Nidia Dias is a passionate freelance Art Director and Designer with several years of experience focused on style frames and art direction for motion graphics. Her work involves creating style frames for pitches and awarded work, Art Direction, Digital Art as well as commissioned pieces. Nidia works remotely with a number of different studios around the world.
Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? Did you have any particular experiences/stories that shaped your adult life?
I grew up in a small town, near Porto (Portugal), I would say I had a pretty normal childhood – having 2 brothers meant constant fights but also a lot of fun a play. 😉
Being from a small town, and also not very talked-about in Portugal around that time was design, so spent a lot of my childhood and teenage years without really knowing what design was.
What is something you wish you would’ve realized earlier in your life?
What Design was, and that you could have a job doing that.
What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
You have to be too technical. You have to know a bit of everything/you need to specialize.
Tell me about one of the darker periods you’ve experienced in life. How you came out of it and what you learned from it?
Probably being bullied in school, I was around 13 years old and some senior students started to imply with me, just because I was shy. I had a lot of support from friends and family which gave me the courage to speak up!
What is one thing that you do that you feel has been the biggest contributor to your success so far?
Work hard and never give up.
What is your morning routine?
Until recently I didn’t had a really a morning routine, as I’m more of a night owl. But now being a mother that has changed 😉 I wake up around 8AM, give breakfast to my son, take him to day care, and once I’m back I have breakfast before starting work at 9:30AM.
What habit or behavior that you have pursued for a few years has most improved your life?
Trying to be organized, doing to-do lists and reminders and so on. I’ve become pretty good at it!
What are your strategies for being productive and using your time most efficiently?
Having a baby really shifts your time, and makes you super productive! Other than that I try to write down small tasks to accomplish.
What book(s) have influenced your life the most? Why?
Switch: How to change things when change is hard by Chip and Dan Heath. It’s a great book about how to change people’s minds and convinced them to do something. Not only explains the method it also has great examples.
Working in advertising definitely becomes very useful.
Do you have any quotes you live by or think of often?
Not really good at remembering quotes. Sorry.
