No Products in the Cart
FREE SHIPPING for Orders Above USD35! Find out more.
Hello, I’m Andrea Cervantes (@berunagirl), a graphic designer and illustrator from the cozy town of Calamba, Philippines. After working as a multidisciplinary designer for various companies and industries, I was inspired to start a design business on my own. I love working on brand identity and design with different clients. During the early years of my business, my favorite thing was making handmade notebooks and selling them on Etsy. Today, I’m channeling that enthusiasm for crafts and journaling as a designer for Navy Peony.
What inspires you?
I like solving puzzles, and I’m inspired by finding solutions for problems. Designing and illustrating might seem very superficial and merely aesthetic, but balancing elements of a design or illustration to communicate effectively is a puzzle I love solving.
I also love new experiences - whether through traveling, reading books, or watching movies - because these experiences expand my tools for solving problems, and it’s very refreshing to find things that you otherwise won’t discover.
What projects did you love working on?
I worked with Neon Island’s company profile book. They are a growing indie clothing brand in the Philippines, and they needed corporate-ish materials for their upcoming collaborations with big companies. Their owners Chii and Aira were very clear with their objectives, and were very fun to work with. It also helped that I love their colorful prints. The entire design balanced out the information with communicative colors and elements that are very on brand for them. Since then, they have been involved with a lot of collabs with big companies like Havaianas and I’m happy that I helped them there.
My favorite project in Navy Peony is designing the motivational stickers! This is our first sticker set that we can call totally ours and is made from scratch, and I’m proud to be part of it. Our team managed to navigate and define our core values by making this set - being your friend in your physical and mental journeys - as well as our core colors and aesthetic. I’m so happy that a lot of people fell in love with this sticker set and resonated with our message.
What type of journaling is your favorite?
I am a big fan of the original Bullet Journal method. This inspired me to make my handmade notebooks in the past - I love how concise and organized my journal can be, and I actually do finish tasks when I write them down this way.
Alternatively, I also love collage journaling. I started in high school with a friend, and it helped me visualize homework in college. I picked up this hobby again a couple of years ago, so working with Navy Peony makes it more enjoyable with the stickers and washi tapes we make.
Who is your favorite artist?
One artist who has a great influence on me is Cynthia Bauzon-Arre (@arncyn). She’s known as a designer and illustrator from the Philippines, and I’ve been following her work since I was a teen, when she designed album covers for my favorite local bands. She’s one of the brilliant people who inspired me to study at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts. I love that even when she switches mediums and evolves styles, I could still recognize her identity in the work. She’s now very active on Instagram as a botanical illustrator and watercolor artist and I’m always giddy when I see her at events or if she likes my Instagram posts.
Which part of yourself do you want to give more credit to?
Until recently, I’ve never realized how persistent I am. I didn’t see this for myself because I tend to have imposter syndrome, and I felt like I’m never doing enough. I want to acknowledge the persistent part of myself: riding out bad years and unlucky incidents by learning and striving to make myself better.
