Corina Capuano of MAkinĖ Studios on Finding Unique Visual Solutions

Translating concepts into a visual language is her thing

Corina is a creative director, designer and director. She is currently chief brand officer at MAkinĖ Studios. Previously, she served as VP and creative director for Disney’s FX Networks’ original shows’ AV campaigns in the U.S. Prior to FX, she was integral to shaping National Geographic and FOX’s entertainment and sports brand portfolios in more than a hundred countries, including leading successful global rollouts like The Walking Dead and FX Networks in the U.K. 

We spent two minutes with Corina to learn more about her background, her creative inspirations and recent work she’s admired. 

Corina, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, and have been lucky enough to travel extensively around the world. For the past 12 years, I’ve been living in Venice, CA.

How you first realized you were creative.

I have memories of drawing and creating things since I was a child. I realized I was creative in fourth grade when we had to draw an apple in school. I drew mine in black ink cut in half. Inside the apple, I drew an apple tree, which in turn had more apples inside, like an infinite mirror. The teacher called my mom, asking why I had drawn something so strange. That’ s when I realized that my point of view—the way I saw the world—was completely different from everyone else’s. To me, it was obvious that an apple had a tree inside!

A person you idolized creatively early on.

My parents. My dad was a writer, a great reader, and also a singer—he was a baritone. My mom was an architect. I grew up in a creative, artistic environment; we were always going to art exhibitions, theater performances, and concerts. Professionally, when I started studying graphic design, my idol was—and still is—Milton Glaser.

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

In college, I was invited to be a teaching assistant, and that’s when I realized how much I enjoyed teaching. Then, for 10 consecutive years, I taught Typography at the University of Buenos Aires.

A visual artist or band/musician you admire.

Visual Artists: David Hockney, Guillermo Kuitca. Music: Vinicius de Moraes, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring. 

I’ve recently developed an interest in neuroscience and discovered the podcast Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam—I absolutely love it!

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on. 

The creative campaign and branding for the late-night animation block called Do Not Disturb (“No Molestar” in Spanish) for Fox Channel, now Star in Latam. The entire identity was based on a quick-wit vibe, with absurd, ridiculous, and totally fun phrases. The visuals were inspired by comic books, the kind printed on cheap paper with a dot pattern. The colors were white, blue and black (the opposite of childish), as it was an adult animation block. We did a lot of crazy things—everyone could participate by writing phrases, and we never repeated an on air promo; they were all based on writing and typography layouts. We invited young visual artists to create different IDs, making the block feel live, edgy and vibrant. It was an explosion of creativity, energy, and madness and it was a huge success. I’m so happy to have led that project.

A recent project you’re proud of. 

I’m especially proud of the recent rebrands for Disney Junior and Disney Channel, brought to life alongside the incredibly talented team at MAkinĖ Studios.

Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago.

David Carson in the late ’90s. I had the opportunity to know him in person and be part of one of his workshops at SVA (School of Visual Arts, NYC). 

Someone else’s work you admired lately. 

Malika Favre. Her work is stunning, bold, pop, and minimalistic.

Your main strength as a creative person.

I love challenges—coming up with ideas and concepts and translating them into visual language. Whether it’s a logo, branding, poster, motion graphics or video, I enjoy finding unique visual solutions.

Your biggest weakness.

Creatively, sometimes I struggle to find a different angle, changing the POV. It’s also difficult for me to say no to a project, and to know when to stop. The elusive work-life balance—that’s so hard to achieve.

A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.

Emiliano Saccone is not only one of the most talented, knowledgeable and generous people in the industry that I know. He is also my husband and the person I love.

How you’re paying it forward with the next generation of creatives.

I love doing mentorship with younger professionals. I always try to have one-on-one sessions with people who are just starting in the industry. I also give talks at universities and colleges.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in the Entertainment Industry.

Full-time visual artist.