The SVA MFAD first-year students were invited to Louise Fili’s studio space on East 23rd street.

Louise began the talk by giving a summary of her career. She got her start working as an Art Director at Pantheon Books where she was on a mission to prove that “good design doesn’t have to be loud”, which she did with her widely applauded cover of “The Lover” by Marguerite Duras. Louise walked the students through her love affair with Italian design. Her life-long passion for European signage culminated in the release of multiple books on the topic. Louise discussed the details of what made food packaging successful and gave examples from her former projects. Students were particularly struck by her work made with jam packaging. 

The talk concluded with student questions, including her opinions regarding trends, the specifics of packaging vs logo design and the strangest client she’s ever had.