DESIGNER AND ART DIRECTOR, LETA SOBIERAJSKI & WADE JEFFREE, NEW YORK NY
Leta is an independent designer and art director combining traditional graphic design elements with photography, art, and styling to create unique visuals. Her work is incredibly diverse, ranging from conventional identities to brilliantly bizarre compositions. In 2016, Leta launched a design studio with her husband and collaborator, Wade Jeffree, in which they focus their unusual eye on projects ranging from branding, art direction, installation, to video. Leta has been working independently since 2013. Her client list includes Adobe, Bloomberg Businessweek, D.S. & Durga, Google, Gucci, IBM, The New York Times, Refinery 29, Renault, Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, Target, Tate Modern, and UNIQLO among others. She has been recognized as an Art Directors Club Young Guns 15 recipient as well as Print magazine’s New Visual Artist, and has given talks at conferences all over the world including North America, South America, Europe, and Australia.
WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?
I was born in Manhattan NY, raised upstate in the Catskills, and now I live in Brooklyn NY
DID YOU GO TO DESIGN SCHOOL?
SUNY Purchase College
LEFTY OR RIGHTY?
Righty
MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Both, unfortunately; this doesn’t bode well for my sleep schedule
FICTIONAL OR HISTORICAL CHARACTER YOU IDENTIFY WITH?
Sailor Jupiter from Sailor Moon. Not only does she help fight evil by moonlight and win love by daylight, but her real name is Lita
ARE YOU MUSICAL AND/OR DO YOU PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?
I was a very passionate trumpet player for 8 years
FAVORITE BOOK?
We Have Decided Not to Die is a recent favorite
FAVORITE MOVIE?
The Fifth Element, The Holy Mountain, The Fall
FAVORITE TV BINGE WATCH?
The Office
FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM?
Instagram
FAVORITE FINE ARTIST?
I can’t list just one! Arakawa + Gins, Yayoi Kusama, James Turrell, Walter De Maria, Salvador Dali, and more
FAVORITE FREE TIME ACTIVITY?
Visiting art galleries in Manhattan and drinking natural wine, but not necessarily in that order
COLLECT ANYTHING?
Neon Genesis Evangelion figurines
COLOR USED MOST OFTEN IN YOUR DESIGN?
Salmon Pink, Robin’s Egg Blue, Acid Yellow
TYPEFACE USED MOST OFTEN IN YOUR DESIGN?
Regular
DOES PRINT HAVE A ROLE IN YOUR DESIGNS?
Of course. While a lot of the art direction work that I make often lives in a digital world, a branding project has a far different result and often involves collateral, hangtags, packaging, or posters. While not every project allows a tactile result, I strive to challenge the tactile medium whenever I can.
DESIGN MENTOR/INSPIRATION/HERO?
Arakawa + Gins, a collaborative duo who advanced theories of design which they believed could make mortality a thing of the past
GREATEST STRENGTH/WEAKNESS AS A DESIGNER?
Strength is color, weakness is being possessive
ADVICE TO A YOUNG DESIGNER JUST STARTING OUT?
Be passionate. Work your ass off. Don’t be an asshole.
IF YOU WERE NOT A DESIGNER, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
I used to want to be a cheesemonger, but after traveling so much this past year, I’d really love a side gig as a professional sight-seer!
A MANTRA OR SAYING YOU LIVE BY?
The work you do is the work you get
