Trans Latina multi-disciplinary artist and musician, Ava Q. Rodriguez-Smith, started her professional design career in the skateboarding industry. She learned how to build a brand from its inception into a global cultural movement during her time at World Industries. She channeled everything through skateboarding's lens of community and culture into helping establish one of the first premiere urban street/skate brands of its time, Axion Footwear with professional skateboarder Kareem Campbell. Alongside skateboarding, she nurtured a deep love for making art during her studies at SDSU, often spending long hours in the studio and dark room experimenting with colors, textures, and light. Seamlessly blending the raw energy of skateboarding culture, the refined techniques of painting and the evocative power of photography, she carved out a unique niche that sets her apart in the creative world.
Crossing over into entertainment marketing, and a portfolio that includes collaborations with top-tier creative agencies, studios and networks, with a reputation for pushing creative boundaries, Ava continues to inspire and innovate, executing award-winning campaigns recognized by Clios, Gema/Promax, Golden Trailer Awards, and Key Art Awards. Always thinking outside the box in how she approaches design challenges, she strives to seek out a unique approach with a new perspective for every project she works on. Her background in fine art adds a layer of depth and sophistication, while her expertise in photography ensures each frame is meticulously composed.
Versatile in various design styles and aesthetics, she is an accomplished, highly creative art director/motion designer with extensive experience in branding and design. She demonstrates a thorough understanding of motion, animation, visual storytelling, and how they overlap to create a narrative structure. Offering expertise from both agency and client perspectives, she seeks to craft immersive visual experiences that captivate, and own creative excellence at every touchpoint. She is highly skilled in 2D/3D animation and compositing, with exceptional attention to typography, and expert proficiency with Cinema 4D, Redshift, X-Particles, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro.
She specializes in collaborating with creative teams to develop projects from ideation and pitch deck creation, story/mood board development, initial designs, 2D/3D animation, to final delivery of finishing graphics and every step in between. She also has a thorough understanding of the technical specs of broadcast, theatrical, social media deliverables, and comprehensive knowledge of emerging creative technologies, best practices and unique approaches in design, marketing and brand communications. Outside the studio Ava finds creative balance composing music with multiple projects as a singer/songwriter; in addition to, carving slopes enjoying her local mountains when winter arrives.
Contact
LOCATION // Los Angeles, CA
Thank you!