This is Sara, owner of London-based, Pandora Studio®. She gives insight into her personal projects, talks about the importance of community, collaboration and mental health.
Q N°1: Tell us what are you up to?
I am a conceptual and brand designer based in London. With Pandora Studio® working with companies to energize their brand using distinctive, meaningful, and emotive design.
I’m currently designing brands for entrepreneurs while making time for personal projects. Sometimes I get obsessed with an idea and spend my free time learning about it, then use design to give it visual form and share it with others.
Currently, I’m researching how the menstrual cycle can affect our performance at work, collating that research into an illustrated manual to make it easier to understand and plan around—and to break the taboo of talking about periods as well 😉
Q N°2: Home for you?
I’m from Tenerife in the Canary Islands, but I’ve been moving around different cities for 8 years—first Barcelona, then Madrid, and now London.
I’ve always found it difficult to feel at home being away from my family and friends for too long, though. For a while, I didn’t feel 100% comfortable in those places—like I didn’t belong there. But now, I realize that home is ‘me’. The body I inhabit, no matter what city I’m in. Home is where I am from and where I am going. There should be no borders.
Q N°3: Your creative life in 4 words?
Passion
Purpose
Sensitivity
Empowerment
Q N°4: What advice would you give your younger creative self?
«STOP TRYING TO BE PERFECT!»
Perfectionism and imposter syndrome are two of the greatest barriers that creatives face (and even more so if you identify as female). Over the years, I’ve noticed that it’s something that affects us all, no matter how experienced we are.
Even the great Paula Scher confessed that she suffered from imposter syndrome on a daily basis. So, I would tell my younger self that she’s not alone, that it’s an incredibly common ailment and to seek support from her peers. By talking about it out loud, we normalize it and understand that, together, we can cope.
Q N°5: Was there a moment or learning curve that dramatically shaped your path as a professional?
The most radical moment in my career so far was when I decided to leave my stable job in a creative agency and set up my own studio. Due to the stressful demands and the poor planning and resourcing of the work, I started to lose weight drastically and suffer from anxiety.
I decided that it wasn’t worth trying to fit into that space—my health is more important than a job I don’t like. So, I decided to create my own, where I could put my heart into everything I do and have the freedom to give it as much time as I felt necessary to carry out the projects.
Q N°6: Please share one of your driving values or principles you adhere to on the day-to-day.
Empathy: to understand the client and their needs, as well as the world around you and how this can influence the design process.
Collaboration: knowing how to work as a team is vital. This helps us to create stronger projects and enjoy the process together.
Kindness: it costs nothing to be nice. Plus, people value working with people who aren’t jerks!
Leadership: whether you are a junior or senior, it is important that you take initiative and inspire those around you to be and do better. We never stop learning, and we can learn from everyone, so go for it and take ownership!
Q N°7: What skills are important to possess as a creative in your field?
Collaboration and community between different independent creatives. This is an increasingly common reality—and, I’ve found, the best way to work and produce exciting results.
Q N°8: Could you recommend a book, platform or other that re-shifted your perspective and approach to creative work?
Extra Bold: a feminist, inclusive, anti-racist, nonbinary field guide for graphic designers by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Tobias.
As designers/creatives we have a key role to play in society, and it’s in our hands to bring visibility to all kinds of diverse perspectives. That’s what makes the world such an interesting place to live, after all 🙂
Q N°9: Please share one of your driving values or principles you adhere to on the day-to-day.
Mental health. Without it, we are nothing.
I’ve put a lot of time and work into understanding myself and my quirks. Now, more than ever, it’s vital that we take the time to switch off and prioritize ourselves—we’ll be happier and more fulfilled for it.
Thanks for reading Heart to Heart with Sara Gonzalez (@bypandorastudio & @saraghdesigner)!
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