Today we’d like to introduce you to Karla Pasten.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It all started when I discovered lettering when I was in college; before knowing it what I wanted to be was to be a Concept Artist for series and movies or an Illustrator, but when I learned about this discipline everything changed because I realized that letters could be drawn, this thought made me rethink everything I knew about design. That’s how little by little I was specializing in this discipline, also applying all the knowledge and previous theories I had about illustration to lettering. From that moment on I tried to apply all of this to every school project I had.
By the time I got my first job at a design agency, my art director Elias Mule and Jorge Mercado gave me the opportunity to apply all this interests I had around lettering in branding projects that required a custom wordmark. After two years working in this agency, I decided to jump to a bigger agency in Mexico City; however, with time I realized that it wasn’t my place and that I wasn’t enjoying it. This stage helped me to realize what I didn’t want in my life, helping me to focus on what I really wanted to do. It was then that I decided to dedicate this year of my life to personal work and freelance that little by little would open the way for me to take the leap of faith that I hoped would change my life. Thanks to this, in 2020 I began my trip to New York to work in an agency but because of the pandemic, this dream had to be postponed since due to the uncertainty of this worldwide tragedy I would have to return to Mexico. Those were difficult times, as I had just climbed out of one hole of uncertainty only to fall into another, but I did not let this stop me. One of my dreams had always been to study typography in New York, which I had to postpone. However, during the pandemic, I had the opportunity to get a BIPOC scholarship for a 10-week typography course called Display Type with Juan Villanueva in the summer of 2020. On top of that, I was also awarded a scholarship for Graham Bradley’s Introduction to Modern Type Design program that same year and at the end of 2020 I was selected with a full scholarship by Letterform Archives to study the TypeWest 2021 program, an online Postgraduate Certificate Program in Type Design on San Francisco.
That’s how 2020 and part of 2021 I dedicated myself to freelance work and typography thanks to all these programs that helped me to fulfill my dreams.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course not! If I had to define my life it would be in a series of failures that eventually helped me rethink what I wanted to do with my life. Moving from Sinaloa to Mexico City was a huge step and ended in failure, but it gave me the opportunity to realize what I didn’t wanted in my life. Also, like everyone else, the pandemic affected many people, including me, but I think the important thing is that despite all of this, never take your finger off the table and continue to strive to achieve what you want. It is important to clarify that without the support of my family, this would not have been possible, so I am completely grateful to my mother, my sister, and her family for the support they gave me in those dark times.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do? What project are you most proud of and what sets you apart from others?
Hi, I’m Karla Pasten; you can also call me Mixtli; I’m a graphic designer from Hidalgo, Mexico. I’m passionate about typography and illustration. I specialize in branding, packaging, illustration, lettering, and typeface design. I am part of the Times New Woman movement, an initiative to empower Spanish-speaking women interested in letters, and I currently collaborate with the design agency Mucca from New York.
Personally, the work I am most proud of is the title of TORO that I designed for Raul Urías’ book, a compilation of the graphic work of the Mexican illustrator Raul Urias from his last 6 years (2014 – 2020)., It shows a selection of personal and commercial works in more than 200 color pages and a series of sketches.
I also think that what differentiates my work from others is the way in which I combine illustration with lettering; as I mentioned, I previously wanted to become a conceptual artist, so all the composition and design theories I learned from that I began to apply them to lettering. Additionally, I am a big fan of color theory, which for conceptual artists is a pillar in the way atmospheres are built. This color theory can be identified especially in fauvist and post-impressionist works, which are my favorite artistic movements because of their distinguished and purist way of using color. On the other hand, I find that I get bored very easily with conventional letter forms, so I am always trying to explore new forms and integrate different concepts to common words, adding such different concepts to my artworks opens the possibility to see something new.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Surprisingly, in the last 5 years or so, many brands have gone from using typefaces with a lot of personality in their logos to using san serifs, which usually lack their own personality with the excuse that they are adapting to digital media. It is very likely that these big brands will have to be redesigned in a few years as they look very similar to each other. So, I expect to see more diversity in brand logos without feeling limited. Also, in the world of typography, I hope to see more diversity of forms and stories told by new people with very different backgrounds from what we are used to, finding new voices that we can identify with. Above all, I hope to see more and more BIPOC women, cis or trans, non-binary people in charge of important positions in the industry, it is time for us to reclaim those spaces from which we have been pushed aside for decades.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mixtli.mx
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mixtli.mx/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karla-pasten/
- Other: https://www.behance.net/Mixtli_mx
