Today we’d like to introduce you to Alina Shafii.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Alina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story starts in high school where I developed an obsession with letters and would spend my time drawing my favorite song lyrics, band logos, and typography from magazines. I also spent a lot of time compulsively redesigning my MySpace page. When it was time for college I discovered Graphic Design and started studying it at the University of Florida.
I moved to Atlanta for my first design job out of school in 2013 and have been here since. I always loved lettering throughout school, but only had the courage to begin pursuing it in seriously 2015. Currently, I work as an in-house designer. After work, I pursue “funlance” projects which consist of personal and professional freelance work. I co-founded a lettering club with my friend Courtney Macca in 2016 called “ATLphabet” and encourage anyone to join that needs a group of friendly faces to draw with!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I struggle with many of same the issues that most creatives face in the era of social media. Most of my challenges are self-induced. Early on in my journey, I wasted a lot of time comparing myself to others and struggled with my confidence.
Lettering is also a particularly tricky industry to get into. It takes serious skill and patience to develop your craft — something that takes decades to master. When I started, I would spend hours attempting to draw the perfect Instagram worthy post. Overtime, I realized I wasn’t having any fun and learned how important it was for me to develop my own unique process instead of focusing on the end result.
Please tell us about hand lettering.
I’m a hand lettering artist which means I’m responsible for creating original artwork that is word based. The appeal of hand lettering is that it’s drawn from scratch and is a custom piece of art. It’s a wonderful way to add pizzazz or distinction to a brand, poster, physical space, etc. — the possibilities are truly endless.
My work focuses on combining unusual language with a variety of letter styles. I love taking a traditional phrase and making it interesting through a shift in phrasing or contrasting visuals. Recently, I had the most fun working on two personal pieces – “Pizza Girl” and “Butter for Everyone.” Not surprisingly, they both involve food, one of my top personal interests.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I’m half Persian and growing up I spent a lot of time helping my Dad cook traditional Iranian food. Since I don’t speak Farsi and have never been to Iran, the cuisine is something that always connected me to my heritage and reminds me of home and my family.
Contact Info:
- Website: alinashafii.com
- Email: alina.m.shafii@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alinashafii/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/alinashafii
- Other: https://dribbble.com/alinashafii
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