Indonesian illustrator Elen Winata captures the essence of cute through simple lines and vector shapes. Her illustrations, mainly digital, have adorned book covers and commercials, with collaborations with brands as big as Google, Starbucks, Uber, and Unilever.
Based in Singapore, Winata comes from a background in design and graduated with a degree in Graphic Design. “After graduating … I started working at a local design studio called Kinetic; and afterwards, an advertising agency called DDB,” she recalled in an interview with Medium. “My experience working at both companies exposed me to the illustration field and got me passionate about it.”
It was during her job as a designer that Winata found herself attracted to the more artistic side of things. “While I was still doing design, I noticed that I incorporated many illustrations in my work, most times unintentionally,” she notes. “I realized that I was happier working on the illustrations than the actual design work, and toyed with the idea of doing it full time.”
Now a full time illustrator, her work, though simple, is never simplistic, and has a layer of humor and compassion to it that invites the viewer inside. According to Winata, her creative process includes a lot of research.
“I like crafting images based on the project that I am working on,” she says. “I love researching the different ways I can approach a drawing. Seeing the final artwork come to life bit by bit is extremely exciting.”
You can follow her work on Instagram or head to her online shop to purchase limited edition art prints, stationery, and accessories.
