Top Designer Bri Cortez

Bri Cortez is a graphic designer and currently works as an Art Director at REI. A graduate of Seattle Pacific University with a degree in Visual Communication Design, her experience includes crafting visual identity systems, design in digital and print, illustration, creative direction and copywriting.

Hi Bri! Tell us about yourself - how did you get to where you are today and when did you first become interested in design and illustration?

I studied Visual Communication Design in college, and have been working in the creative field ever since. I was always drawing and sketching as a kid, and so a career in design felt like a natural path to turn those creative impulses into a career. I also knew that the structure offered by the design process and the constraints of client work appealed to me during a time when I didn't quite know my voice as an artist. My first design job was with Seattle Pacific University, designing print and digital comms for the school. After that, I moved to San Francisco where I began freelancing for small start ups.

Designer Bri Cortez

How would you describe your aesthetic and how has your design style changed over time?

A fellow design student once told me a long time ago that my work was recognizable because I had a penchant for saturated color. At the time, I think my personal style and design expression were in sync but as I've evolved in the work, there's a growing separation between the two. The aspiration in design work, for me, is to employ a sense of taste without being too heavy handed with any particular style. This is where design and art diverge—designers are sort of required to set aside personal expression and find the heart of the story or message, and express that by whatever means to make it poignant and original.

Are there particular themes you like to explore through your work?

Love for the outdoors is a big one. I'm doing client work for a program called the OP Method which is connecting time spent in nature with mental health and neuroplasticity—so cool! I've also found that I'm drawn to brands and design work where there's room to have a laugh.

Long ago I worked for a small (at the time) ski/skate brand based in Seattle called evo. My job was to write stories on product pages and the best writers on the team were hilarious and wrote the most off-the-wall bonkers stuff for the website. That job was not my strong suit, but I grew an appreciation for the rejection of the status quo—in this case, rejection of the typical boring marketing fluff—for strong writing that people enjoyed reading.

You’re currently Art Director at REI - what does a day on the job look like for you?

A typical day? The nice thing about my job is that there is plenty of variety in the assignments I'm on. One day, I'm making posters for our in-house creative speaker series and the next I'm in talks with our in-house designers about the features of new backpacking gear and the testing stories that informed the final piece.

What’s your approach to creative collaboration with your team and across the organization?

The creative team that I work with is the "Brand Lab" and we're responsible for everything from campaign work to packaging design. We also work closely with the product designers, prototypers, and testers behind the REI label gear and clothes. So, my job has a lot to do with digging into the stories behind the stuff we make, and ensuring the storytelling and promotions align to the brand as well as the intent behind the design.

What is your creative process like? Does it change when you work on more illustration-based projects vs. projects that layer photos and type?

My process often begins by pulling inspiration and research together. I went years without doing this but I've revived it as a practice ever since I got into Are.na. It's a bit like Pinterest in that you can put together boards and organize research, but different in that there's no algorithm so it takes a bit of work and digging to find stuff. Always worth it though.

What has been one of your favorite projects to work on recently and why?

REI puts out an Impact Report every year and this year was the first time we had a scrappy (but dedicated!) creative team to help support the storytelling. So, for a few months I was immersed in the work of the co-op as a community and a business... REI tends to be quiet about efforts to advocate for climate action & getting people outside, so seeing behind the curtain really made me appreciate all the positive impacts of a business that operates with a different mindset and values than most.

Do you work on personal projects in addition to your work at REI?

Yes! The personal projects keep me energized more than anything. Right now I'm designing a little calendar bookmark, which is just something I've wanted and realized I could just make myself... Inspired by the work of Sister Corita Kent, I also put together a zine to promote and share her work. She was a nun for most of her life, but she evangelized a lot about the importance of expanding perspective and finding new ways to see the world. She would cut a hole in paper and ask students to take it out in the world to learn how to "see" more acutely by eliminating distraction and enhancing the experience of a walk by paying attention to just what could be seen through the viewfinder. She taught screenprinting and made tons of posters with her students. She was like a pop / conceptual artist in a habit. She was a little bit punk for a nun I think, which is why I like her.

What’s been one of the biggest career lessons you've learned so far?

Iterate more than you think you need to and learn the language. On my worst days, perfectionism gives me the impulse to go to my little corner and fuss over something until it's just right before sharing it. I've learned though that a better practice is to iterate quickly and share work that's in process... doing so and being in dialogue is the fastest way to mature instincts and elevate the work. And learning the language is just to say that speaking to design work is half the job. You need to have the vocabulary to advocate for the work and speak to decisions made.

Where do you find creative inspiration? Do you have any favorite design resources?

I use Are.na daily as well as Notion for collecting research and little threads of future projects on my mind. I read substack newsletters daily. Some faves: Blackbird Spyplane (fashion / culture) and Monday Monday (creative process).

What advice would you give to artists and designers just starting out?

I don't think people talk enough about how boring hard work can be. There's always a "trenches" moment in a project, and it can be a real gut-check moment to stick it out and insist on improving the work even when the excitement of the idea has maybe worn off. I think this pivotal moment and being able to push through is what differentiates the really good work from the rest.

Thank you for sharing with us Bri! To view more of Bri’s work, visit her website.

Bri Cortez was nominated by Noun Project. All art courtesy of Bri Cortez.

Bri Cortez