Hania Robledo is the Academy Award nominated Art Director behind such features as Frida, The Mask of Zorro, and Elysium.
We have had the privilege of seeing Hania’s talents first hand on several projects produced by The Lift. A look through our work with Levi’s “Beautiful Morning,” Tequila Avion’s “Tequila with the Gods,” and Activision’s “Destiny” are testament to her visionary eye.
Step into the mind of Hania Robledo in our interview with the very gifted Art Director.
How did you get your start in Art Direction?
I started off after academic studies in architecture and painting as a Theatre and Lighting Designer, and then I moved from theatre to commercials and film.
Where do you find inspiration either in Mexico or abroad?
Everywhere! Even in places I have not been to, but also in music, literature, popular art, and so on.
What would you say are your biggest influences?
It’s hard to think of one major influence, I feel very influenced by new artists, conceptual artists, classic, old masters, and also from the great film directors I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with, and beautiful production designers such as Carlos Conti, or even others I haven’t met like William Chang.
Can you take us through a project that you worked on, how about Frida? Where did you start with references and how did that come to life?
I was lucky to have Frida’s and Diego Rivera’s assistants as painting teachers, so I was already very interested in the subject matter many years before I was offered that job, and passionate about Mexican painting. So I jumped right into design, naturally coming straight from my academic background!
What advice would you give to someone starting out in your field?
Be curious! Never stop learning and researching everything! Even subjects that you feel are foreign to you. Know diverse people and different cultures, and go out to the streets! It teaches you a lot that you can apply in your next design or future ones!
What’s up next for you?
Hopefully continuing the amazing experience of designing commercials with wonderful crews and creatives, as I have had the opportunity to do for The Lift. I’m also about to confirm the design of a beautiful English feature (will keep the director’s name under wraps for now) for a little later this year.