Ksenia Phillips
For more than seven decades, Print has featured the best of the best in design. With our 75th anniversary year just around the corner, we’re excited to announce a new weekly online series that will spotlight a designer who is creating extraordinary work.
Our first Designer of the Week is Ksenia Phillips, a former Print Celebrates Design winner who wowed us with her wedding invitation design.
Name: Ksenia Phillips
Name of Firm/Studio: The current name is byKsenia but it’s under a rebrand. The new name will be Ksenia Phillips that will focus on branding and wayfinding. I am also launching Darling Lemon, a company that will focus on custom stationery and greeting cards.
Location: Atlanta, GA
Website: www.behance.net/byksenia; www.byksenia.com
How would you describe your work?Over the years I’ve developed (two) different styles. Coming from a painting background I love to mix in some hand-painted illustrations or introduce some organic details that resemble a painterly style. Wedding and custom stationery is a perfect example of that. I’ve also found that I tend to go Swiss on some of my wayfinding and branding projects.
Design school attended:I graduated from The Art Institute of Atlanta with a Graphic Design degree. But before that I started out at The University of West Georgia studying painting.
2015 (12) Landmarks Around The World Calendar
Where do you find inspiration?I would say that I’m influenced by so many resources and industries. I enjoy flipping through fashion books, watching TED series, following so many amazing blogs such as www.mr-cup.com, www.ohsobeautifulpaper.com, www.swiss-miss.com, thedesignfiles.net (the list can go on and on…), and of course reading HOW and PRINT magazines. But sometimes the inspiration can be found outside. There are have been moments when I’m walking my dog (I live in a pretty scenic neighborhood) and something sparks an idea, and the next thing you know I’m rushing home to write it down.
Who are some of your favorite designers or artists?Can I pick a studio? I love the work by Stitch Design Co. I am a big fan of Anagrama, the firm in Mexico. I also admire vibrant illustrations of Caitlin McGauley.
Do you have a favorite among all the projects you’ve worked on?Hmmm, there are so many! If I had to choose one, I would go with my personal wedding invitations. Because we had a small wedding in Savannah, GA, I ended up hand-painting, die-cutting and assembling each and every one by hand. It took a long long time but was so worth it—they became perfect art keepsakes. Mission accomplished!
Ksenia’s Phillips’ personal hand-painted wedding invitations
Is there a project that stands out to you as having been the biggest challenge of your career so far?A couple of years ago I was approached by a client who was looking into creating a custom wedding branding and stationery for his wedding in Bali. The challenge was to create one wedding invitation that would creatively combine three different themed weddings (Bali, Russia, and India). Also, each wedding card had to have its own custom pattern inspired by the region. Additionally, the invitation was carefully designed to have Russian and English languages. It definitely took some thinking but the solution was successful. Well, I could be biased.
Avi + Jenya Wedding Stationery—”One Love” inspired
What do you hope to accomplish in the future?I would like to develop a recognizable greeting card brand. And keep adding fun branding and wayfinding projects to my portfolio.
What’s your best advice for designers today?I believe it’s important to never stop learning, to be open-minded to try some new things, while understanding and not undervaluing your worth. I started out in painting, designed wayfinding, worked at an advertising agency—and now I get to work creatively in many industries. So take your time and figure out what toots your horn!
Additional work by Ksenia Phillips:
Baku Project: Washroom Symbols
If you’re interested in being considered for Designer of the Week, please email a headshot, 5–10 images of your work (around 628px max width if possible) and answers to the below questions to info@printmag.com with the subject line: Designer of the Week.
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Name:
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Name of Firm/Studio, if applicable:
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Location:
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Website:
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How would you describe your work?
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Design school attended, if applicable:
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Where do you find inspiration?
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Who are some of your favorite designers or artists?
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Do you have a favorite among all the projects you’ve worked on? (Please provide an image of this project if possible.)
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Is there a project that stands out to you as having been the biggest challenge of your career so far? (Please provide an image of this project if possible.)
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What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
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What’s your best advice for designers today?
A competition for your cards, gifts & invitations. Deadline: December 1, 2014