Joanne Andrea de la Torre
Joanne Andrea de la Torre is currently the creative director of bleepbloop.design - an illustration studio creating sassy designs for serious impact. After years of forging her path in the field of bespoke design, community-building, and photography, her commitment to sustainability, inclusivity, and creativity led her to pursue a design career in partnership with brands that align with her values like Canva and major Philippine retail brand, Bayo.
Hi Joanne Andrea! Tell us about yourself - how did you get to where you are today? What first sparked your interest in design?
It all started with Friendster (think Facebook, but you can add as much glitter as you want on your profile). As a twelve-year-old, I would spend late nights playing with the HTML and CSS codes of my profile so that when someone visited it, an explosion of pink and loud music welcomed the viewer. Nowadays, we call this UI/UX Design. Fun times!
As someone who took school a bit too seriously, I decided to explore my midnight hobby instead of what was usually expected of Asian children - engineering, medicine, and law. It was a tough decision to make since I didn’t consider myself a natural artist. But, I thank my sixteen-year-old self for making that choice. I’ve since gotten my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication and a Certificate in Fashion Design. Working under my creative group, Bleep Bloop, I get to make as many colorful, bold, and creative illustrations as I want.
Joanne Andrea de la Torre
How would you describe your design style and how has it changed over time?
Sassy Design for Serious Impact. From hand-drawn illustrations, to clean-lined elements, to 3D compositions, there’s a lot of range in terms of design styles at the moment. One idea that unites Bleep Bloop’s work is that we’re all about finding fun and approachable ways to interpret important topics like inclusivity, equality, and sustainability. Imagery has the power to inspire thought and actionable change, so working on themes that have a positive impact and making them digestible is fulfilling.
Tell us about your 3D work - what drew you to this type of design? What’s your creative process like when it comes to designing 3D images?
A gingerbread man biscuit was the first step. In a college class, everyone else had experience with the medium except for me. They were modeling intricate swords and medieval characters - how could I compete? I did my best to humor myself instead.
It was nearing the holidays so creating an animation about a gingerbread man coming to life to steal a piece of cupcake seemed appropriate. He got caught by a confused furry round cat. It probably didn’t receive the best grades but that was the most fun I had all semester. My love for the possibilities and absurdness of 3D art has been ignited ever since.
How do you approach creative collaboration with your clients?
If a client doesn’t have a brief ready, I enjoy talking and exploring with them to find the goal of the task beyond the visual product. From there I get a deeper understanding of the impact we want to make. That stays in the background during the whole research and ideation process. Then, we check to see if the goal aligns with the draft sketches. Once everybody is aware and happy with the expected outcome, we can then explore, experiment, and expand the work.
Where do you find inspiration?
I have a book filled with photos of people who are proud of how they styled their beards - so things like that. I like to collect random imagery and books that don’t necessarily have a corporate message. They’re just fun! I also garden a bit. When you try to keep plants alive, you learn a lot about patience. Knowing when to intervene and when to let nature take its course. I find that all these have an impact on my work process in one way or another.
What’s been one of your favorite projects to work on so far?
It has to be the Stylized 3D Sustainability Elements for Canva. Seeing different sustainability characters and concepts come to life was so fun to do.
Do you have any favorite design resources?
My go-to’s have always been Pinterest, Noun Project, and Canva. Having resources like these enable designers to research design applications for various industries. I’m always grateful for the amount of time and effort they give back to the community.
I’m also a big fan of The Futur. They’re an education company that makes Youtube videos about the Business of Design. They help designers all over the world overcome mental barriers, deal with clients, find leads, and have the confidence to believe in the work they do.
What advice would you give new designers who are just starting?
I still consider myself a new designer, so this comes fresh from the heart. Engage with your community. Collaborate. Everyone is willing to help and give advice as long as they see that you’ve started on the work. You can achieve your goals faster if you find like-minded creatives and get together to produce the work that you’ve always wanted to do. Be nice!
What are you working on now and what’s up next for you?
I’m currently working with Canva as a freelance illustrator. I help expand their collection of elements with trend-based illustrations. This helps users have more access to free, current, relevant, and creative elements that they can use on their designs for their personal use, businesses, and social impact causes.
While that’s going on, I’m also a Design and Sustainability Officer for Bayo - a retail fashion brand that’s a United Nations Global Compact member. So, I’m looking forward to continuing to contribute to two wonderful companies that value equality, inclusivity, sustainability, and creativity.
As for the future, I've always wanted to showcase a textile exhibit combining the different skills I’ve learned over the years.
Thank you for sharing with us Joanne Andrea! To view more of Joanne Andrea’s work, visit her profile on Behance.
Joanne Andrea was nominated by Canva. All art courtesy of Joanne Andrea de la Torre.