My name is Maud Passini, I am a French born designer and I run Manureva Studio, a branding, web design, and illustration studio, based in Brooklyn.

I’m originally from France, and I moved to New York to work with a branding studio 6 years ago. I grew up drawing constantly, sewing my own clothes and writing. Creativity was my way of viewing the world, but deciding to make it my job didn't come instinctively as I wasn't sure how to make a living out of it. It's people commenting on my work and my endless creative pursuits that convinced me that it would be a waste to not pursue this path, and from there, everything came naturally.

After a few years of working for another studio, I craved working directly with clients and having more control over the creative direction of each project so I started my own studio, 2 years ago.

Manureva works with brands who value creativity and art, and we help them communicate their values and mission visually, whether that's through a full branding exercise, their website or visual content such as illustration. I am a graphic designer and illustrator by trade, so I’ve brought on people who have skills in other areas to help me run the studio and this mix of talents has to be one of my favorite things.

Some people can't help but create things, to express themselves, feel understood, question the world around them, and feel a sense of achievement. It's my way of communicating, just something that comes naturally, so it's hard to describe what it means to me, it's just is there I guess. I would say, it's also therapeutic, and I encourage anyone and everyone to dabble with their creative side.

Such a good question! I think it's something that answers a question or solves an issue in a unique way, that makes us think outside the box. It's something that makes us question the world around us!

Creativity doesn't always means art, but when it does, it's something that compels us to listen, watch, smell or live in this moment a bit longer.

I work with clients, but they're quite varied, so it depends. Background research is really important, about their industry, their goals, audience, etc. From there, we come up with creative concepts on how to meet the brand’s requirements that we present as mood boards.

Only once we feel aligned with the client’s vision that we actually get started with creating anything!

Our inspiration comes from what the client expects from us. We respond to "we want something efficient and trustworthy", or "we want something warm and friendly" with visual ideas. It’s like creating a visual language, in a way.

We are massively inspired by fine art, colors as well as small, random things we see in our everyday life.

At the very beginning of the project, I often close my eyes and try to picture what I see the project looking like in the end. I surprise myself and make myself feel excited by what's ahead. When I need to really focus on finding new creative ideas, I go on a really long walk listening to music, and that always helps. But my favorite part must be putting together the final creative presentation and hearing the client's reaction.

I started Manureva with my own approach and artistic sensibilities, so we create visuals that truly make brands come alive and stand out in their industry. We take a fine arts approach to branding, using visual language in a variety of mediums to imbue brands with distinct personalities. I think a piece of work is just as important as the project it’s for— so we only deliver work that feels like art that can stand on its own.

Sure, France is known to be a very artistic place, where many artists got started, came for inspiration or resources and that definitely helps, from my upbringing to the school I attended. I grew up watching my mother creating work as a fine artist, went to museums in Paris regularly and it felt natural and instinctive to appreciate art & history, and admire artists who have paved the road.

Obviously, validation from client is the best reward, but outside of that, we are the helpers working hard behind the scenes to create outstanding visual identities and content, so getting recognized for not only my hard work but my team's hard work and being able to share that with them is the best feeling.

We entered a series of illustrations we did for Wines of Provence, describing all the ways we've been enjoying Rosé while in isolation in 2020. It gave a happy, positive twist to the challenges we've been facing, and I loved the brand that we worked with. I entered it because it felt like a fun project that I had actually worked hard on, and it came out exactly like we'd hoped, fun, colorful, positive and relatable.

Both works we entered were illustration focused, and I think the hardest part these days is to make them feel unique as there is so much work online.

It's amazing to have validation from the industry, and definitely encouraged us to trust our creative process and create more work that feels unique to us!

It's basically about doing your favorite thing for a living, and the reward from that is incredible

The amazing, incredibly talented and generous people I've met.

Everybody is open to sharing their experiences and that's priceless

Pushing yourself, always to do better, create meaningful things and hopefully having a positive impact.

I'll take 'my country' as the one i live in, the US! New York is the city that's the most bustling with creativity, it's insane. What is so special about it is that brands really, really care about their branding and design, so they allow us a lot of freedom and really value what we do.

I think people are realizing more and more that they have to stand by their values, and the social and environmental impact that their actions have. I hope we all use our resources to build a better world.

Create work for yourself, that represents your style and makes you stand out. Everything takes time, so be patient, and surround yourself by people who inspire you and whose work ethic you admire.

Time is an important resource and component of growth! So carve out time to figure out what you're about. Aside from that, learning from a mentor, or online courses has been incredibly helpful.

Hahahaha! When I was choosing my path, I felt like pursuing a career in the arts was selfish and not a contribution to the world. But I know that art and creativity is incredibly important to humanity, and we all have a role to play in society, no matter our jobs.

My mother was an incredibly driven artist, who created from the bottom of her heart, not following trends or worrying about the outside world's opinion. This faithfulness to her passion is something that I strive for every day! I am working on a book on her body of work to have it all in one place.

Who said i know anything about success?

Timia Lewis.

Marika Van de Kamp.

Esther Baseme.