Design Studio Spotlight | Devin Hayes on her colourful career, design inspiration, and favourite trends

Tell us a bit about yourself, how did you get into design?

My journey into design started at home. Much of my family consists of artists, musicians and crafters, so I knew at a young age that I wanted to do something creative. In high school I became fascinated with various aspects of art: The edit of a film trailer, how I could use Photoshop to design and manipulate images, the ins and outs of the dark room, and daydreaming to music. From there I went on to college where I discovered the world of Design and Motion that blends Photography, CG, Animation, VFX, Graphic Design, Edit, and Music. Since then, I’ve enjoyed continuously learning and growing as much as I can.

What are some of your favourite projects that you’ve worked on throughout your career?

I feel very fortunate to have worked on so many great projects throughout the years! If I had to pick a few favourites, those would include our most recent Zara collaboration, Justin’s Peanut Butter, Flamekeeper Title Sequence, and a personal project of mine, Flora. What I love most is that these projects vary quite a bit from each other, which allowed me to utilise and learn multiple skills and techniques.

What current design trends do you admire the most? 

There are so many great designs I’ve seen in the past few months. I think a design trend that I’ve been loving the most are the abstract geometric CG designs. Similar to the Bahlsen spot from London last year. Those compositions are simple and yet so beautiful to look at; you could pause on any frame and maybe not know what you’re looking at but it’s gorgeous!

What trends do you see growing throughout 2022?

It’s hard to say what might come about in the future, but if I was to guess one design trend that I think might stick around for a while is the use of CG flora and nature in design. This has been pretty popular for a while and I think we can probably expect it to linger around a little longer.

What is currently inspiring you at the moment?

Recently, I’ve been taking a step back from my computer to fill my cup with art outside of everyday Motion Design life. Painting is something that I’ve been dabbling in during my spare time and although I’m not much of a painter, it’s been so refreshing to create in a different way than I’m accustomed to. Also, I would be lying if I didn’t say I’ve been inspired by many of the TV series that have come out recently, especially during peak pandemic. A few shows that have inspired me over the many months have been Dark on Netflix, Euphoria, and Growing Floret.

What are you listening to?

Ooh – The three most recent songs that I’ve added to my playlist are: “Octopus” by ISLAND, “Paramount Tether” by Febueder, and “Fun at the Alley” by Labrinth.

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