Elen Winata

Elen Winata is an Indonesian art director and illustrator based in Singapore. Her works span across different mediums such as illustration, digital media, design, and advertising. Over the years, she has provided illustrations for a variety of clients including Google, The Times of London, Airbnb, Swoon Reads, Uber, Singapore Airlines, and Net-A-Porter. Her work has been recognized by The One Show, D&AD, Communication Arts and The FWA. Her work features clean lines and vibrant colors, which are held together by simple, but thought-provoking ideas. When she’s not pushing pixels, you can find her surfing memes, doodling quotes, and stalking the neighborhood cat.

Hi Elen! Tell us about yourself, how did you get to where you are today? What sparked your interest in design and when did you know you wanted to pursue it as a career?

Hello! My name is Elen Winata and I'm an Indonesian illustrator based in Singapore. As an introverted child, I spent most of my free time doodling away. Not being the best with words, drawing lets me put my thoughts across easily. Naturally, that led me to pursue design in university, and later on a career in Advertising as an Art Director.

Elen Winata

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

I've always been drawn to simple, clean vector styles that combine structural graphic design principles with the more organic nature of illustration. I also have a penchant for attention-grabbing, bright colors — and unwittingly use them in my drawings as well.

Over time, I've started venturing into different creative mediums like 3D, motion design and AR. I love experimenting with new tools and have a lot of fun incorporating them into my works.

Prior to going freelance, you were an Art Director at Tribal Worldwide and a Junior Art Director at Kinetic in Singapore. What sparked your desire to make the leap to full-time freelance work?

While working full-time in advertising, I realized that I enjoyed drawing much more than my actual role as an Art Director. The urge to draw grew more intense the longer I tried to keep it away. One day, I took the leap and submitted my resignation letter. I gave myself a year to figure out what I really wanted to do. If it didn't work out, I thought that I could always go back to working in advertising. I knew that I would have been happier knowing that I've tried, instead of wondering 'what-if' years later.

What does your design process look like and how do you structure your time?

Depending on the topic, I do some research online to learn about the subject and come up with drawings that are relevant to it. Afterwards, I do a few rough thumbnail sketches on my notepad to decide on the best layout as well as shortlist the drawing that works best. After a thumbnail is selected, I refine it on a bigger scale to establish details that will be featured in the artwork. A color palette is then chosen, and I work directly on my computer afterwards.

For client projects, there are approval stages in between, but the process mostly remains the same.

I like to do most of my drawings at night when I'm most productive and able to do a long stretch of uninterrupted work. I allocate my mornings for personal time like exercising and grocery shopping. My afternoons are usually spent doing admin work and light sketching/drawing. If I have the time, I also like to spend a few hours in the day working on personal drawings or enrolling in an online course.

You’ve worked with a variety of incredible clients including Airbnb, Coach, Google, Starbucks, and Uber. How do you approach creative collaboration with your clients?

Most of my clients already have a set brief before approaching me, or have a specific idea on how my works can fit into the project. Because of this, the collaboration process is usually quite straightforward. Once the project kicks off, I usually do more research on the brief itself and come up with a few options on how it can be tackled. From there, we will discuss the best solution to the project and work on a few sketches to be developed further. Once we've agreed on the project direction, it's smooth sailing from there!

What’s been one of your favorite projects you’ve worked on so far and what would be your dream project?

I don't have a favorite project, because each project comes with its own learning and rewards. It wouldn’t be fair to choose! My dream project would be to launch a collaboration with a brand that champions women's rights, as it's something I'm passionate about. I would also love to work on projects that combine illustration with technology — pushing the boundaries on what's possible as well as keeping illustration relevant in the future is exciting to me.

Are there any tools or design resources you use on a regular basis? Where do you find inspiration?

I do most of my drawings in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, although I've started to incorporate Procreate into my sketching process. Also, there is no better design tool than the traditional paper and pencil.

Where do you find inspiration?

I am inspired by many things, especially in this era where inspiration is easily accessible with just a few clicks on the computer. I follow many illustrators and creators on social media, and I am constantly learning on how to push my craft just from looking at the things that they create.

I also enjoy taking classes in my free time, from learning motion graphics to simple coding. In the future, I hope that I’ll be able to use the new skills that I’ve learned to push my illustrations even further.

What advice would you give to designers looking to make the leap to freelance work?

Before making the leap, having a steady income from side projects or a comfortable amount of savings can help make the transition much easier. When you freelance, money is unpredictable and payment for work is not instantaneous. Having a safety net will give you the freedom to choose the kind of work you're passionate about, as well as give you more time to develop your art style.

Also discipline is key! While freelancing, there is no one to keep you accountable but yourself. Your personal and professional life tend to blur into each other as well. Setting a schedule and maintaining a daily/monthly goal can keep you productive while ensuring you have a healthy work-life balance.

What are you working on now and what’s up next for you?

I'm currently working on a few editorial and book cover projects. I have a few personal projects in the pipeline, and I can't wait to get started on them once the time allows!

Thank you for sharing with us Elen! To view more of Elen’s work visit her website, check out her Dribbble shots, and follow her on Instagram.

Elen was nominated by Dribbble. All art courtesy of Elen Winata.