#sparkchamber 082424 — Kristen De Palma
Language is an artform, and today’s #sparkchamber visitor takes that literally. We are thrilled to welcome lettering artist, muralist, and illustrator Kristen De Palma, who for nearly a decade has been bringing stories to life — for book covers, package design, murals, and editorial content — through the beauty of lettering. Though it started as a hobby, she turned it into her full-time career in 2021. Working with big-name clients like Adidas, Pepsi, and Chatelaine, Kristen’s marketing/design focus is message-driven, ensuring that the work will engage and connect with her clients’ target audiences, “From Instagrammable moments to integrated campaigns, always top-of-mind is how a client’s investment will increase their engagement with customers and boost their business beyond the short-term.”
Living and working in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Kristen has designed and painted murals in dozens of locations in the area. “I particularly enjoy partnering with local townships to create meaningful, eye-catching artwork that represents an area’s unique character and brightens communities.”
A big believer in looking to something old to create something new, “An antique shop is my favorite place to seek inspiration! I am inspired by all things vintage — particularly, Victorian-era design where everything was hand-drawn and incredibly ornate.” Her love of that era fueled her most recent personal project, To & From Gift Co., offering thoughtful gifts with special meanings inspired by the secret language of flowers.
1.] Where do ideas come from?
Ideas come from everywhere! For me, ideas spark most often when I have time to think outside of client work / day-to-day admin, and get inspired. Connecting with others, exploring antique shops, walking around my city [or better yet, travelling to a new one!], often all lead to generating new and exciting ideas.
2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
I adore the care and attention to detail that used to go into packaging design — so many elements were hand-drawn and super fancy or ornate. Nowadays, many modern packages and brands are made up of standard fonts and stock photos.
I love to explore bringing delight and detail back into design, and this is what has inspired my To & From Gift Co. company, where I create floriography seed packets inspired by Victorian era design. I’m always motivated to create something that will feel human and show the level of attention and care that went into it.
3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?
I work... all the time, haha. I am almost constantly on my iPad, at all hours of the day. It’s become a habit since I started hand lettering nearly a decade ago — so if I'm sitting on the couch, it’s with my iPad in-hand. I used to be more of a night owl, but these days I’m early to bed and early to rise.
It's not always easy to get into the flow, but I try to push past the discomfort of not feeling “inspired” or feeling distracted. It of course helps to LOVE drawing!
4.] How do you know when you are done?
When I’m at the point of my process where I’m adding things, taking them away, adding them, taking them away — I know I’ve finished. I could also always go back and tweak things, but I am never aiming for absolute perfection — the charm of hand lettering and hand-drawn is that it’s not perfect.
