What If | Nubia Navarro and the Art of Creative Exploration
Domus Academy welcomed designer and art director Nubia Navarro (also known as Nubikini) to its Disrupting Patterns Talk series. Based in Bogotá with roots in Venezuela, Navarro works at the intersection of typography, colour and storytelling—bringing together personal experience, branding strategy and creative experimentation. Read all about it!
Embracing the Unknown
Navarro opens with clarity: she didn’t arrive with all the answers. Her talk was built around one simple question: What if…? Rather than mastering the latest tool, she treats every new piece of software or technique as a playground—an experiment rather than a guarantee of success.
Tools as Catalysts, Not Solutions
From text‑to‑image tools like Adobe Firefly and Midjourney to 3D work in Cinema 4D, Navarro explores how technology can expand creative thought. She emphasises that tools alone cannot provide taste, intuition or vision—those must come from the designer.
Identity Through Design
As a queer immigrant woman working in design, Navarro incorporates her own identity into her work. Her creations often ask questions about beauty, community and self‑expression. In her view, personal projects aren’t optional—they are vital laboratories of belief and voice.
Big Scale, Bold Vision
A landmark project in Navarro’s career was the visuals for Las Vegas Sphere: the world’s largest LED screen. Faced with looping animations, spherical cameras and complex formats, her team crafted a narrative grounded in wonder, love and unity. The project taught her that you don’t need to feel completely ready—what matters is showing up and iterating.
Rethinking Branding
Navarro invites us to imagine brands that breathe, adapt and evolve. What if a brand isn’t just a fixed logo, but a living system that interacts with its environment? Her experiments push the boundaries of typography, motion, 3D shapes and even textiles to reveal new possibilities for identity.
For Emerging Designers
When it comes to portfolios, Navarro advises paying close attention to concept rather than trend‑chasing visuals. A strong designer is defined not by flashy assets, but by a thoughtful question, a personal point of view and the courage to say what you believe.
Final Thought
“The future is not to be feared, it’s to be created,” Navarro reminds us. Every design journey starts with What if…?. And that question can lead to new worlds.
TALK WITH NUBIA NAVARRO
Nubia Navarro participated as a guest speaker in Domus Academy’s ‘Disrupting Patterns Talks’ series – a dynamic, interdisciplinary lecture series that explores innovation across various design-related topics.
Watch the full video and relive the interview!