Take 10 with… Monique Robins
The DA team want to support our community through these unprecedented times – something we kept coming back to is a focus on connection and community. So we want to do what we think DA does best, sharing ideas, inspiration and information and profiling our community.
With that in mind, we launched a new series Take 10 with… to do a pulse check on how you’re feeling, how you’re working, what you are missing, and what your hopes are for the future. We invited some of our friends, peers and the DA team to participate and we hope you enjoy these honest and candid profiles of Aotearoa designers today.
Introduce yourself:
Monique Robins, Design Director at Curious Design
How did you get into design?
I loved everything arty and creative all through school, there were many avenues I considered from architecture to photography and I started my tertiary education in AUT’s Fine Arts degree but midway through the first year I crossed over into design and it instantly clicked as the right direction to channel my creativity. I brie y worked at Y&R before starting in the Junior Design role at Curious, I had never considered packaging design at University but fast forward 16 years and I live and breath all things fmcg!
What do you love about design?
I have a passion for new product design, letting your imagination run wild and creating truly unique, effective branding and packaging solutions. I still love seeing my work in peoples supermarket trolly’s too!
What or who inspires you?
So many things influence me when designing, there are some amazing agencies both locally and abroad, my favourite New Zealand agency would be Seachange and overseas I love the quirky point of view of Snask. I also quite like looking back into interesting stories from the past to influence the present. When working on The Bowery a mens grooming line last year me and the team at Curious found some amazingly colourful stories from 1930’s New York which became the foundation of the brand.
How are you feeling right now?
I’m feeling pretty lucky that both my partner and I have been able to work from home through all of this and hopeful we have as a nation managed to flatten the curve.
Are you working right now, if so what does your work from home day look like?
Luckily yes Curious has stayed busy all through lockdown. A normal day starts o ff with an hour walk around the block with my partner and our elderly French Bulldog in the backpack, then we have a little breakfast together and head o to work for the day. The day is lled with lots of designing, zoom meetings and sometimes a little lunchtime yoga.
What’s your one tip right now?
Sticking to a routine as much as possible and incorporating some exercise into the day has helped me a lot.
Tell us about your current workspace.
I’m working on my dining table, as my partner took up residence in the study. It does get = incredibly sunny though so most days I have to work in a oversized sun hat.
Which local business are you going to miss most during our isolation period?
The one and only business I am missing is Co ffix and my 9am trip to see Dan the coff ee man.
What do you hope for the Aotearoa design community going forward?
The quality of work being produced inside New Zealand is truly world-class and I have no doubt we will as a collective keep pushing the boundaries of design.
