Kasia Walentynowicz is an illustrator and a graphic designer pursuing activities in multiple areas. She creates graphics for cultural institutions, she illustrates books, publishes board games and designs clothes. She is also the author of the cover of the latest issue of our magazine. As she says herself, she loves drawing animals, plants, mushrooms and much more.
We spoke about her search for inspiration, the course of her creative process and the significance of animals in her works.
Can you tell us a bit more about yourself? What do you do on a daily basis? Where do you find inspiration for your works? How did your adventure with illustrating begin?
Katarzyna Walentynowicz: I am an illustrator and a graphic designer. I design graphic materials with my original illustrations for cultural institutions (the National Museum in Warsaw, the POLIN Museum in Warsaw, the Chopin Museum in Warsaw, Puppet Theatres in Wrocław and Szczecin, etc.), for foundations (like WWF or Food Banks), the visual layer of festivals (like Kids Film Festival or the Youth and the Film festival), I illustrate children’s books and I also publish board games of my design with pro-animal themes. These are the main areas of my professional work. Besides that, I am also engaged in various projects, such as cooperation with fashion brand Medicine on the collection of clothes with original prints, or cooperation with a Swiss publishing house offering games and jigsaw puzzles. I graduated from graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, so my career has been progressing in a quite natural way. I was inspired to choose this degree course when I read an article in “Filipinka”, around 2003, I think, in which I read an interview with a graphic design student, and I was delighted. After I graduated I began working at the Homework graphic studio and I still continue this cooperation. Asia Górka and Jerzy Skakun were the ones to introduce me to the world of professional design.
Who inspires you? Whose projects do you particularly admire?
KW: It’s changing quite dynamically, depending on the circumstances and the things I am working on at a particular moment. Perhaps I’ll mention Polish illustrators whose style and workshop I value the most – I admire the works of Marysia Dek, Monika Hanulak and Joanna Concejo. I constantly admire the Homework studio for their creativity, unique ideas and quality.
How do you approach your projects? What is your creative process like?
KW: As I work on multiple projects, there is no specific rule, but there are surely certain key elements. First and foremost, a conversation with a client – it’s very important to get to know the needs, assumptions, or the background, to ask which works in my portfolio best suit their aesthetic tastes. Then I have to read about the topic myself, to do some research – about a particular historical period, or a Jewish festival, or the history of an institution; depending on what the project is about, it is necessary to prepare from a content-related perspective. Only after I gain some theoretical knowledge, I start thinking about the concept to translate it into a visual language. The choice of tools for preparing illustrations is the next step, and it has its source in the concept itself. As for creating illustrations, I draw traditionally on paper – with fineliners, crayons, paints, or markers – it’s different each time. I then scan it and compose the digitised works on my computer, changing colours, adding typography and I tailor them to given technical specifications.
Where do you work on your projects? Do you have your own studio, or do you work in the comfort of your own home?
KW: A while ago, together with a group of my friends (graphic designers, architects, product designers) we rented out a 3-storey house in Stara Ochota (Warsaw district) where everyone has their space. We also have a room for meetings with clients, so there’s everything we need. Getting to work by bike is part of my daily routine, which I need to clear my head before work – the bike ride counts towards working hours.
You cooperate on many projects – you illustrate books, design posters, T-Shirt prints, labels or stage designs. Is there any category of projects that seems particularly enjoyable to you?
KW: This versatility is what I value the most in my work. I generally have a lively and dynamic disposition, so handling numerous versatile projects at a time fits in very well with my personality needs. I deal not only with illustrations, but graphic design in general, so I can approach my projects in a holistic way. There’s no boredom! I am glad when I design a museum educational space or film festival visuals, where my illustrations live on the walls, temporary tattoos, stickers, backpacks; they spread around the entire space and are taken by children to their homes.
The area of design is also very important to me – I like working on socially relevant projects which are close to my values and that’s why cooperation with WWF, Food Banks and cultural institutions is so rewarding.
Animals often appear in your projects. Why have you chosen them as the leitmotif of your works?
KW: Animals are a pleasant topic, because they have diverse appearance, textures, patterns and most of all they have no demands as to what they would wish to look like, which I can’t say about people being portrayed. I’m joking a bit, of course. The subject of animal protection has always been close to me. I’ve been a vegetarian for years, I was a volunteer at a dog shelter as a child, I organised various fund-raising actions for animals, and so on. It is a natural continuation of the subject-matter which is important to me. The clients themselves often find me, because they see the animals in my portfolio and decide that they match their ideas for a design. My niche has taken shape naturally and one project leads to another. In addition to commercial projects, from time to time, I engage in charity projects for animal welfare organisations.
Can you tell me a bit more about the Contemporary Lynx cover? How was the idea for it born? What is the story behind it?
KW: Dobromiła Błaszczak, Editor-in-Chief of Lynx, gave me the idea for a lynx with holes for the eyes. I was delighted instantly! I built on this concept further, knowing the main theme of this magazine issue. The shape of plants on the cover resembles a mask and the eye holes encourage readers to try it on. The cover can be viewed in two ways – looking from the lynx’s perspective at the world, or the other way around, you can observe the world as a human being hidden behind the thicket.
Thank you for your time, and good luck in your further career.
