Kimberly Costa is the founder of Honizukle Press, a letterpress and design studio specializing in custom stationery and greeting cards, based in Kansas. Kimberly left a career in animation to do more illustrations and less computer work. This ultimately led to a position as Art Director of a small greeting card company, as well as her current career path. After this, things started to take shape, including buying Charlotte, her beautiful printing press. So we are proud to bring you the Designer Insights of Kimberly Costa.
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1) In your own words describe your unique style and creative aesthetic?
My aesthetic is very clean. I love white spaces and bright, colors/patterns that evoke light emotions. Right now I’m really into neons and I’ve always loved bright pastels.
2) When starting a new project, what is your creative process?
I sketch… a lot! I have several notebooks where I sketch/write ideas. I then go to Illustrator and start a huge artboard to experiment.
3) Out of the creative people you have worked with, who is it that you respect and admire the most?
One of the creative people I have the privilege to work with regularly is my husband. We work very differently and I admire him for those things that come naturally to him and not to me. He has a beautiful line and works meticulously to achieve exactly what he wants while I’m much more impulsive. We actually produce much better work together, probably because we complement each other so well.
4) When looking for inspiration is there a particular thing you do to get inspired?
Visual research, to see how “it” has been done before. I find inspiration and direction that way and sometimes identify something that hasn’t been done before and focus on that.
5) What has brought you to this point in your career? And what is your advice for people looking to follow in your footsteps?
A genuine love of making art and a need to be with my children. I took a workshop to learn how to use a platen press, bought one and never looked back. Anyone wanting to learn about letterpress should look into workshops as it’s difficult to learn on your own.