Get to know the Israeli Wix Playground Academy TLV 2021 alum who believes in finding the beauty in ordinary life and creative freedom.
Tell us about who you are: name, age, location, and current professional status
Hi, I’m Esi. I’m 25 years old from Tel Aviv. I just graduated from the Visual Communications department at the Bezalel Academy. Next month, I’ll start working full-time at a well-known Israeli creative company.
What are the (design or general) topics you’re most passionate about?
I love focusing on the most ordinary, mundane topics and phenomena. The small stuff that nobody usually pays much attention to. I feel like people tend to take themselves too seriously and I strongly believe in the benefits of bringing out the weirdness of life. This world is absurd in the best way possible, and that’s what I want people to feel. I want them to say to themselves: “This is stupid. Humanity is stupid. I am stupid, let’s all laugh together.”
Tell us about a project that got you excited.
Last year I took an Artificial Intelligence course that was very exciting. I think AI has the potential to simultaneously bring out the genius and the stupidity of humans. The project I eventually created was a poetry book called “Swipe Right”, consisting fully of AI-generated poetry based on tinder biographies and illustrations I created using old Microsoft Paint. In this case, using artificial intelligence was an amusing way to make a point on modern love and dating (while also poking some fun at mainstream contemporary poetry).
How was (or is) your first year after school?
I’m only a few months out of school, but I can say that finding a job wasn’t a piece of cake. Everybody kept asking me in interviews if I had some more conventional design works to show. I knew it would be tough finding a workplace where my design style would fit, but once I did it felt amazing. I was really close to giving up and telling myself my unconventional design wouldn’t find its place in the corporate world, but I was wrong. I just needed some patience.
What's the best advice you've received (and from whom)?
“Existing things are infinitely more interesting than anything you could possibly make.” Something Jenny Odell wrote in her book “How to Do Nothing”.
What do you look for in a first job?
Creative freedom is very important to me. Most workplaces require you to water down your vision to fit the mainstream audience, resulting in more things we’ve already seen. I’m looking to work at places that seek innovation and aren’t afraid to push different concepts and aesthetics towards clients.
With which projects did you fill your portfolio? What was your selection process?
I wanted to create a somewhat cohesive picture of my style and design philosophy, choosing the projects accordingly. As for creative mediums, I’m more interested in digital ones so I put them first.
What are you working (personal or professional) on now?
I’m currently obsessed with experimenting with p5js, an amazing creative coding platform for designers. An example of something I created using it is an interactive musical poster that reacts to the sound’s parameters (volume, bass, etc.) I also added a feature where clicking on the poster changes the image: so simple and yet so fun.
What do you find most useful in your projects (research, visuals, softwares, etc.)?
I think that first and foremost I’m always searching for clever, unexpected connections. The spark usually occurs in the research stage, where I start with the broadest possible map of associations from different fields and areas of life. That way, the unexpected connection is bound to happen and shine a new light on old concepts.
Book recommendation: what book had the biggest impact on you, and why?
I don’t know about the biggest impact, but as a designer, a book that really influenced me was “Shock Value: A tasteful book about bad taste” by the legendary John Waters. It's a hysterical collection of essays that are basically a manifesto on seeing the beauty in the ugly and trashy.
Where do you look for inspiration (online, print media, music, movies, etc.)?
Honestly, everywhere, just everyday life. The streets have tons of inspiration and I’m a huge people watcher and take pictures of everything. When I started noticing things intentionally, everything suddenly became interesting.
Tell us about a challenge you’ve faced creatively, and what helped you overcome it.
For my final project this year, I was completely lost and had too many ideas and no ideas at the same time. I knew I was interested in everyday life and the streets of Israel, so I decided to invest in a small 4K camera and just go out and film things I found interesting. Eventually, I didn’t have to try hard to find stories: the stories found me and led me to places I could never have imagined. Once I stopped thinking and started doing, it all worked out.
What was your key takeaway from participating in the Wix Playground Academy program?
That creative communities are extremely important, especially since this field can be really tough and competitive.
In which design field would you want to focus on in your future?
Creative coding and creative technologies. Endless exciting possibilities.
