Renata Dominguez, BFA Communications Design (Graphic Design) ’25, grew up in Mexicali, on the border between Mexico and the United States. Her dad is an advertiser, designer, and artist, and her mom is a marketer. It was no wonder, then, that Dominguez soon found herself interested in brand design. “I always knew I was going to be part of this world,” she said. “It’s something that I always loved.”
Dominguez studied at Pratt Munson before transitioning to Pratt’s Brooklyn campus, where she focused on honing her brand design skills in the Communications Design Department. In courses designed to mimic real-world professional situations, she practiced creating everything from logos to advertisements to physical merchandise. She also founded two clubs during her time at Pratt: The Media Club, a networking group for young professionals in design, illustration, interaction, and motion, and the Communications Design Gallery, which promotes student works of communications design at Pratt Munson.
After graduation, Dominguez began an internship with her dream agency, Landor, and was quickly hired for a full-time role. At Landor, Dominguez is continuing to build her skills, her networks, and her career in branding.
Back to the Beginning
As a kid, Dominguez dreamed of coming to New York, but what started as a Hollywood-fueled fantasy turned into real research when Dominguez began looking at colleges. She began asking herself questions: Where was the best place to be for design? Where was the art world strong? It became clear, she said, that “New York was the place to be.”
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![A young woman in a black dress stands at a podium speaking into a microphone, with a colorful abstract painting on the wall behind her. She is addressing an audience seated in front of her. Several people can be seen in the audience, including a man with curly hair and a woman in a teal jacket, all focused on her speech. The setting appears to be a formal event in a gallery or museum.]()
Dominguez was nominated to deliver the speech at Pratt Munson 2023 Commencement Ceremony. -
![A young woman in a black dress speaks at a podium during an event, with a microphone in front of her. An abstract art piece hangs on the wall behind her, and several audience members are visible in the foreground, including people with diverse hairstyles. Attendees appear engaged, listening intently to the speaker.]()
Dominguez celebrating the Commencement Ceremony with Pratt Munson Professor of Graphic Design Cindy Korenz
Dominguez spent her first two years at Pratt Munson, where she was introduced to the many facets of branding—from illustration and animation to environmental branding and packaging. “In my opinion, it was the most complete curriculum I found,” said Dominguez. It was in a class at Pratt Munson that Dominguez first learned about Landor. After two years, she transitioned to Pratt’s Brooklyn campus and fell in love with the city.
Professional Practices
In her senior year at Pratt, Dominguez took the class that sealed the deal on branding for her. “It helped me find my passion about what I wanted to do,” she said. “I was just obsessed with the idea of working with branding.”
The course, Branding and Messaging, focused on readying students to work in professional design settings. Looking back, Dominguez is impressed by how well the class prepared her for her job now. “I really learned how to work in a real agency with that class. We learned a combination of strategy and design, and that’s something that, after that class, I kept applying to all my projects.”
Branding “À Dériva Festival”
During her senior year, Dominguez was nominated by faculty for the opportunity to work on a real-world branding project for the À Dériva Architecture, Design, and Arts Festival in Portugal. She worked with Chair of Undergraduate Communications Design Meta Newhouse, Professor Ana Boavida from the University of Coimbra, and University of Coimbra alumnus Nuno Flórido to develop the full branding for the festival, which they then presented to the government of Penacova, Portugal. The festival took place as part of an ongoing partnership between Pratt Institute and the University of Coimbra “in which students and faculty from both schools will imagine creative solutions to questions that have global resonance.”
“It was very fast-paced, which I actually loved,” said Dominguez. “It was very surreal to see that in real life… It was a beautiful experience.”
Working at Landor
In June, Dominguez landed an internship at Landor, which turned into a full-time job post-graduation. “It’s been an incredible experience. I’m actually the youngest person in the studio. At first, I was a little intimidated, but I quickly started seeing it as an opportunity to grow. I’ve been growing so, so much since the beginning,” she said.
“I saw in Renata someone with a lot of initiative and someone who treated her schoolwork as professional work,” said Paulina Reyes, executive creative director at Landor. Reyes calls Dominguez “beyond her years” in critical design skills like composition, color, and typography, and commends her ability to collaborate as part of a team. “She’s one of those people that not only has the talent, but she also has a very humble personality, and she just loves to help, which I think makes her the type of ideal designer that you want to have on a team.”
Dominguez attributes some of her success to a mindset of constant improvement and practice. Her advice? “Just find that passion and do something you really love.”
