brilliant companies, yet so many talented designers. Learning how to stand out and bring my work to the level of those companies was a long process.

My first entry-level role after my MA is my current job at OK COOL, which took a long time to find and secure. To get an interview, I hand-stamped a postcard with “OK COOL” a million times and mailed it to them. I’d already emailed my CV and portfolio, but going that extra mile was fun and felt very me. Especially in a tough job market, the way forward is to stand out in a way that feels authentic to you and your work.

My social media and self-promotion vibe is…
This is something I’m still figuring out. I’m not super keen on using social media to advertise my work because a lot of my practice is so personal. Interestingly, I’m more comfortable presenting it in person than online. I do keep a pretty up-to-date website though, which has been useful for showing clients what I do in a simple way.

Three things I've found useful in my career:

Courses, programmes, initiatives, access schemes or job boards I've found helpful
The Snap Design Academy programme is single-handedly the most incredible thing I’ve ever been part of. It taught me how to handle myself as a creative and a professional, how to build a portfolio, and how to speak to people about my work. The opportunities that came from it have genuinely changed my life.

For people interested in marketing, design, storytelling, engineering or augmented reality, Snap’s programmes are among the best. The people behind it really care about helping others learn and enter the creative industries. They’ve been doing a lot of work here in the UK, not just in Santa Monica where I first joined.

My greatest learnings when it comes to making money and supporting myself as a creative:
Don’t be afraid to ask friends or colleagues what they charge for freelance work. Not enough people have these conversations! I’m lucky to be surrounded by creatives who are open and honest about their rates and services.

Don’t be afraid to say no, particularly if you’re taking on supplementary work alongside a 9-to-5. I’ve had to turn down projects with really cool briefs that I would have loved to work on; it’s sad, but sometimes necessary for a healthy work-life balance. Especially in the creative industries, many of us end up monetising what began as hobbies – it’s important to take breaks if you’re financially able to.

Advice

My most useful career tips
Stay true to the work you do well, enjoy doing and are known for. Lean into that niche. And don’t try to design an entirely new piece of work for your portfolio the night before an application is due – you won’t be that happy with the result. Be proud and confident in what you’ve already made.

What I'd say to someone looking to get into a similar role
Do your research. It sounds obvious, but really understanding what a company cares about and its culture will give you a leg up in the process, especially if you align with them. Don’t be afraid to cold-email people or look for roles in less traditional ways. A lot of jobs online already have about a million applicants, so sometimes it’s better to take a less conventional approach.