For Leo Burnett Melbourne art director, Cristina Muffatti, making collages is a meditative process.“I always feel a lot lighter and happier after having spent some time making art,” she stated. Muffatti as the top student at AWARD School in 2016 and joined Leo Burnett in November last year, after moving from Adelaide and KWP! in 2018. She began her career as a graphic designer and worked as an art director at AJF Partnership before joining Leo B. The collages connect Muffatt with her creativity in a different way than her work in advertising. She loves the medium for its tactility and simplicity.
Barbara Messer interviewed her for The Stable.
When and why did you begin making collages?
Cristina Muffatti: I first started doing collage as one of my year 12 art majors back in 2010 and it’s been a hobby ever since. There’s something beautiful about the simplicity of collage and using just two or three images to create new meaning out of something existing. The process of sourcing imagery, and then using my hands to create with paper, is sort of meditative. It keeps my creative brain ticking and I can tune in to that and switch off from other things. In the last few years during the pandemic, I decided to really start focusing on my art as a side hustle; crafting my process a little more, collaborating with other creatives and selling my work through my online store.
You have a distinctly beautiful, whimsical, surrealist style. Can you tell us about your creative process?
Cristina Muffatti: The process, like the collages themselves, is pretty simple when you distil it down to a practice, although it is more of a time-heavy method. I spend a lot of time trolling the internet for imagery that gives me a spark and makes me feel something. Sometimes my work can be a bit topical and other times it reflects my mood or things going on in my life. Whenever I find an image that inspires something, I find interesting shapes and elements which I could remove or replace with something else. Then the process would start again but with a tighter brief, trying to find something that would work in those spaces and complement or contrast the first image.
I also collaborate with other creatives from different creative fields which, as a process, is more challenging. Being able to keep the imagery single-minded – from one shoot for example – is definitely more of a challenge than using the vastness of imagery the internet can offer. Like any creative work, the tighter the brief, the better the outcome.
Who are your artistic influences?
Cristina Muffatti: The nature of my work brings me into all sorts of different creative spaces and exposes me to a myriad of artists and artworks, each of which spark inspiration. Being open in my influences allows my work to adapt and change, all being brought back into the simplicity of bringing two different things together to make something new.
You release new prints every month. How do you make time for your art while juggling life as an art director?
Cristina Muffatti: My art and my work can become quite synonymous at times, and it can be hard to draw a line between the two. I’ll be searching for references at work and find a cool image for my artwork, or vice versa. In the same way, it can be difficult to switch off from work and find the mental capacity to work on my art because the process can feel so similar at times. Regardless of my headspace, before I start working on my art, I always find that I feel a lot lighter and happier after having spent some time doing it.
You recently launched an online store: what have you learned in the process?
Cristina Muffatti: It is quite fresh and I’m definitely still trying to figure out the whole online store thing. Engaging with followers on social media and driving traffic to the online store is key, and a focus for me this year.
As a designer who is always looking for ways to do better, why is Leo Burnett a good home for you professionally?
Cristina Muffatti: Like most creatives, I have always looked to Leo Burnett as a soft benchmark for doing good work – in both senses of the word, the work is good, but the work also does good. And once I found out more about the company values in their HumanKind thinking, I felt sure that it was the right decision for me. What I like about Leo’s so far is the confidence the team has given me to put my ideas out there more. The support that I feel, and the willingness to listen and collaborate across the business no matter your department or seniority level is truly comforting and pushes me even further to proactively bring ideas to life.
You were a top AWARD School student of 2016. How did this influence your ambitions or your desire to work in advertising?
Cristina Muffatti: I studied Design Visual Communications in Adelaide and found I was more drawn to the conceptualisation and idea side of the degree. I remember coming across the term, Art Director, in my final year of uni and thinking to myself, “that’s it, that’s what I want to do”. I hadn’t thought about the advertising industry until I came across AWARD School in my ‘how do I become an art director’ research. Once I completed, and topped AWARD, it cemented everything for me.
See a collection of Cristina’s collages here or via Instagram: @guestofnature
