Rina Alfonso: Studio Aorta Founder and New SEGD Member
Read Time: 7 minutes
How many SEGD members also have black belts in Kendo? At least one! Meet Rina Alfonso, the fourth and final new member to be interviewed for SEGD’s Membership Month. Rina is the founder and creative director of Studio Aorta, a woman-and-minority owned creative studio based in Washington, DC. Contributing writer Franck Mercurio spoke with Rina to learn more about the challenges—and rewards—of starting a new design business.
FMM
Hi Rina! Pleased to meet you.
Rina
Hi Franck!
FMM
I was reading your website, and it states that you studied comparative cultures as an undergrad at Sophia University in Tokyo—and that you’re fluent in English, Filipino and Japanese. I’m fascinated by your Japan connections. How and why did you decide to study there?
RA
That’s a good place to start, because it’s basically how I got to DC. So, I’m Filipina. I was born and raised in Manila and had never lived anywhere else. But I was a cultural exchange student in high school, so I was there in Japan for a year when I was 16.
And my parents were educators and wanted us to travel; we traveled quite a bit with them growing up, because they were very much like “The best sort of education about what’s going on in the world is to travel.” So, they were really generous, and I had a little bit of wanderlust. And at the time I was really into—and I’m still into—Kendo martial arts. It’s basically Japanese fencing.
FMM
Wow!
RA
I had just started (Kendo in the Philippines) and was really into it, and then this opportunity came up in our high school where I could go to Japan for a year.
FMM
Just curious: Did you speak any Japanese before you went to Japan as an exchange student?
RA
I was 16, so I learned by being there. I was with a host family, and they spoke no English!
FMM
I guess that’s one way to learn to speak Japanese quickly! So, after you finished your year in Japan, you decided to go back for college?
RA
Yes, I went into this program called Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Culture (at Sophia University in Tokyo), so it was a very well-rounded liberal arts education, and I think that’s helped me in terms of critical thinking and also with writing—my writing skills exponentially developed.
FMM
And, so, you finished your undergrad studies in 2008? Then what drew you into design—specifically exhibition design—after graduation?
RA
So, actually there were two things. Because of my art history in undergrad, we visited a lot of museums, and we had to do a lot of writing of case studies for our art history analysis. But in my last semester (of college) I interned for a contemporary arts fair 101Tokyo Art Fair (now Chiyoda Arts 3331), which was not exhibit design per se, but it was really experiential. They took an abandoned middle school building and turned it into an art fair venue, which was really cool.
FMM
Yeah, that is cool.
RA
Even though I was not part of the design team, it was a real turning point, I think, where I thought about the (exhibition) experience, and it opened me up a little more.
So, I was applying to graduate schools, and my sister was living in DC at the time and asked me to check out the Corcoran. I looked at all their programs and was like “Oh, there’s a Masters in Exhibition Design, specifically?” So, that’s how I ended up in DC at the Corcoran. It was, I think, a great decision. I really enjoyed the program, made a ton of friends, and that’s how I met Cybelle (CEO of SEGD). And that’s how I got into exhibit design—and I’ve been loving it ever since!
FMM
That’s great! And then just few years out of grad school, you started your own design firm?
RA
Yes, Studio Aorta has been in existence for four years. I started in August 2017, and at the time it was just me—I had no business experience—it was like building the plane as I fly, basically. [laughs]
(Before) I worked for a bunch of design firms and at Dumbarton Oaks. I kind of was jumping around, definitely trying to find my place, but couldn’t quite fit; or the professional development wasn’t as quick as I hoped; or there were bureaucracy barriers within the larger institutions [Dumbarton Oaks, for example, is owned by Harvard University]. But my sister was really encouraging. She was like “Well, didn’t you always want to just do your own thing?”
FMM
And so you did with Studio Aorta. Why did you choose this particular name for you design firm?
RA
So, Studio Aorta. You have a very sort of visceral reaction (to aorta). It’s part of an organ; it has some sort of organic nature to it. It’s also scientific, and that, to me, is kind of how design can be—it is grounded in process and systems, but part of it is also very organic and raw and emotional—and that’s where I’ve started to find my voice or the studio’s voice in the landscape of different types of design firms.
Design from the heart is our tagline because, you know, as much as it’s a business to me, it is very much more than that. As designers we have the privilege of being paid to do creative work, so I think that’s best utilized in the service of others, who might be struggling to have their stories told in ways that are understandable and more accessible for audiences.
FMM
And which projects has Studio Aorta designed that are representative of this credo?
RA
The first one would be the Pilot District Project about community policing in DC in the 1960s at the National Building Museum in collaboration with the DC Historical Society. The Historical Society found the documents that had never been shown before, and because it was about the built environment, they brought (the documents) to the Building Museum (and it related to) the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King junior’s death. So, yeah, that was a really exciting project because nobody’s ever seen these documents. We got to do something pretty low budget, but pretty successful. Every time I would go (to visit the exhibit), I would see people in the Gallery, which was great.
FMM
But not all exhibitions have to focus on serious topics to be of service to others, right?
RA
Yeah, the second one is the Home/Brewed exhibit here in Heurich House. (My studio is actually in Heurich House, and the exhibit is downstairs.) Heurich House is a house museum, and the exhibit tells another little-known local story about a brewery that was the second largest employer in DC, after the federal government, at that time (mid 19th-century to early 20th-century). It was founded by a German immigrant and captures some of the thinking about American entrepreneurship. But what’s great, is that since the exhibit opened, the Heurich House has actually taken a lot of steps to pivot some of their narrative about the workers who worked at the brewery: who were they and how did the brewery affect local DC culture? Plus they have recreated their own historical beer recipe—and you can actually buy (the beer)—yeah, it’s super fun! All of this history, but it’s fun too, and you can drink a historical beer! [Heurich House’s “Garden Happy Hours” take place on Thursdays and Fridays.]
[both laugh]
FMM
That’s great!
So, you have a small staff: just you, Design Associate, Danielle Coates and Studio Manager and Content Developer, Audrey Liu. How did the business survive throughout COVID?
RA
We’re quite lucky, because even before the pandemic, we had a couple of ongoing contracts, so they keep the lights on! We are contracting for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, focusing more on general graphic design and strategy. The other contract is the with the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit Service (SITES) where we’re working on standards for how to create production packages for previous exhibits so that venues can license the content and the manuals and standards to produce the exhibits themselves, so they don’t have to rent the whole show. We also have a few exhibit design projects with clients such as Goethe-Institute of Washington, DC and the Structural Engineering Association of Metropolitan Washington.
We’ve been very clear (with our clients) about “Sure, our expertise is exhibit design, but that doesn’t mean we can’t design publications or use the visual design digitally.” It’s always tricky because I feel like I’ve got one foot in design, and then I have to think about business development. That’s been my biggest struggle, because I’m very much the designer! But I have a great team—and they’ve been a huge help—and I couldn’t do anything without them through all this.
FMM
And I’m sure, as a young designer and entrepreneur, SEGD’s resources can help you.
RA
Yes, since starting Studio Aorta, I’ve used the resources available from SEGD for references in projects, to keep up with industry standards and trends, and also to add credibility to my young practice. It’s also really inspiring to see the work of others and see how our industry adds value to any type of physical experience.
Rina Alfonso practicing Kendo, photo by Laura Wheatley Photography