Katrina Navasca
The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Katrina Navasca
Katrina Navasca is a Filipino-American designer and illustrator based in Richmond, Virginia. In 2018, she received a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from Virginia Commonwealth University. Currently, Katrina is designing full-time for Siege Media, a content marketing agency.
We spoke with Katrina to learn more about her creative process, where she finds inspiration and her advice for designers just starting out.
Hi Katrina! Tell us about yourself, how did you get to where you are today? What first sparked your interest in design?
I wasn’t too into drawing as a kid, but I liked computers — and I was obsessed with PowerPoint and Microsoft Word. I was a big fan of gradient WordArt and slide animations. I loved making little projects for myself and seeing how I could make each program's limitations work for me. I didn’t know it back then, but that’s probably what first sparked my interest in design.
Designer Katrina Navasca
How would you describe your aesthetic and how has your visual style changed over time?
Bright, minimal, and playful. Over time, my work has become more gradient-heavy and a little more dramatic. I’m more specific now with how I want light to hit an object, and I experiment more with form, perspective, and scale.
Where do you find creative inspiration?
Anything can inspire me, even the things I can’t see. I often find myself inspired by music, writing, and social justice.
What’s one of your favorite projects you’ve worked on?
One of my favorite projects I’ve done is a personal illustration titled The Weight of Your Words. It depicts the overwhelming weight that BIPOC have to carry in life and how the words we hear deeply affect us.
The Weight of Your Words by Katrina Navasca
What are some of your favorite design resources?
I love scrolling through the work of different designers and illustrators on Dribbble, Instagram, and Cargo. I think we can learn valuable things just by observing those around us.
What advice would you give to designers who are just starting out?
Make work for yourself first. Don’t focus on what’s trending, and make work that reflects who you are instead. When you make things you actually want to make, you learn to embrace your own voice — and your work will speak for itself.
Thank you for sharing with us Katrina! To view more of Katrina’s work, check out her shots on Dribbble and follow her on Instagram.
All images courtesy of Katrina Navasca.