by Natalia Ramirez

Last week the MFAD class of 2024 had the pleasure of speaking with Carla Frank, Creative Director of Carla Frank Creative + Co. (One of our own second-year students, Ishita Aggarwal, was an intern at her studio last summer!) Carla’s studio focuses on editorial design, brand strategy and storytelling and is packed with knowledge from years of working with brands as influential as Oprah Magazine and Glamour Italia. She spoke of the ups and downs of having graduated university during a recession, and of being a young woman starting her career in an industry driven by men, but also about how her dedication to her work allowed her to become a voice and a leader in the industry she loved. It was inspiring to hear a case in which having a vision so strong of her own future, and having the confidence to vocalize it and work at it, led her to where she wanted to be in times of greater uncertainty.

Amongst the snippets of work that she has been creating across decades, she gave us practical advice on “how to become a creative director” — a feat much more complex than is allowed to tackle in an hour of conversation, but that definitely gave us some interesting insight into her world. Her work is solid evidence that print is not going anywhere (yet, at least), and is in fact succeeding in rapid evolution to adapt itself to the changing times, along with a shift towards digital platforms.

As designers and entrepreneurs, it is always lovely to meet other creatives who have had such dimensional career paths that lead them to begin their independent creative practices. We are grateful for having had the opportunity to meet Carla, and look forward to seeing her work continue to evolve and innovate within the design field.