Labrini Kianidis, A Creative Producer and Director, Hong Kong.

What was the situation in which this photo was taken?

I took this photo when I’d first moved to Hong Kong, after living in a serviced apartment and hotel rooms for a couple months, I finally settled into a new apartment that had really big bright windows overlooking the city. I probably took this in the morning light in my bedroom.

Could you tell us something about what you do?

I’m currently working as a Creative Producer and stylist for an apparel brand based in Hong Kong. My role basically involves producing and directing all the photographic visual output for the company across campaign, Ecomm and social media content. I also represent the company in media as the in-house stylist and work with clients and at events to showcase our product. My role falls under the creative design team in the Marketing department.

How did you first become interested in it?

It’s taken me a few years to really narrow down my niche. After studying textile design I fell into fashion styling and pursued that for a few years before moving to Hong Kong and expanding into directing and producing for the fashion media and commercial space. I’ve always been interested in creative, I guess I became more interested in the marketing aspect when I started working in the fast paced international industry, seeing how much potential for career growth there was there.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

I get to be out and about, meeting people and working with a lot of different personalities. That’s something I love. And I really enjoy getting to see my work from the first ideas stages to execution of the final product. I think that’s really satisfying.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment my focus is on the company I work for (Grana), we’re at a point where we’re refining and evolving our visual aesthetic and my role as creative producer is to really lead that.

What are the challenges in what you do, and how do you overcome them?

Working in creative marketing can sometimes be quite restrictive. Especially working for one company with strong brand principles, sometimes I really have to bend (or completely let go of) my personal aesthetic to suit the brand and that can be challenging. Of course the nature of my job is to work with creative teams and juggling personalities can be challenging, but really rewarding when you get that balance right.

Could you describe your personal style?

In fashion – elevated basics with a nod to selected trends. Paired back but always focused on fit and shape. In aesthetics – clean and emotive.

What is your present state of mind?

Balance and focus. I really am all about creating a good balance in life, and make a point of that every day.

What music are you listening to at the moment?

At the moment I’m listening to a lot of purely instrumental music, a lot of different genres, good background music helps me focus when I have a lot of time behind the computer. I have really random taste in music!

Which artists or designers inspire you?

I tend to find inspiration from brands with really strong visual identity. I’m not a super fan of the product but I really love Mansur Gavriel for their photography… Endless inspiration. Outdoor Voices, I love what they have to say and again their visuals really have a lot of personality.

What is the purpose of art, in your view?

For me it really is for emotive purposes. I can appreciate that some art can have a message and speak to a theme, but for me I really take interest in art that makes me feel something. Whether it makes me happy or pensive or I just like to look at it because I can connect with it somehow. In the end it’s there to make you feel something.

How do you spend your free time?

I live in a really hectic city. There’s always a lot of people around and it’s really fast paced so when I can I get out of the city and enjoy being away from it all. Hiking is really popular here we have beautiful views, and I’m really not myself if I don’t spend time at the beach too. I workout religiously that’s part of keeping balanced.