A Day in the Life of Sicillian Visual Designer, Maria Marano Studio!

Introducing our newest blog series on the Wrap featuring some of the incredible members of our noissue Creative Community. This new series highlights one special creative showcasing their creative workspace and process. Read on more to have a glimpse of “A Day in the Life” of a noissue Creative!

Maria Grazia, founder of Maria Marano Studio, is an expert in the field of visual communication and is passionate about design in all its forms – the heart of this creative corner of the world. She has always liked to completely immerse herself in the visual projects she works on, so she decided to specialize in two fields of design that allow her to dive in deep: branding and wedding.

Specializing in both branding and wedding design allows her to enjoy lots of variation every day and collaborate with exceptional people who rely on her to turn their ideas into reality. She also has a trusty assistant named Sirius (and yes, named after Sirius Black from Harry Potter!), a nearly two year old black Labrador, who likes to be asleep on the job.

Maria has a deep adoration for Sicily, Italy and believes it has everything one could need: history, good food, landscapes, sun —you name it! Being surrounded by so much beauty certainly helps keep the inspiration flowing which is vital working in a creative profession like hers.

Maria admitted that she had always been torn between so many different passions and aspirations growing up. After high school she embarked on a course of study at the Academy of Fine Arts, but even then was undecided between the paths of copywriting, editorial design or art direction.

“Before the end of my studies, I started working in a communication agency and here finally the revelation: design aimed at companies was my field. Life sooner or later always puts you in the right direction, you just need to give it a bit of confidence.” - Maria

Maria then worked for other agencies and printers until she accumulated the right experience. She decided to become a freelancer as this allowed her to focus on her two design loves: branding and weddings. In both of these sectors, she has the opportunity to connect fully with the client, to listen to their project and to present something absolutely new to the public!

“I do not hide that there are days when everything goes wrong, the proposed drafts are not good or there are misunderstandings with the client... but when the right way is found, well, the satisfaction of giving voice (or better, visual) to someone's project is nothing short of thrilling! It is when the satisfaction of the yes days surpasses the sadness of the no days that you know you have found the right job!” - Maria

Maria strongly believes that Inspiration can strike anytime, no matter where you are. You can come across a flower and think of the perfect pictogram for a new logo or even just walking alongside the supermarket shelves can spark an idea.

No good day starts well without a coffee (or a cappuccino!) for Maria. Having a good Italian breakfast is also a must for her morning routine, along with her beauty routine and a walk with Sirius. These moments are fundamental to allow Maria to reset and start her day with a clear mind. She officially dips into the heat of work at 9am, reserving the tasks that require more commitment and creativity in the morning. She tries to dedicate her end of day to some leisure activities away from the screens to fully unwind such as yoga, knitting or cooking.

Maria shares: “Every time I complete a step of a project, I allow myself short breaks. I believe that in a job where you sit for many hours in front of a screen, it is essential to take breaks frequently, to refresh the mind and reactivate the body. Many people see in the breaks a lack of industriousness, but this false myth must be dispelled: disconnecting the mind is necessary in a creative job, it must not be lived with guilt.”

Choosing a favorite part from the design process was a tough choice for Maria as she tends to differentiate them and characterize each one with different features. Her processes typically involves data collection and research, analysis, strategy, creation, definition and lastly, the launch. However, if she had to choose, it would have to be the creative part of the process where her true self comes out. This is where all of her creative ideas and visions come to life!

“I guess the creative part is very interesting for any creative, the one where finally the ideas see the light, it is the moment of truth: does what I thought really work? Sometimes you can be disappointed by the failure of an idea that doesn’t work but in any case, in the end, you will always find the way to the solution!” – Maria

Environment is very important to Maria while working and it’s a must that her surroundings be bright, natural and satisfying from an aesthetic point of view. She shared that plants and good furniture are also an essential as these go hand in hand for her ideal work space.

Maria was first introduced to noissue via Instagram and through the Creative Community. What struck her the most about the company was their ecological soul and sustainable values. She always tries to offer her customers eco-friendly alternatives as she believes that we all must take action to be part of the change in helping our planet.

Wrapping things up, Maria wanted to share a few fun facts for the feature:

“Just one uncommon thing: I'm allergic to nickel. This means that I cannot touch my laptop or tablet with my bare hands for a long time. So I work in white cotton gloves! It is indeed an allergy that is not very easy to manage in everyday life (it involves food, clothes and many other aspects) but a designer who works with white gloves is not something you see every day!” - Maria

Find out more about Maria Marano Studio here:

Creative Profile: https://noissue.co/community/creative/partner/maria-mariano-studio

Website: https://en.mariamaranostudio.com/

Instagram: @mariamaranostudio