Melisa: When I was young I used to fantasize I would work in a fashion magazine when I grew up. After I finished high school I spoke with the mother of my little sister’s friend who worked in publicity, and I told her what I wanted, so she recommended I studied Graphic Design, for it’s a comprehensive career. Immediately after starting University, I completely fell in love with Design, and as the years went by I started to forget about fashion magazines and became more interested in Identity Design and Branding, although I always loved Editorial (in fact I’ve been an assistant professor in the assignment Editorial Design in FADU-UBA for four years now).

I met Manu (my partner at Estudio Nuar) in our first year at University, and in spite of not being friends at that time, we gradually became closer because we were good at studying together. In our last year at University, we started working together on a Branding project, which then led to another project, which finally led to us being close friends and Estudio Nuar being born in 2016.

Manuela: Dancing was always one of my biggest engines in life, so (obviously) when I turned fifteen, I decided to host a huge party. My mom suggested visiting Mercedez Hernaez (an argentinian designer, at that moment sketching the new Bs As city maps) to ask her for the party invitation. When I entered her studio, I had an instant crush: there were women working together on their retro white iMacs, wooden furniture, and most importantly: illustrations and typography everywhere. I felt that was my universe.

With that impetus and looking forward to opening my mind with public education, I started studying Graphic Design in FADU-UBA, where I met an amazing group of friends and teachers, and learned about life and design as I never imagined. After graduating, I became an assistant professor, and taught for five years in a priceless exchange between students and professionals. Last but not least, I met Meli, turning our studying nights between teas and pijamas into what is now Estudio Nuar.

How would you define your vision of design, your style?

Our vision is to create unique, memorable and functional brands. We work with a systemic and holistic approach, where each part is thought in relation to others: naming, logo, color palette, menu, packaging, uniforms and interior design (among many others) are pieces of a great puzzle, which is completed by the consumer / client when connecting with the brand. We firmly believe that the power of curiosity is one of the keys of Branding: on the one hand, asking good questions, on the other, trusting that the client has many more answers than he thinks he has, you just have to know how to reach them. As we see it, the conceptual depth and the visual richness of the Identity System is a consequence of the relevant questions asked and the quality of the responses received. Also, taking the time to create a powerful strategy (although the client is always in a hurry) is part of our vision and daily practice.

Regarding our style, we try not to portray “our personal style” when we create brands. As brandmakers we believe a new Identity should be generated each time, so the brand speaks for itself. Anyway, words like clarity, harmony, nobleness, uniqueness and balance, with a touch of humour, identify everything that we do. We could add that we love black, especially for dressing up to work!

For the future, what are your professional projects?

We would love to continue expanding globally and connecting with other cultures that enrich our work and perspectives. Also, more importantly, we would like to continue with the process of federalizing good design in Argentina by creating lateral, solid and open minded brands all across the country.

What do you like the most in your job?

It’s hard to choose when you enjoy your work so much, but what fascinates us more is the richness of the design process when creating a new brand, to see how it starts to grow and consolidate until it functions for itself. It’s like giving birth to these beautiful creations each time, choosing its name and colors and ways of speaking and moving; telling a story, building an experience. Moreover, we really enjoy the exchange in the relationship with clients and providers, and of course the teamwork with other designers, architects, photographers and everyone involved in the process.