Stefano Marra: Good Design is Timeless
Art Director & Illustrator, co-founder of nju:design
by Elizabeth Lavis
|25 Jun 2025
Stefano Marro, Illustrator, Art Director, and storyteller's personal philosophy is always to try to tell a story with his designs. "Don't be a 'decorator,' be an author," he says. He also advises up-and-coming designers to stay curious and have the desire to discover. "Don't rush; take your time to do it well," he says. "Good projects need time. Don't follow the crowd or the moment."
Italian-born Marra finds a lot of inspiration in his home country. "Italy is the cradle of art," he says. "It's impossible not to be influenced by it when you're living in it every day." As a small child, he wanted to be a cartoonist but quickly discovered his aptitude for graphic design in middle school. "One of my classmates said he wanted to be a graphic designer," Marra says. "I didn't know anything about it. He showed me the works of famous designers, and I immediately felt that design would be my career path."
Marra's design approach starts with an in-depth conversation with the client, where he digs into the nature of the design goal and the best way to achieve it. "After that first conversation comes the inspiration phase," he says. "Then I start sketching and share the best solutions with the client. After that, I start designing the approved sketch."
When it comes to strategy, Marra lets the client take the lead. "Usually, they share the strategy with me," he says. "I discuss it with them and then find a way to balance my artistic expression with it." For Marra, the most important aspect of a design is that it resolves a problem and expresses a vision, which makes the effortless combination of strategy and creativity so important.
"Estate Italiana", Stefano Marra
Marra's campaigns usually take two or more weeks, depending on the project's scope. He also keeps his clients apprised of the evolution of design. "The client is involved in sharing the sketches and drafts," he says. "If they want to discuss it, I'm always happy to do it. It means that they care about the project."
He handles the inevitable burnout by staying organized and taking downtime. "Sometimes it's hard to deal with burnout," Marra says. "I always try to set up a personal agenda and try to follow my process. But yes, sometimes you have tight deadlines, and you have to compress the process." He also has some tricks to stay creative under pressure, like unplugging and watching a movie or looking at paintings to stay inspired. "You need to have a cultural background to have enough references to use it as inspiration," he says. He even advises up-and-coming designers to watch a lot of good movies for inspiration.
Work/life balance is essential to Marra, and he always tries to have time to be free and open to life. One of his guilty pleasures is watching a favorite series over and over or playing basketball to unwind, and his personal goals include seeking out new experiences. Professionally, Marra wants to work on more complex design projects, partner with global brands, and continue making cool designs and illustrations.
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