Finding work that speaks directly to representation and inclusion by discovering what differentiates you from others is the true impact of a creator.
Monique shares her purpose as a creative thinker and journey to find her unique creative voice – a recompilation of life history, identity & culture. As a black female, Jamaican animator and Illustrator, she discovered that her impact comes by owning her identity and communicating it through her art, highlighting race and black representation to then inspire others. She reminds us that we need to work hard and that the creative practice evolves, so we should learn to appreciate the space in between.
About the speaker
Born in Miami, Monique Wray is a Bay Area-based, multi-disciplinary artist and designer. Her work spans a variety of media from print to digital, all the while being character-driven, expressive, bold and playful. Over her 10 years of experience she’s had the pleasure of working with a vast array of companies, studios and agencies; some of which include Facebook, Apple, Airbnb, Disney, HUGE and IDEO.
She now runs her one-lady studio, Small, whose work focuses on diversity and representation via illustration and animation.
Favorite quotes from this talk See all
While I'm grateful to have projects that speak directly to representation and inclusion, a lot of the times my impact is outside of that work. Whether it is the topic or not, I approach all projects with the same purpose of infusing diversity and representation into the work that I do.
It was clear to me that I needed to get to know my true unique voice as a creative. Spend some time with her.
My work has a spirit to it, a character, and a charm that brings smiles to people's faces.
As a Black woman working in the [design and creative] field, I face a lot of adversity.
