Sharing Dreams/Compartiendo Sueños 2007:
Design in Culture/Diseño en Cultura

Ana Llorente

I am convinced my mother is addicted to coffee. A craving for a perfectly brewed ‘cortadito’; sweetened to appease well-trained taste buds; ritualistically served at precise times throughout the day. These facts only make my theory stronger. My mother proudly accepts her dependency and will charm anyone willing to try her perfectly brewed ‘tacita de café’. A good friend of mine recently became her subject, and not only did they shared a cup of coffee, but my mother also offered a clue to the true basis of her passion: a stronghold of what is designed as part of her culture, an attempt to maintain some of its purity and strength.

This new-found understanding of my mother’s passion inspired a visual face-off of my family’s personal culture, a culture diluted by endless generations forced to be fleeting nations. The commitment to develop passionate relationships with memories becomes grounded dreams. These dreams are shielded at first, later released, shared and expanded. My vow to distill, rather than dilute, my heritage creates a stronghold similar to my mother’s. My hope is for the brewing of renewal.

Bio

Ana Llorente-Thurik is a graphic designer of Cuban descent who was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. She is the founder of Los Angeles based studio ALT Design specializing in two and three-dimensional design, including logo, identity, and brand development; book design; exhibition design; and environmental design. Her clients include The Getty Museum, California Institute of the Arts, Otis College of Art and Design, Flight 93 Memorial Design Committee, and Urban Partners LLC.

Ana possesses an outstanding ability to conceptualize, organize, and apply layers of information to develop insightful solutions for each project. Her personal attention to her clients, her drive to develop the right solution for each unique project, and her commitment to excellence have made ALT Design a thriving design practice.
Ana has worked in the design field for more than 15 years. She received a Bachelors in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, a Post-Baccalaureate Degree in Visual Communication from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Masters in Fine Arts in Graphic Design from California Institute of the Arts. She spent five years working as an architect in Miami, Minneapolis, and Chicago. For the last 10 years, Ana has worked in Los Angeles, where she has focused on branding, print and information design, environmental design, and exhibition design.

Ana’s work has been recognized by The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and The Society of Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD). She currently teaches environmental graphic design and typography at Otis College of Art and Design.