Meet: Victoria Reis

We’re delighted to introduce you the Enterprising Alumni Association Committee member Victoria Reis.

Studying a BA in Graphic Communication Design at CSM was a surreal experience from the very beginning - especially coming from Venezuela. It was such a massive privilege, which I've got my parents to thank for.

I really appreciated the access to the workshops and having so much space to experiment and express ideas in, the talks every Tuesday, and the events - I even got to attend a Ted Talk! It was always refreshing and motivating to hear directly from the experience of fellow creatives in all sorts of fields. Being so close to different practices exposed me to their passion and made me appreciate the influence of fashion, architecture, product design, journalism, and others. I made many friends and collaborated in different industries.

After graduating, I wanted to try digital design, branding, and creative thinking, so I took some time to explore the industry. The knowledge I gained from this really helps me run my own design studio Drool.

I started as a Junior Graphic Designer in the marketing department at GUS, dedicated to rebranding universities. There I worked on my first zine design, The Vibe. Then I moved to The Dubs, where I worked on my first award-winning print book release, The Little Book of Data for Aviva (which won Creativepool’s 2019 Silver and People’s Choice awards for Publishing). Followed by EventsTag, an experiential advertising agency. This enabled me to expand my practice to creative thinking, wayfinding, and UI/UX design; I worked as the creative lead for the Room and the Broom Animated Movie Experience at Chessington World of Adventures and the bouncy installation for Monster at Alexandra Palace.

Today at Drool Design Studios, together with my partner/co-founder Alexander Lorimer, we aim to collaborate with other creatives without limiting our practice. To push ideas and go beyond the brief.

My motivation to be a part of the Enterprising Alumni Association comes from my personal journey as a creative: trying to believe in myself and my work whilst being inspired by others. As I don't come from a creative family or a culture that promotes being creative, I didn't have the tools to navigate the industry after graduating. It was my friends from university and my partner that supported me to get where I am today. Knowing how that feels I want to make sure I put myself out there to help other creatives, with the experience and tools I have gained so far.  As well as just building a network of creatives that share similar concerns and challenges so that we can continue supporting each other.