Q & A with Lutska Mamos

Lutska Mamos is our fearless and busy AIGA Student Group (UCLAx Design) President. You can read a summary of her activities in our quarterly visual arts newsletter, n-vis-n, which is in print and posted on this blog, too. Most recently she organized a presentation with Si Scott, which was a huge hit (read other posts about it on this blog, as well as see some examples of his incredible work).

Lutska is an invaluable part of our program, as well as critical to bringing you, our students, an array of speakers, studio tours and other events that can contribute to your professional development. Look for upcoming events that she plans, here.

Last week I asked Lutska a few questions about the evening with Si Scott:

1) How did you find Si Scott – were you familiar with his work?

I found an article about Si Scott in one British magazine about four years ago and since then I am his big fan. His work is very inspiring to me.

2) How was the planning process?

So about 8 months ago I decided to give it a shot and invite him to speak at an event for UCLA Extension. He got back to me right away saying that he would love to and if I can get in touch with his representative, Liz Leavitt in NY and go over the details. Since then it was only matter of staying in touch and planning all the necessary details. There are always plenty of details. :)

3) Can you summarize the event in terms of what he talked about, questions asked, what he was like?

Si was talking about his love for what he does best: typography, illustration and design. He was talking about his ideas and how he arrived at them. All his designs are done by hand, not much use of the computer. That's good news for designers who don't like to be stuck by the computer all day long. Si is a very modest and humble guy, funny too. He doesn't look for inspiration in design books but rather from his environment and especially music.

I always like when people ask questions at the end of the event, it shows an interest. And some people really asked good questions.

4) How many talks/events have you organized so far? Please pick one or two favorites and explain why.

I have been the AIGA UCLA Extension Student Group President for the past two years. So far I have planned and organized exactly 17 evenings with guest speakers and 5 visits in well-known design studios. I liked working with all speakers but one of my favorite was Yolanda Santosa of ferroconcrete. She is extremely vigorous speaker and someone I admire for her business and design ideas and decisions. My favorite studio visit so far was at the Chase Design Group. Margo Chase was present at the time we were there and she gave us an amazing presentation of the studio's work.

5) What do you love/not love about planning events?

I love everything about event planning. I enjoy the time I dedicate to event planning and all the logistics that go along with it. Meeting new people and socializing is a joy for me. I even enjoy the troubleshooting.

6) How has it helped you professionally to be involved with AIGA?

I have been really lucky and met with lots of interesting and knowledgeable people from the design field. I believe that everyone who we meet enriches our lives and we learn something new. That's why I honestly believe that going to AIGA events or any other [similar] events is the best thing one can do for his/her career. For some events you have to pay fee, others are free of charge. Our UCLA Extension events are free - how much better it can get - that's an opportunity handed [to you].

I am like a sponge, absorbing any knowledge I can.


... Yay for Lutska! And, thank you.

If you'd like to ask Lutska any questions, make a request for an event, or thank her personally, please post a comment here.