It’s been a while since our last blog post, but we think you will agree that this one will have made the wait worthwhile as it is going to focus on the brilliant talent that is Gabrielle Lenferna. She is the genius graphic designer behind all of Liri’s promotional materials – brochures, flyers, face book images – we don’t do anything without ensuring she has got her hands on it first. So, who is the person that we can only call a ‘creative genius’?
Gabrielle Lenferna, or as she prefers to be called, Gaby lived in Kenya for the first ten years of her life, before moving back to her native Mauritius. Although working for herself as a full time graphic and web designer, she is attracted to a lot more in the creative industry, such as interior design, architecture, landscaping and furniture design and could see herself working quite happily in either of those domains. Gaby is a keen animaI lover and is the proud owner of eight dogs (and counting). Her perfect work day is working for herself from her home office in her garden, no traffic, no problems, surrounded by all her dogs! Yes, it sounds like heaven to us too.
So how did she get into graphic design? After having studied Graphic Design at Curtin University in Perth Australia, she began working full time in the field in 2012. She believes a strong family background in the creative sphere (her parents are both an architect and interior designer) has also been a significant influence on her. She also could not stand subjects such as maths, business and sciences at school, preferring everything creative.
Gaby truly loves her job. For her, designing is always so varied and every project is different. One day she can be designing something very feminine for a flower shop and then the next she will need to design a website that sells industrial machines and accessories. She is passionate about coming up with brand Identities for new companies who are just starting off, and then continuing to work with the company once it’s established, doing everything from their logo, stationery, brochures and flyers to their showroom, website or car branding. She says “I love it when a client trusts me with the design decisions and advice, and I also love using their input and ideas to build their brand into something unique and strong, together!”
Although the design process for each project is always different, Gaby explains they all begin with a meeting with the client to help her get to know them and to help conceptualise their thoughts on the designs they have in mind. Gaby maintains a close relationship with the client throughout the design process, to ensure her work perfectly captures the very essence of their company or product. She says “I try to work closely with the client, keeping their ideas in mind, as well as the core design principals (balance, proportion, alignment, hierarchy, contrast and space), all this, mixed up with ideas of my own and, Tadaaah! – we have a design!.”
Undoubtedly committed to her work, Gaby also has many hobbies, and cites herself as “being an animal lover and all-round ‘Crazy-dog-lady’.” Whether reading a great book, catching up with a TV series or going for a long and tiring hike, she is always accompanied by her four legged friends. She is also passionate about protecting the environment, being careful with recycling and composting, and, since last year, trying to avoid single use plastic as much as humanely possible.
Looking towards the future, Gaby’s focus for the coming year is to grow her client-base and eventually launch her portfolio website that she has been working on for a while. Longer term, she would like to try living in another country for a while, working there as a free-lance designer, and hopefully to travel more in general!
Liri thoroughly enjoys working with Gaby, but what does Gaby enjoy most about working with Liri. She says “I started working with Liri at the beginning of 2017, when I had just started working for myself! Liri needed a logo and corporate identity for a new Jewellery brand and came to me for some help. We worked closely together to come up with the logo you see now, as well as a brochure to promote the beautiful pieces and a few stationery items. What I loved (and love) the most about Liri is how Natalie has made her brand grow so much in terms of image and style in such a short period! I am so impressed with all the photos she personally art directed and the short films that capture the essence of what is Liri! Another thing I enjoyed with Liri, is that Natalie is always open to new ideas and I can let myself go a little wild with her designs, at the same time she has a very keen eye and knows what she wants! I hope we can keep working together for a long time”. The feeling is mutual, Gaby……………
To see more of Gaby’s fantastic work check her out here:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/allthingsgaby/
Portfolio
https://www.behance.net/GabyLenferna