Tell me a bit about yourself - where are you from, where did you go to school, etc.
Hello, my name is Estefania Acosta, but you can call me "Nia." I'm originally from the Dominican Republic and I moved to New York City in 2018 when I transferred to Parsons School of Design during my junior year. This transfer was part of a 2+2 program between the art school I previously attended, La Escuela de Diseño Altos de Chavon, and Parsons. Fortunately, I had friends from my art school who also transferred alongside me, which made the process of
moving to a new city and starting at a new university much easier. In 2020, I graduated with a BFA in Communication Design. Although I had a virtual graduation ceremony due to the circumstances, I still felt immensely grateful I had the opportunity to attend and satisfactorily navigate those initial years here in New York City.
Hello, my name is Estefania Acosta, but you can call me "Nia." I'm originally from the Dominican Republic and I moved to New York City in 2018 when I transferred to Parsons School of Design during my junior year. This transfer was part of a 2+2 program between the art school I previously attended, La Escuela de Diseño Altos de Chavon, and Parsons. Fortunately, I had friends from my art school who also transferred alongside me, which made the process of
moving to a new city and starting at a new university much easier. In 2020, I graduated with a BFA in Communication Design. Although I had a virtual graduation ceremony due to the circumstances, I still felt immensely grateful I had the opportunity to attend and satisfactorily navigate those initial years here in New York City.
What's your favorite part of being an art director?
Being assigned art director at Happy Box has been a great opportunity to explore a new area of my career I always dreamed of achieving when I went to school. It is rewarding to be able to lead the visual aspects of a project and for my ideas to be considered on a larger scale. To manage the aspects of a brand from its logo to its Abandoned Cart emails has always been a goal of mine.
What's the best gift you ever received?
Last year, on my birthday, my mom surprised me by traveling to New York City and ringing my doorbell early in the morning. I was overwhelmed and cried. Since 2020 I haven't been able to celebrate it with my family. I felt an immense sense of gratitude towards her for making the effort to come here and spend the day together.
What inspires you in your work?
I get inspired by seeing others be creative and sharing their work online, to see others have the same passion for design as me, not only as part of their full time jobs but as something they consider their hobby is very comforting.
What's your favorite three items on our site right now?
My three favorite time sin the site right now are the Birthday Cake Popcorn, the Elder Emo Word Search and the Calm Chocolate.
What’s a fun fact about you?
When I was little I didn't consider graphic design to be a desired career path. I considered graphic design at the end of high school. I’ve always wanted to direct movies. Especially in my country, since it's a growing industry, I wanted to form part of its growth.
What has been your favorite thing to work on here at Happy Box?
My favorite thing working at Happy Box is the sense of teamwork I feel working alongside everyone. All ideas are shared and considered. There's never a dull moment since working for multiple clients is always part of our work and nothing is better than working on gifts and ideating ways of basically, how to bring small joys to its recipients.