Controversa meets Chiara Varotto

Chiara Varotto, creative director and freelance illustrator, has made sinuous lines her signature trait. She says of herself: I wear black because I put color in everything I create, combining complementary colors to make them unique. Her illustration is like this: the illustrated vibration of the first snow of the year, the one we admire coming down, cuddled by the warmth of our home. A pattern that speaks of winter and the festive season, recounting them with sparkling light-heartedness and a touch of nostalgia.

Hi Chiara! We'd like to ask you to introduce yourself: we'd like to do it in Controversa way though! Thinking of a box containing a kit to tell something more about you, what would we find?

You would find a black velvet box with a coppery red seal. The inside is anything but what you thought you would see, namely a pattern rich in imagery and color, all the colors of the rainbow and the scents of a pastry shop. Inside you will find concert and flight tickets, lots of perfectly sharp F-pencils, scribbled sheets of paper with very, very small drawings. Some spicy biscuits and cinnamon tea bags. But also some handmade greeting cards, small mockups, embroidered fabrics, photos taken who knows where. Maybe you won't find the bottom of the box because there would be so much to dig through.

What aspects of your work do you like the most?

I like the design part, from the genesis, where you think and rethink what you want to create and gradually see your illustration grow, come out of your head and become tangible. Sometimes surprising you in unexpected ways.

Looking back, what has been a challenge in your career path?

Going from analogue to digital, then from acrylics to the Adobe suite. It wasn't difficult, but it was certainly challenging because it was like starting over, but I could never have gone digital without the foundations of the academic period.

What have been the particularly bright moments?

Every time a project comes to an end and becomes concrete is a wonderful moment. I always get excited when I find in a bookshop a book whose cover I illustrated, or when I open a Controversa and see my pattern. *_*

How did your illustration for Merry Controversa come about?

Thinking about what I like now about Christmas, but also what I loved as a child. Those moments when you're in the warmth of your home sipping a delicious hot chocolate, looking out the window at the snow blanketing the countryside, everything becomes so quiet and magical.

How would you like your box to be reused by those who buy it?

I'd like it to hold not only the Christmas tree balls, but also letters received or greeting cards. Or recipe books for sweets.

Controversa was created as a tool for different businesses: what would you like for your professional future? Are there any other tools you feel you need?

For my future, I trust in many collaborations like this one, which are not only professionally exciting, but also stimulating on a human and relationship level. The Controversa project was a moment of beautiful sharing and collaboration. I believe there is still plenty of room for illustration in the world of communication and packaging.

To whom would you recommend Controversa?

To everyone! To companies that need new methods of communication that are sustainable and custom-made. To those who receive them because they can't help but love this project, both in its functional and creative aspects. We all need to both communicate and package, and in doing so act for a more sustainable present.

And now a very Merry Controversial question: if your Christmas was a playlist on Spotify what would you make us listen to?

Well I can only answer with a pretty heavy playlist! After all, you can head-bang under the tree too.