WHO: Rani Sweis
WHAT: Marketing Director, AIGA Arizona Board of Directors
AND: Owner and Creative Director at AtticSalt

From acting on set with Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, and Rebecca Hall to working with hundreds of brands with a couple of the world’s leading tech companies, Rani Sweis is just an ordinary brand geek who has spent the last ten years completely obsessed with consumer behavior and how to design brands that create a greater impact on the world.

Q: What made you want to join AIGA AZ Board of Directors?
A: I believe that there is an untapped potential when it comes to design in Arizona. I feel that it is my duty to raise our community. As the 5th largest city in the US, it’s time that companies start recognizing that the talent here is highly comparable to, if not better than what they would find in our rival coastal cities of NY & LA.

Q: Other life – what do you do outside of AIGA?
A: I’m the owner and creative director at AtticSalt, a brand + design studio that’s hell-bent on telling captivating stories and designing brand identities that make a greater impact.

Q: What are you most excited about with this new position?
A: I’m excited about the challenge to raise the bar for design in Phoenix in order to compete with other metropolitan cities to start attracting more talent to relocate here as opposed to the other way around.

Q: What do you love most about the design/creative industry?
A: I love that something so simple can be so impactful. Good design is not only visually engaging but it has the power to alter perceptions and sometimes even change the world.

Q: What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
A: Peanut butter. I have to eat it only when I’m in public where people can judge me. Otherwise I’m very likely kill the entire jar with a spoon and a quart of ice cold milk (it’s the fat kid in me).

Q: What is your wildest dream?
A: Solving the national obesity epidemic. It’s a serious health problem that is near and dear to my heart. As a former fatty, I used to be the biggest kid in middle school. I was made fun of and bullied over my weight for most of my childhood. No child, or adult for that matter, should ever have to feel that way.

Q: What is one quirky thing that most people don’t know about you?
A: Contrary to my extroverted behavior, I feel I’ve become more of an introvert as I’ve gotten older. Although speaking to large crowds is a piece of cake, networking and mingling in an open crowd gives me great anxiety.

Q: What was one of your childhood ambitions, and have you accomplished it?
A: I always dreamed of becoming an actor. I used to think home movies were my time to shine. Naturally I was driven by the craft of acting. Since moving to AZ in 2005 I’ve been lucky enough to sign with a local talent agency and share the set with actors like Jamie Foxx and Will Ferrell.

Q: Any advice for new/non AIGA members?
A: “Birds of a feather flock together,” I always say. AIGA members are some of the most talented individuals in the design industry. I always found success by spending time with those whom I aspired to be like. Get as involved as you can, immerse yourself and stay inspired