Paulina Alvarado Serrano
Paulina Alvarado Serrano
Designer / Founder of Piscina Pop
Seattle, WA
www.piscinapop.com
instagram @piscinapop
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I’m the founder / designer at branding studio, Piscina Pop, your brand’s dip in the pool on a hot summer afternoon. ”
We are the branding studio after your audience’s own heart. We focus on visual identity, branding and consumer packaged goods projects in beauty and retail. Our goal is to to build your brand so trustworthy, any guest would feel comfortable to jump in the pool.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I studied art history, served as design editor for a couple publications in University, forecasted trends at Nordstrom, helped design licensed brands at a skateboarding retailer, realized corporate culture was a bit uncomfortable for me, discovered my affinity for swimming pools and pop music, and voila, “Piscina Pop” was born.
How do you stand out in your field?
In offering this fun, comfortable and playful environment full of fresh ideas that a 27 year old is really good at imagining up. Think Little Mermaid, deep in the trenches of the ocean, fearlessly exploring, committed to discovery. In striving to operate with the mentality that if we dive deep into the work and have fun while doing so, we will discover something meaningful and memorable alongside Flounder aka our client.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I am currently working on rebranding visual identity for my Toastmasters group, Seriously Funny. I am also designing a children’s coloring book alongside my beloved mother. This idea came up while eating burritos at Chipotle. My mom has been teaching children Spanish for a long time so the challenge became rather than teaching 20 children at a time in a classroom, how can we reach more, impart the same lessons, not be Duolingo, but still do it from the comfort of their bedrooms? In fact, be opposite Duolingo and give children a chance to learn offline.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
Swimming pools + Pop music. The project that represents this would be the concept behind my branding studio and website.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
I love letters and form so I wish I could take the time to learn how to design a typeface. For industry, I wish I could take a deep dive into branding for fashion houses just because I am wondering why every major luxury brand has changed their visual identity into a sans serif. Did you know that in some categories, 5% increase in loyal customers can produce a 95% increase in profitability and in certain luxury categories, 10% of the customers generate 50% of the sales? Essentially, I’d like to learn how to increase loyal customers and profitability in luxury brands without reverting to a sans serif lol.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
I saw a beauty brand at Sephora called Carbon Copy making use of a sickly thin Helvetica. This is what frustrates me—when people introduce a carbon copy of some neutral product into the market just because they have the money to do so. Leave it to the audience to ultimately decide if the product resonates with them, but is this product seriously the best you can offer to the world? smh!
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
I’d hire them for design feedback. It’s hard to look at something all day and keep progressing without that mid-day critique.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I would ask myself every year since birth: What do you think you do well? What can you do better than anyone else? Apart from probably getting really funny answers, I would encourage myself to think of these things and focus on this. Focus on figuring out what I can do better than anyone else. It doesn’t have to be anything incredible. I'd tell myself to take my time to figure this out but keep my ears perked. Things will ring true when you uncover this authenticity. I think this gets to the core of striving to be the best you that you can be while laughing throughout the process.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
I’d ask Alex Center about all the processes within his firm and on presenting to clients.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I am looking for visual identity projects where I can also lead on strategy.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
Ideal client: A beauty brand introducing an anti-aging skincare line
Ideal job: Branding art exhibitions at the MoMa NY
Ideal collaboration: Louis Vuitton x Piscina Pop
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
It depends on the project. The insight I would need to charge for the work would be scope of work, timeline and whether I would have access to the decision makers. I don’t expect to always have this direct line of access but it largely informs how long the revision process will be.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
The best way is to email me at paulina@piscinapop.com with project scope, timeline, and a budget range. From there we can set up a time to discuss more in detail to see if we are a good fit!
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
I love making Cute Closet World Tour® videos for my YouTube channel.
This member profile was originally published in April 2020.