mishmash creatives: Inês Nepomuceno

Let us hear all about you. Who is Inês Nepomuceno? 

My work is divided into two main areas. During the day I work at Esad Idea and on weekends and weeknights you can find me as a freelancer. Our work at Esad Idea is connected with culture, art exhibitions, editorial design and my work as a freelancer, usually in collaboration with Mariana Marques, is really close to that as well. I personally love to develop identities, even though it’s a complex discipline. Editorial Design is also something really close to my heart. I appreciate the editorial due to the narrative possibilities it brings to the table.

What do you think led you to choose design as a subject, and afterwards as your job?

I could tell you a fictional story around that, but it was really by chance. There was never someone related to arts or design in my family. I always tell the story of my imaginary grandfather which was a famous composer, João Nepomuceno, but this is all a way for me to connect with a character that is deeply related to the arts and culture scene. These are all fictions I built around a name that I also don’t have, in case you’re wondering. Everything came together after my internship at TwoPoints in Barcelona, where that interest dispersion in art-related themes starts coming together and connecting all the dots.

How important is for a designer to step into other’s people shoes? How often do you do that?

I think empathy is important regardless of your profession, putting ourselves in other’s people shoes it’s an important exercise to practice every day. Sometimes it’s harder to make it inside the discipline though. I think that it’s important to get the client involved inside the discipline, showing the process and the arguments behind so everyone can contribute and build a discourse behind each project. Besides the client, it’s also important to think about who are we communicating to and that doesn’t mean that we should turn the graphic language more literal or direct. 

Previously, design needed a necessity or other people problems to be born. Nowadays, do you think that’s still the case? 

I think there’s still a traditional relationship between designer and client. However, there are a lot of people working in different ways, building their own product brands. I see a lot of designers and architects building their own brands where they define their own rules, working more deeply on sustainability or local manufacturing. There are also other designers working more critically with the discipline tools to work on subjects that matter to them. Ideas of design fiction, speculative design or critic design open possibilities of re-thinking the future through the discipline.  

Do you have any tricks for coming up with fresh new ideas? How do you structure your creative process? 

I think I start my projects the same way, every time. The first thing we do is to try and understand the information we have around that subject. Recently, I and Mariana started working on a collection for the film-maker Manoel de Oliveira and our main concern was knowing his movies and becoming acquainted with them. We wanted to develop something connected with the cineast and his style. We also do design research, of course, that goes hand in hand with the subject research. One of the things I tend to do first too is grabbing a notebook and start scribbling an argument, an idea. I write a lot of keywords from that first research and during the design process, I try to dissect them. 

Tell us about your workspace. Is it tidy or chaotic? What’s on your desk right now?

In any of my workspaces, I always have books, notebooks and my little animals around. I like to print everything and make walls full with posters and ideas. One of the great things about working in a team such as the Esad Idea team is that we always find moments to discuss everyone’s projects and that really makes us grow. My work environment usually reflects where we are in the creative process. If we’re getting close to a deadline, everything can seem displaced, but as we enter in a more relaxed term, I usually try and make a huge clean out before going to the next stage.

Often we can feel pressured to be constantly having new ideas. How do you handle moments without creativity?

Definitely yes. On one hand I try to do things more routine-like such as e-mail cleaning or more technical project tasks. On the other hand I don’t really believe in the big idea that comes from a mystical inspiration all of a sudden. For me, when the ideas aren’t fluid enough, we just have to go deeper on the subject.  

The tools we use can often be idea stimulators and help us do our best work. Which are the tools you can swear by?

Paper, computer and book, these are the ones I need to have daily. Books from any subject that can be connected to my thoughts. A paper sheet and a pen help me think with other people, discussing projects with everyone are much easier with a drawing and scribbles. Paper for making paper models is also really important in our daily day if we are working on a brochure we immediately print it and try to make a mock-up to see how it’s working in other people’s hands.

What is the importance of paper in your day-to-day? Do you use paper as much as your digital tools?

Digital tools win in my case. Most of my time is in front of the computer, even though we don’t miss printing, cutting, and everything print-related. Printing is an ecological concern of ours, but we believe when working in print, we need to do that.