Who is Pollia Design?
Hi! I'm Michelle, a designer and artist living in Pittsburgh, PA. I want to make beautiful things that make people smile and laugh and feel closer to the hobbies and activities they love most!
I studied Industrial Design at Virginia Tech, but went down the hand lettering and digital painting rabbit hole since then. I have been a practicing artist since I could hold a crayon and will occasionally return to analog hand painting when the mood strikes.
My foremost loves include hand lettering, digital painting, my two little dogs, and my husband (gamer and game-designer). I draw and am inspired by what I love: good books (and wonderfully trashy books), martial arts, my gamey husband, Pittsburgh, Pride and Prejudice, The Princess Bride.
You can find images of my process on my instagram @polliadesign. I'm susceptible to the quicksand-nature of the algorithm, so I generally keep my social media usage to a minimum and block my access, but I try to post occasionally. If you want to contact me and get a timely response, best email me at michelle@polliadesign.com or message using the chat function in the bottom corner of this site!
Do you use AI in your work?
Hell no. What you're looking at represents ten+ years of my life spent holding pencils, pens, paintbrushes, and wacom pens.
I avoid generative AI as much as possible. I adjusted my Adobe subscription not to include generative AI features. I cringe and delete any automatic AI text descriptions when a web service tries force them on me, because I want you to hear my actual voice, not a bunch of tagline-heavy meaningless crap. I do my best to filter out AI results when I'm searching for reference photos for an illustration and wherever possible, I use something in the real world (like flowers at Phipps Conservatory or posing myself) as a reference.
The vast majority of the time, I begin with pencil, pen, and paper. I like how it feels mentally and physically to start with an analog tool in my hand for the initial sketch, to explore possibilities this way, and then take that sketch into the computer and trace it, add detail and layers of depth and play with colors -- still with my actual hand on a pen and tablet.
I do this job because I love it. I love having an idea, putting it on paper, realizing the first idea didn't really work, but that in the act of drawing it, I've gotten another idea to try. It feels even better in the end when it takes a lot of tries to get something satisfying. I love handing a page to my husband and asking him what he thinks of a sketch. I love when, after sitting next to him for a half hour of just struggling to come up with something good, I whine, "Ryyy-aaa-nn, what should I draw?" and he says, "I dunno. Butts?" and I get a delicious, smirky, just-you-watch feeling and I end up drawing a stupid meeple with a butt on it. AI would never, ever have spat out a meeple with a butt on it.
We make art because the making is a challenging adventure, and letting AI take shortcuts would suck out all the joy of discovery. I have no interest in using it, especially not for anything associated with creativity.
Thank you for caring enough to read this. The way we can all keep "art" meaningful (and avoid all the other manifold negative consequences of using AI on our planet, society, and brains) is by taking the time to check that the sources we're reading/listening/shopping from were made with a soul. So, sincerely, thank you for taking that time.
What does "Pollia" mean?
The Pollia berry is a small, rock hard berry which happens to be the most intensely colored biological thing on the planet (as far as scientists have found). This berry reflects massive amounts of light and color because of the structure of its cells – called “structural color” – similar to a scarab beetle or some butterflies’ wings. The berry’s tissue keeps its bright, iridescent blue color for years or decades, and as such it is commonly picked up by creatures in its natural African habitat and used for decoration (such as in a bird’s nest).
The sparkly, speckley bright colors I use in my branding reflect the berry’s intense shimmering colors. Pretty cool!
Image via PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA)
You seem cool, can we talk?
First, thank you, and yes! You can contact me at michelle@polliadesign.com or by direct message on instagram (though instagram is not that reliable, as I limit my social media time).