City of Dreams: Unveiled

Unknown Speaker 0:00
This is a k u and v studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more

Unknown Speaker 0:09
the University of Nevada Las Vegas or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Good morning dreamers and creators. You're tuned in to the City of Dreams unveiled. Your monthly deep dive into the pulsing heart of Las Vegas is art and entertainment scene. I'm your host, Jeff Lowen. Here to peel back the layers of creativity and inspiration that fuel our city's most innovative minds.

Unknown Speaker 0:43
Today, we're thrilled to have a distinguished guest Victoria Hart, the creative Dynamo behind pink kitty creative. As the Vice President of the AIGA Las Vegas chapter, Victoria is a beacon in the world of graphic design and branding. Her work at pink kitty creative stands as a testament to her innovative approach and designing brand experiences that resonate and engage. Known for her commitment to be good, do good. Victoria's passion for creating excellence and community involvement shines through an every project she undertakes. Let's dive into the colorful and inspiring world of Victoria Hart, where creativity meets purpose. Welcome, Victoria.

Unknown Speaker 1:23
Thank you. Thank you for having me. It's great to be here. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 1:27
it's a pleasure for me. Just knowing your background and your community involvement in art. For Las Vegas, it's super important. And that's what the show is about. We really want to showcase the people who are actually in the city doing amazing things connecting other artists. And being a part of this creative industry. I'm happy to be here. So let's start out with your beginning in the career. Could you share with us where and how you started in the career of the creative industry? Sure,

Unknown Speaker 1:56
absolutely. So I am originally from Seattle, Washington, and I grew up there and I was kind of meandering about with my life and my 20s going, what am I going to do? I ended up having a baby and I thought, oh my gosh, I can't be a bartender forever. So my girlfriend said, Hey, you should go to the school. It's called the Art Institute in Seattle. And it's really great. And I think you'd love it because you're an artist and like, okay, so I ended up attending there and getting my getting my associates degree in graphic design. And after I graduated, I was working at some agencies and hopping around to a couple of different places. And right out the gate, I kind of started my own business thinking, Oh, I could just do this. That was very challenging, but really fun. We were located in Bellevue, Washington and I got another girlfriend of mine to join me and, and we did lots of fun things. But then I was just getting so tired of the rain in Seattle. It rains all the time. And so I moved to Las Vegas. And when I moved here, I got this really terrible job at a sports betting place because I kind of didn't know my way around and and who the agencies were. So I worked there for a little while and was trying to find another career path. And so I ended up just looking and looking and found this company called Westwood Studios. And at that time, they were a young, growing company that developed computer games. And I ended up getting the job there. And that was kind of life changing and a very pivotal moment in my graphic design career.

Unknown Speaker 3:51
Okay, that's great. Is Westwood Studios still around? No,

Unknown Speaker 3:54
no, they ended up getting bought by Electronic Arts quite a few years ago. There are still a lot of people that used to work at Westwood, programmers and game developers that started their own company called petroglyph games. Okay, and they're still around. Excellent.

Unknown Speaker 4:14
The inspiration let's talk about pink, Kitty creative. What was your inspiration behind founding that company?

Unknown Speaker 4:23
Well, um, when I was out here, before I moved here, my we had a white cat and my daughter kept dying at pink, okay, and I was like, what do you do and was the cat The fourth thing she's like, Mom, I want to be a hairstylist when I grow up and so I think I'm just practicing on the cat. All right, go for it. And that was my inspiration behind the name but the reason I really wanted to kind of branch off and do my own thing is I had done Westwood Studios. And then I went to a company called Creative dynamics and worked there for about seven years and They were a fabulous group of graphic designers. And then I went, and I kind of got tired of graphic design. So I started, the owner of Westwood Studios reached out to me, and he said, Hey, let's open this, you want to help me open this art gallery downtown, and I'm building a building specifically for art. And it's fabulous. And I want you to run it. And I was like, Okay, this is perfect chance to try and do something different and really kind of dive into more of the fine art, which I've, I've always been passionate about. And so I did that for about seven years. And that was called Brett Wesley gallery, down right across the street from the arts factory. And then after that, I was like, Okay, now what do I do, and my clients kept reaching out to me all the time while I was out the gallery, so I was kind of doing a little bit of that, and a little bit of client stuff. And so I just decided, hey, let's, you know, the gallery was sort of winding down and, and going in new directions. And I thought I'd just jump back into graphic design, because that's what everybody wants me to do. It just seemed natural. So then I started pink at creative and did did my own firm. And I was really nervous. Because, you know, that's a big jump starting your own business. And, and, and it just worked out. Great. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 6:22
that's it. We'll talk about the business aspect in a little bit. Let's back up. So design gallery. How did like was there always that in you to like open a gallery? Or was it just someone pitched the idea and you're like, this is of interest?

Unknown Speaker 6:38
Yes. So I have always loved art, it's been my passion since I was really small. And I used to draw a lot and I do a lot of sculptural pieces and work with glass. And, and just anything, I'm kind of very crafty that way. But the, the jump was sort of like okay, I've kind of done everything in this graphic design world, but I really love fine art. And that was a perfect opportunity for me to be able to jump in and learn more and really grow and what was really pivotal. And and learning was, was Brett sent me to Art Basel in Florida Yes, for four days. And oh my gosh, it was just mind blowing. The breadth in the and the depth of the art in three days I was there, up at 8am, down at 9pm are going to the late night parties. Yes. And I didn't even see probably half of the not even half of the art there. So it was just it was just a really big eye opening experience of, of, you know, the different degrees of art, there's so many levels that that are kind of crazy. And in. You know, when you think about art, I always love to just see more and do more and experience more because it opens your mind to all the different possibilities.

Unknown Speaker 8:17
Yep. What I like about art is it can be something that you take out of the trash, you know, found materials, and you can make something, or it can be a fine artist. So there's such a wide array. And I think that's important for, you know, listeners to understand, like, you don't have to be a professional fine artist to me to call yourself an artist, right?

Unknown Speaker 8:38
I believe we are all artists. Yes. And in our core, there is something that makes us creative, and everybody has it, and how they use it and express it differently is their unique interpretation of art. Yeah, so

Unknown Speaker 8:51
I also feel art is around us in everything we do. And the clothes you wear in the conversations you have in the food you eat. Like it really is like the source of everything that you can reflect upon, you can be inspired by it just so many layers.

Unknown Speaker 9:10
Yes. I love that. I believe that too. I think, you know, in what it's just, it really inspires us to think differently, too, which is what I love about it is that you can see something and go oh my gosh, I would have never thought of that. Because you've experienced it through another person's eyes what they've created. Yep. And that's what I love.

Unknown Speaker 9:32
So quick going back to Art Basel. Did you know for our listeners, what is Art Basel?

Unknown Speaker 9:39
So it's a it's an art festival that that gathers artists from all over the world and and multiple countries, Germany, France and and it is a three day festival where people can come and look at art. It's mostly a lot of the galleries are just trying to showcase new artists to be discovered. and found and shown and and then there's these fabulous parties and, and lots of events around just art in general. From from the smallest artists to up and coming artists to the to the very most famous and into the historical collections of art. You get to see all of

Unknown Speaker 10:19
it. Yep. And it's usually it's in Miami, I think the first week in December. Yeah. So. So anybody interested I would highly suggest making a trip fabulous vacation, you will be immersed in submerse into everything from performance art, to literally everything absolutely

Unknown Speaker 10:38
young, from from on the beach and to the different buildings. There's just a million different building scope, but scope is my favorite. Yeah, yeah.

Unknown Speaker 10:47
It's the Burning Man of the art world. Yes. Yeah. So let's talk about AIGA. First of all, what is AIGA? Aaj

Unknown Speaker 10:55
is a American Institute of Graphic Arts. And it was founded many many years ago. I don't know when exactly but every every major city has a local chapter. And it supports graphic design. So graphic designers, you know, from all over the United States are a part of the organization. And it just really helps us kind of elevate the profession when I got into graphic design. Back in the 80s. Nobody knew what a graphic designer was. And it didn't even I when I started going to college, I kind of didn't really know what they did. I just knew I loved looking at magazines and type type was like my thing. I just love it and, and Andy Warhols Interview magazine and Ray Gun magazine are like my favorites. And so so it really elevated the conversation of graphic design. Yes. And And now today, there's, you know, a plethora of graphic designers. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 11:55
And back in the day, it was probably print, you know what I mean? Very simple. But now just looking at like social media and tick tock and like, how graphic design has impacted. Like we're all sort of a little graphic designer when you're creating your Instagram posts or your tic toc. So what's the mission for the local chapter here in Las Vegas,

Unknown Speaker 12:17
so we are just trying to post COVID trying to get more people together like we, we, I feel like since COVID, we're all kind of in our own little silos still working independently. It did, it did create a lot of like individuals going out on their own and starting their own business. And, and what we tried to do is bring them together and and educate them about graphic design and bring in speakers from all over the United States that talk about design that are really amazing. illustrators are really incredible. movie producers, we kind of run the whole gamut. So if you go to our website, there's a million different interviews of really great dynamic designers and illustrators and movie people. Yep.

Unknown Speaker 13:10
I attended one of your events. It was it was amazing. What I really found inspiring was the community of people that you're building in Las Vegas. So if you're someone who's just starting out, maybe you're still stuck, still, even in school. Those students that showed up, it gave them a sense of like, there's professionals in this industry, locally in Las Vegas that you can use as a mentor.

Unknown Speaker 13:36
Absolutely. Okay. And that's a great point, Jeff, because I love mentoring I met I'm you know, I'm so seasoned now, I can tell you how old I am that I'm getting up there. And, and I love working with these students, because they have so many different eight fresh ideas that I would never think of. And they and they think differently. And they you know, because they're so in math and immersed in social media and all that and I'm just not I love print, I'm so old school. Yes. And so UNLV actually has their own chapter of AIGA as well. Okay. And those students, a lot of times you will come and you attended the coffee and creatives group, which is a really great sort of morning educational piece where people can just come and talk and tell us their concerns and what they're trying to do and we try and address people individually, but the students they are able to really kind of learn and see who's in that community like we try and get a lot of the season designers out so that they can latch on and and grow faster you know and learn about things that maybe they might not be getting in college or whatever. But yes, I just love working with with the kids. I always have like an open desk in my office where somebody can come and hang out and sit down and answer all their questions and and They're welcome to come and do little internships and stuff.

Unknown Speaker 15:03
The other thing I noticed there, too, I had brought a couple of friends ones in the party planning event business. And the other is, you know, in the shoe brand, she's got a fashion shoe brand. And even they found inspiration coming to that because they're exposed to a different, you know, circle of friends or a circle circle of people, which, like you're cross pollinating. Yes, across the city of Las Vegas.

Unknown Speaker 15:29
And that is really key to every artistic endeavor. I feel like I learned so much like we just started partnering with ama the American Marketing Association. Yes. And they put on these incredible events and have really great speakers from all over the world. And, and so we learn more about marketing marketing is a huge part of graphic design, you know, yes, in the same thing with with performers, and, and just creative people in general, they can all you can all kind of learn from each other in some way or another.

Unknown Speaker 16:03
For sure. Okay, so you moved to Vegas to get out of the cold weather, I sort of did the same thing came from North Dakota, winners are not my thing. So anytime I can get more sunshine and in warmer temperatures, especially right now, in the winter. How does How did you find your place in this city? Like you didn't know anybody in the art space? Or, you know, back then, how does someone coming to Las Vegas new, sort of get their feet wet and just find try to find their tribe?

Unknown Speaker 16:34
In this area, guys? Yes. For me, it was you know, when I started working at CDI studios, I, I met Julie Marie, Julie Marie is a fabulous woman in Las Vegas, and she she has moonridge group, philanthropy advisors and she just was really open about connecting people. And through her I was able to meet a lot of people I helped brand, three square our local food bank, her she introduced me to once the cannabis scene Game On, on I did all of Thrive cannabis marketplace. And so she was a big connector for me and kind of like a mentor as well. And that was really helpful. I feel like trying to if you're just coming here and trying to get your groove, the best thing to do is to attend these AIGA events or attend marketing events or go out to where the people are and start meeting people like that. A lot of designers are real introvert. So it's kind of hard, but but the more you expose yourself to more people, the bigger your tribe starts becoming Yes, you'll learn that I'm really connecting with this group over here, I feel really comfortable over here. And you just kind of grow that way. I was fortunate enough to be here for so long, that I've met a lot of people. And that has really helped and you know, being good at what you do really helps as well, because people want to hire you and refer you to their friends and things like that. So that's really my businesses all referral base. I've been very blessed to that way to have that. And

Unknown Speaker 18:18
I think networking is, is everything. Number one, you got to show up. Yeah. One sort of event that I found is First Friday, like if you are in the industry or want to get in the industry just show up at First Friday. It's a fun event. It's in the evenings, and just start talking to people who have booths there. You know what I mean? Like, that's a great way everybody's very open to meeting new people. And if there's someone who's doing similar art to you, that's the first conversation, you know what I mean? And then just start like, how did you start that sort of thing and just start building that network or friendship? And before you know it? The first Friday is amazing for that sort of networking. Oh, absolutely. Doesn't cost you any money. Just show up

Unknown Speaker 19:02
and just show up. Yeah. So when we were running the gallery, we were literally we're in the salmon ash building. I don't know if you're familiar with that. But gorgeous building that Brett built. And First Friday was really fun. We we never really sold any art on First Friday. But people love to see the art. So they've come through the gallery and you know, most of our collectors were more on preview Thursday, we would we would have big parties that night. I'm pretty sure they still do that. I don't know. But But I loved just that's where I would discover new artists for the gallery sometimes like, like one of my favorites is Giovanni Morales, you seen his work in my home. He's just phenomenal. And I found him you know drawing and painting at First Friday and I was like, Oh my gosh, you're so amazing. Let's do something with this, you know? And there's been a few, quite a few others and so there's so many opportunities at First Friday but You have to start the conversation. Absolutely.

Unknown Speaker 20:02
Now, have you found this is one of the things I love Las Vegas for. It's a big small city. It's like a little community. You know, you can go to LA or New York and you know, your little fish in this massive ocean. Were really the secret to one of the things about Las Vegas is you can be a big fish in this small pond and get to know literally everybody or three degrees to someone I know, you know, we've spoken that I've been like Victoria, who can I talk to you here and you open up your Rolodex to me, which is, you know, I'm grateful for, but it's very easy to do that in this city. Have you found the same thing? Absolutely.

Unknown Speaker 20:44
That's what I love about this town. I feel like if I retired from graphic design and wanted to become a fine artist, or a sculpture wrist or or take on any project, I could be famous overnight, because it's so it's it's still so small. And and and that's what makes it so exciting here. Yeah. Like, I feel like you you could be anybody here and make it you just got to get out there and start doing it, you know, and make those connections and stuff. It's not easy. No, it's not easy. Absolutely. It takes time. But you know, you can do it here. I feel like I feel like that's exactly right. And I tell everybody that Vegas is a small town, but it feels really big to the world. Yes, but we are really a small town. And if we can make it here, we can make it anywhere. I think that's New York. Sorry. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 21:39
It's true, though. One thing we haven't touched upon is your influential projects in Vegas. I know of, you know, a few. Tell me, you know, your top three, and where we might be able to see them in town.

Unknown Speaker 21:57
Oh, gosh. Okay. So, of course, one of the ones my top one right now is the city of Las Vegas logo, which is on the Gateway arches. That giant Monumental Arch that's out front of the stratosphere.

Unknown Speaker 22:12
Yep. So it's all lit up and it crosses over and sign hangs over the traffic. So next time anybody drives under it? You now know that victoriahearts was the designer in that. Yes,

Unknown Speaker 22:23
that was a fabulous project. One of my other absolute favorites is Chef Brian Howard from Sparrow and Wolf opened a restaurant called half bird chicken and beer. And they are in Henderson. Right off Green Valley Parkway. And I got to do all the branding, from the logo to the packaging design to the interior design of the entire restaurant, from the fabrics to the wallpapers, even made rubber chicken chandeliers so much fun. Yeah. So that's one of my passion projects. And then third, I would have to say, you know, I absolutely love Farhan Naqvi of NOC reinjury law. Yeah, I do all of his billboards and his branding for him. Okay. And actually, I love the craft house brewery. I can't leave them out. Because they're another favorite. I get I've been doing their label designs for all their beers for the past. I want to say five years. Wow, it's been a minute.

Unknown Speaker 23:26
Yeah. Yep. And when they when they approached you to do their labels, were they carte blanche, like, whatever you design is good with us or talks about that process with

Unknown Speaker 23:35
them? Sure. Absolutely. So windy. And Dave over there. Were one of the very first craft breweries in Las Vegas and Henderson, actually. And then they opened one downtown and they windy always comes to me with a great idea. So she says this is what I'd like to see. And then And then lets me go carte Blanc. So I usually take that idea and mess around with it until I come up with something that feels really like the beer taste. And I don't drink beer. So that's kind of hard, but she's like, you don't need to drink beer. Just you know, you know, the essence of the flavors sort of like Okay, good. So, and it always works out really, really well. So

Unknown Speaker 24:18
and how do you like this is diving deeper into it like your color palettes? How do you you know choose colors for a beer that okay, you maybe haven't tasted Right

Unknown Speaker 24:28
exactly. So usually there is a flavor essence like for instance right now we're branding a new hard seltzer called PRISM and it is a green mango guava flavor. And so just from that, I'm obviously going to introduce some green and maybe some peachy colors for the mango thing. But the in the prism idea she didn't want to be really, most of the time we're kind of alone. more abstract on the designs we don't, we don't want to hone in and go, Oh, here's a bunch of prisms on the label. Sure. But I did use some really Angular textures and kind of evoking prisms but not necessarily prism. So that's kind of how that comes along. And then with the type treatments, I always just try and find my designs, if you look at my website tend to be very bold and colorful, because that I feel that's my personality. Yes. So I usually go really bold with type, and everything starts off really big. And then I'm like, Whoa, that's too big. Come down Victoria. And so I usually have to backtrack from there. And I'm the one the client never has to say, make the logo bigger. It's so funny, because I know that as the logo all over the thing, because I know how important that is to them. But then I usually have to take that back a step as well. Cool.

Unknown Speaker 25:54
Let's, let's talk about business and being an artist. Because a lot of artists are missing that that business aspect of understanding, like, you got to pay the bills, and you got to negotiate a lease and like all that boring stuff, and they're just want to focus on the creative. How do you balance, you know, having an agency like this? That is

Unknown Speaker 26:16
interesting. I feel like I've been blessed to be both right and left brain a little bit because businesses is never the fun part. But you have to do it. And so with me, I tend to, it just kind of comes naturally. So the best thing was I found the software to do my billing with because I was doing all my invoices by hand on my computer and losing track of everything. And, and my programmer, I always program with a developer. His name is Chris Davey. And he he said, Look, you need to use them software to do this stuff, was it? Yes. So and that was only like three years ago. That's how that's how old school I am. So I've managed to get all my accounting in one area. And I'm really good at that now. And I work out of my home studio. So that part is really easy for me. But it's not easy. Like most designers and artists in general are not very business minded. So you really have to if you're not good at that I recommend you know taking classes, find someone to help you. Yeah, find someone there's technology.

Unknown Speaker 27:27
The Chamber of Commerce has a ton of

Unknown Speaker 27:31
resources. So I did was the Chamber of Commerce. But I love them. They're fabulous. There's so many things you can do there. Yeah. So I was so glad that they changed their name to the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce. It's like wow, that's way too many words to put into a logo. So yeah, Vegas chamber is fabulous for that kind of stuff. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 27:53
for sure. Okay. I thought it would be fun to do a lightning round of questions. Okay. Okay. Are you up for the challenge? I'm ready. Okay. Number one, Morning or night? Are you a morning person or a night owl when it comes to creativity?

Unknown Speaker 28:07
Absolutely. Night.

Unknown Speaker 28:08
Number two, music or silence? Do you prefer working with music in the background or in complete silence? Music

Unknown Speaker 28:16
but it can't be any vocals?

Unknown Speaker 28:19
Number three, city or nature? For inspiration? Do you lean more towards the hustle and bustle of the city? Or the tranquility of nature?

Unknown Speaker 28:28
Well, it absolutely depends on the client. So if it's an organic client, I go out to nature if it's if it's something more aggressive and busy I head to the city.

Unknown Speaker 28:41
Number four sketchbook or digital? When brainstorming ideas do you usually reach for a traditional sketchbook or go digital with a tablet? I'm all digital. Number five classic art or contemporary. If you had to choose, you would spend your day in a museum of classic art or gallery of contemporary works.

Unknown Speaker 29:01
Oh absolutely contemporary. I love the Brode remember

Unknown Speaker 29:06
to join us next episode on March 24 at 9am. We will continue to explore and celebrate the diverse and dynamic worlds of the artists in our city of dreams. Until then keep embracing the creativity around you and support your local artists. This is Jeff lon stay inspired and see you next time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai