024 FIEL VALDEZ | ME, ME
LATIN NAME: Lorem Ipsum
AGE: 31
DESCRIPTION:
Fiel Valdez is a self-described specialist in nothing—although
it seems she does everything well. Her work includes identities,
apparel graphics, books, posters, and websites for clients as diverse
as Puma, Neiman Marcus, Disney, and Intel. Before she found
design, Valdez “pretended to study” aerospace engineering at
UCLA. Soon she realized she could pretend no more and enrolled
in Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design. Jump ahead six years
of successful freelance, and you’ll find her today, having just established
the two-person firm “Me, Me” with her husband and partner
Peter Vattanatham. Once asked about her experience living
with and being married to someone equally creative as she, Valdez
answered it was like being with another “me.”
VOICE:
“Aesthetically,” says Valdez, “work that looks like the designer was
simply jacking off in the corner with his or her software filters,
effects, and fonts never appeals to me.” Her personal creative pursuits
include drawing, designing quilts and accessories, and cooking
without butter.
DISTINCTIVE MARKINGS:
The best example of Valdez’s sweet but twisted style can be found
in her illustrations. She is inspired by people who are, in her words,
“beautiful, insane, cruel, graceful, disgusting. They are stories
unfolding. What I work on is intended for use by people, so why
not have it be a reflection of who it is intended for?”
HABITAT:
Valdez shares a desk with her other “me,” as well as Post-It notes,
lists, sketches, and glasses of water that she forgets to drink.
SPOTTED BY:
Stefan Bucher: “I love her illustrations and her fine art work that
finds its way into commercial outlets that are often so small as to
be underground. She’s also done work for hire for big projects, like
James Cameron’s Titanic Explorer CD-ROM, which was a big deal
at the time and won her company lots of awards. But I admire Fiel
for exploring and creating designs that are true to her own vision,
and for letting the work determine the audience when it would be
a lot easier to just ride bigger trends in search of a big paycheck
and a wide audience.”
CONTACT:
www.lovelybrand.com | www.mecommame.com
Written by Tiffany Meyer