A funny intro: The first and hardest answer about design I remember giving while still a kid at the kindergarten, was explaining what the lines were on a girl's dress drawing. I thought everyone knew that dresses had wrinkles. Later on, ladies with impressive medieval garments, castles and some 90's typography would be decorating my classmates' books and notebooks—since I was running out of empty pages of my own.
Structured education: Graphic Design at Vakalo School of Art & Design, in Athens, and Communication design at Pratt Institute, in New York City.
Milestones: My Glorious G train Series Thesis project, my AAC postcard award in 2009, "Kēryx" and "The Capital" performance in 2019, "Wearable Illustrations" in progress, "Σε δύο άξονες" with VEMF.
Few more: Environment, flora and fauna and their coexistence with humans, as well as education through art, are some of my areas of interest and exploration as an artist and designer. I couldn’t escape my encounter with performing arts and, as a result, since 2010 I practice circus arts (corde lisse performer) and Greek traditional dances. Performing arts have a great influence on my work in terms of discipline, pushing the boundaries between art and real life, freedom of expression and finding a brave way out of the occasional comfort zone. Apart from a degree, my stay in Manhattan & Bed-Stuy neighborhood gave me really inspiring insights on social issues, local communities, urban culture and the everyday life.
On April 2017, Metagrunge was founded, officially signaling a new professional era for me in the creative field of illustration and art.
What: Depending on time, I work on various design and art related projects: illustrations for books, installations and fabrics, design & strategy for brands, art direction & aesthetics consulting for any communication need, graphic design for fashion brands & digital content—virtually anything, as long as you can put it into words. In parallel, I am involved in various circus and dance performance projects.
If you think we can work together on any project please send an e-mail.
Backstage & frontstage collaboration team:
Ioannis Belegrinis, Designer & Developer
Alexandra Kalouta, Designer
Crisa Magra, Language Service Provider
Achilleas Manolis, Photographer
Matina Sotiropoulou, Developmental Psychologist