“Noisy, chaotic, alive.” How designers’ backgrounds and personalities come to life in their work

How cultural and gender identity shape design, why following fake positivity isn’t the way to go, and why politics should be brought into art.

Arthur Petrillo's portfolio

Arthur Petrillo’s journey took them from a small town in Brazil—where design wasn’t widely appreciated—to buzzing creative hubs like São Paulo, San Francisco, and eventually, London. Throughout their career, Arthur has worked as a hands-on designer with major brands such as Google, Wise, Meta, and others. But it all began with small projects for friends and local businesses.

“There’s no grand, beautiful story behind it—it just happened. Growing up in Brazil, working in the design industry means you have to be really on top of things and start your career early. For me, that meant working hard from the time I was about 17 or 18 years old,” Petrillo shares.

Their upbringing in Brazil has deeply influenced their personality, style, and approach to work. 

“You’re constantly surrounded by colors, sounds, and overwhelming, vibrant energy there. It’s noisy, chaotic, and alive,” Petrillo says of their homeland.

This incredible mix of influences is evident in Arthur’s work today. In one of their recent projects, Petrillo designed a logo and led the complete rebranding of an initiative that initially focused on including women in the tech industry, but later evolved into an organization that supports people from all underprivileged backgrounds.

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 Logo design for Rise

The dynamic logo has it all—bold, vibrant colors, and classic geometric shapes alongside unexpected, unique elements. This explosion of color and form reflects the depth and diversity of people involved in the project, including Arthur themself. 

“After transitioning to a non-binary identity, a lot has changed for me. I saw a series of my privileges fading, and I started to miss more people like me in the technology industry,” says Petrillo.

“I was fortunate to be invited to help rebrand the Rise project. I was the designer responsible for bringing the visual identity to life, collaborating with a group of fantastic and diverse women.”

In addition to being explicit about their gender identity, Arthur also draws attention to political changes in the countries where they’ve lived. Petrillo's independent projects often express their civic stance and foster solidarity among people with similar views.

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Arthur Petrillo’s political work

“It's pretty naive to say, 'I don't care about politics, I just want to be happy.' Everything is political. We need to understand what's going on in the world and be actively speaking out and positioning ourselves,” says Petrillo. “As designers, our work might not always seem political since we often work for companies, but on a personal level, I feel the need to express my views.” 

In their free time, when Arthur isn't doing branding for companies, they dive into photography, shooting socially relevant content, and designing posters and visuals on topics that personally resonate with them. Among these are mental health and openness around it. Having gone through years of therapy and the personal experience of transitioning, followed by the social challenges that came with it—such as biased treatment from colleagues and invisibility in the design world—Arthur believes that being open about one's feelings is essential. 

“We need to create safer work environments and stand up against fake positivity.”

“It's important to recognize that it's okay to not be okay sometimes. The design industry can often feel overly positive, with everything being portrayed as brilliant and perfect. But for me, it's okay to feel overwhelmed or acknowledge that things aren’t always perfect,” says Petrillo.

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Mental health awareness project

In their work, Arthur strives to collaborate with companies that fight the invisibility of minorities and launch projects that resonate with what matters to them. This is immediately clear from their portfolio—where Arthur shares both commercial projects and personal work created in their free time.  

Arthur’s journey has led them to a realization: their portfolio isn’t just a tool for showcasing work, but an expression of their personal and professional identity. “I try to balance it between work I’ve done for clients and my personal projects. I believe in keeping the personal side of me in my portfolio, but I also know it’s a tool to get hired. My portfolio needs to showcase who I am, but I don’t want it to be a full reflection of my entire life. It’s a piece of me, but not the whole picture.”

Before crafting their portfolio, Arthur had tried a few tools before choosing Readymag. 

“Readymag just clicked. The ease of use, the ability to add motion, and the way it really lets you experiment—it’s a tool that feels like it understands what designers need,” says Petrillo. “And I really liked that Readymag has showcased designers I admire. It felt like a platform that truly cares about design and design culture.”

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Arthur Petrillo’s portfolio