Meet Simone Nieves | Graphic Designer & Fine Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Simone Nieves and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Simone, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
For years, I would wake up, go to work, come home or go out after work and repeat. I work in the entertainment advertising industry so I design posters for movies and television shows. I always felt creatively exhausted after leaving my job everyday so I never had the energy or even wanted to do any other creative work. I love my job but I do feel constrained at times because of how client based each project is. It wasn’t until I began to see my peers growing and evolving much quicker than that I realized how important it is for me to make an effort in fulfilling myself creatively. This year especially, I have had more time than ever to jump into personal projects. I decided to just run with what I love and create pieces of art/design around social justice issues, music poster design and album cover design. I am not very good at self promoting or even showing people what I have been working on so I decided to take a personal risk and I posted them to my social media accounts. Since I started doing this, I have seen more success and attention that I could have ever imagined. I learned that people truly are drawn to art when an artist is passionate and genuine about what they are creating. I started feeling so inspired and that quickly translated to my job in entertainment advertising. I started making designs I was proud of and started seeing improvement in my work both in the office and outside of it. Sometimes you have to just take a risk, push yourself and put yourself out there. It might not feel very risky but it is extremely rewarding.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am still working in the entertainment advertising industry but I’m also picking up some freelance jobs in the music industry; creating show posters and merch design. I have a few unannounced projects that I have been working on that I am very excited about! I’m trying to diversify my work a bit so I can continue growing as an artist. In my spare time I have been trying to experiment with my photography skills as well. I would love to incorporate my own photography in more of my design projects.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Ohh this is a fun one! Okay I’ll start with some places to visit or hang out. The Huntington Library is always the first thing I think of, it is one of the most peaceful places in Los Angeles! It has such impressive gardens you can walk through that and the content in the library and the art galleries will blow your mind! One of the Gutenberg Bibles is there, some original Shakespeare. You can spend days here. Another place I would take my friend would be The Getty Center. I used to go there all the time in college because it was free! So I have a deep love for that place and all the incredible artwork in it. I would take my friend to the beach one day and the next day we would definitely go on a hike, probably at Griffith Park. If we had time I would love to dedicate an entire day to go to Disneyland! Adults need fun too, okay?? haha But what I love to do the most in this city is see live music. My priority would be to make sure we have an awesome show to go to at one (or more) of my favorite venues. I love going to The Teragram, The Troubadour, The Fonda, The Regent, The Echo, The Palladium, Hotel Cafe, The Roxy, Zebulon, The Hi Hat and so many more!! Oh my god I miss those places! One of my favorite bars in LA is Bar Flores in Echo Park, I’m sure we would end up there a couple of times during the week! Also, The Black Cat, The Thirsty Crow, The Short Stop, and some breweries downtown. Just a few places I would take us to eat would be, Sugarfish or Kazunori, Tam O’ Shanters (which has some fun Walt Disney history), Salazar, Eataly, Silverlake Ramen, and Same Same Thai. This made me miss all these places so much!! I can’t wait until I can explore my own city again!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Seeing women in my industry, and honestly any industry, succeeding and doing what they love is what has boosted my confidence and given me the courage to be an artist and do what I love. I wish I could tell every woman before me how thankful I am to them. But there are a few key players that I know personally who have inspired me beyond what they know! These wonderfully talented people are Meagan Doonan, Kelly Hine, Sarah Ford, Lisa Carney and Kailey Strachan! They didn’t even need to give me any advice, just seeing them work, persevere and succeed has been such a great learning experience for me. Their confidence and talent is contagious!

Website: simonenieves.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nieves_simone/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simone-nieves-0989b079/

Image Credits
Simone Nieves