In this month’s Meet the Team we’re talking to Tannaz Sotoudehnema, our remote graphic design extraordinaire from Toronto, ON. She’s giving us details on her career journey, Toronto International Film Festival, and introducing us to her four cats.
How long have you been at the Agency?
It’s been three-and-a-half years.
What got you interested in graphic design?
I was looking for something more fun and creative in my daily life. While I was in high school, I took a lot of art classes and really enjoyed it so when I discovered graphic design and found that it is where creativity meets business, I decided to go for it.
In graphic design it’s not just about creativity. It’s also working within a brand’s specific colours, fonts and styles, which comes with its own challenges that I find exciting.
We just did a Big Take Tiny Mic on Comic Sans being the worst font – what’s your least favourite font?
Lobster. Definitely. I was guilty of using it back in the day but now I hate it.
Editor’s note: this is Lobster
You’re a part of our remote team. Tell us, what’s going on in Toronto?
In reality, I don’t like to leave my house. But on a good day I like to go for a nice brunch and then a walk by the lake. During fall I love going into downtown Toronto and checking out the local cafes and restaurants. You also see all the businesspeople in their cool suits, and I love that vibe.
I’m going to go pumpkin picking, and there's always lots of art exhibitions happening which is cool.
We know you came to Canada when you were younger, can you tell us a bit about that experience?
So, I came here when I was 15 years old from Iran – about 16 years ago. When I first came to Canada, I was so surprised how calm, kind, polite and happy everyone was.
People are always holding doors, saying thank you, and just appreciating others. I finished high school here and everyone was supportive and made my transition a lot easier. It was clear that others care about others here and it’s really genuine.
If you had to pick one standard “Canadian Staple” to share with others, what would it be (think maple syrup, poutine, hockey, etc.)?
I was obsessed with poutine until I became a vegan and then couldn’t do the gravy. So now... vegan poutine.
Any restaurant recommendations in Toronto?
Anywhere that offers potatoes.
Other than that, there are SO many! There is a lot of great food here. I really like taking people to Tutto Pronto. The quality is great and I love going there for special occasions. High- end finishes, fresh ingredients, what more can you ask for?
Figo, George Restaurant, and Eggspectation are also wonderful.
Editor’s note: When Tannaz visited the Winnipeg office, she brought her own potatoes.
What has been your favourite project that you’ve worked on at Show and Tell?
We work on so many things at the same time so it’s hard for me to think of but the one that comes to mind is the Titan rebrand and it was fun!
We know you have cats – can you introduce us?
Yes! I have four cats. Two girls and two boys.
Here’s the lineup:
Ash – Black cat, girl
Mama Bear – Black cat, girl
Winter – Tabby, boy
Joe – Charcoal, boy
Each has a unique personality; Ash just loves to chomp on me. Mama Bear is full of attitude and very particular. Winter is the most chill, he can sleep through everything. I swear about 23.5 hours a day! Joe is the most mellow and seems to always be questioning everything.
What’s your favourite medium to create in? (social ads, print, digital, etc.)
I love digital or social ads. I’m not a huge fan of print.
As a graphic designer, we want the rundown on your opinion of Canva.
Are you going to do this to me? *Laughs*
Some designers really take it personal, but I think Canva is great for non-designers and people who are trying to save time and money to do graphic design work efficiently.
That being said, Canva can be limiting for designers because to make things easier for non-designers, the customization options are more limited than in something like Adobe.
What’s your remote office ick?
I would say random Teams calls. Sometimes I feel like I’m a rough-looking corpse human being and I’m not prepared to be on camera.
Editor’s note: love the detail on that one.
We know you’re a big movie person, what is your go-to movie recommendation?
I don’t like typical movies. I saw Flow at TIFF and it is amazing though. Everyone should go see it when it comes out... like if you don’t... I dunno...
Speaking of movies, TIFF just happened, did you see anything good?
I saw Flow there!! I went to see four movies in total because when the tickets became available, they were all sold out so I could mostly only go see the dark ones because no one wants to see those.
TIFF is a great vibe, and everyone of every age and every background all come together and share the same purpose, which is supporting the movies.
What has been one of your favourite ad campaigns in recent years? Why?
Headspace did a great campaign where instead of using something hyper-realistic, they use abstract shapes to show you don’t have to fit into a certain box. They use a wide variety but always feature abstract shapes. Even their logo is an unperfect circle.
Lastly, what advice would you give to someone new at the agency?
As a remote worker, for the longest time getting my work done in an efficient way was difficult because collaborating was harder. Try to reach out and get to know more people and your job will become easier. Get an understanding of your co-workers' personalities because we all have different backgrounds and characteristics.
Communication is very key. Simple, quick messages sometimes mean that miscommunications can happen so checking in and knowing the person you're speaking with can help make projects and our culture stronger.
It’s always a pleasure getting to showcase our team members – who should we highlight next?