Slide into those DM’s, people!

A few months back as I was aimlessly scrolling through my beloved Pinterest feed, I came across a set of designs I absolutely fell in love with. I followed the source trail to a New York-based graphic designer’s portfolio (@lianateresa, for your viewing pleasure). After scouring every page of her site (and loving every minute of it), I clicked the link at the bottom that took me to her Instagram. She’s a hand-lettering queen and her illustrations are quirky and vibrant, but she uses her art to take a stand in her community. She’s unapologetically herself, and to say that I was inspired by her work would be an understatement.

After throwing her a follow and shamelessly stalking her work, I decided to take a leap of faith and DM her. I asked her about hand lettering and the applications she used on her iPad. Literally, a one sentence message. From that, an insane networking opportunity. She asked me about my passion for design and what got me interested in typography. I told her that I was a senior ad major at Oregon and just wanted to add another skill to my portfolio. She then checked out my portfolio and, get this, actually liked it…!! I don’t know how I missed it but she then goes, “I actually work in advertising too at Weiden+Kennedy, which I feel like you might know about being in Oregon?” (UM YES I KNOW ABOUT WEIDEN+KENNEDY ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!) I played it cool, thanked her for the insights, and went about my day. From then on, we’d reply to each other’s stories and we’d connect over other artists we both admire. 

Next thing you know, we’re getting coffee next week and she’s going to show me the newest Mike Perry Bud Light installment at W+K. It was a match made in Pinterest heaven.

Maile Sur | 4.30.19