Giulia Hartz is an Italian visual designer and illustrator based in Berlin. Her bold and soft work is a playful interpretation of contrast between childhood innocence and adult life through pastel colors and pop objects.
Who do you think of when you create?
My illustrations represents for me the way to externalize pain and get an outside perspective on certain adult life struggles. When I design an illustration, I am not thinking with my audience in mind as I would do when I design a poster or a strategy – I draw for myself first as someone else would write a diary.
Do you think irony is the best way to sweeten the pill ?
I guess sarcasm is just a trait of my personality and how I communicate besides from my work. When it comes to design, I try to be as authentic as possible and have my illustrations reflecting my humorous side while confronting myself with heavier topics. While portraying feelings like anxiety for instance, I want to create something which makes me smile when look back at it and makes my feelings more manageable.
Can you tell me why you use pastel colors and “pop objects” in your illustrations?
I like to create tension between polar opposites in my visual communication. I combine objects that belong to very different life phases – with a special focus on toys and elements which represent the innocence of childhood. The result becomes some kind of illustrated meme where the innocence of childhood contrasts with the difficulties of being a grown-up that faces both internal fights and fights with other people.
Which city inspired your creativity the most?
I spent my childhood in a quiet, beautiful and slightly boring place like Lake Garda, I faced the difficulty of becoming an adult in Milan and I moved to Berlin as more a grown-up finishing up my Master course and starting to work. Hard to say which of these places inspired me the most as I lived them in very different life moments.
Inspiration comes equally from all of them, from the different personal experiences and memories I lived, from the conversations with my friends, from my dreams and the objects which surrounded me there and now. Looking at where I am in this moment, I can say Berlin is a beautiful lively creative city where I hope all of this will continue.
Giulia Hartz IG: @giuliahartz
Pigiama Magazine ☾ 