Friday Fives: Fabian Molina (Oddfellows)
October 08, 2021
Most Fridays we give #highfives to a different designer from our extended family of PNCA students, faculty, alumni, and guest lecturers. 🙌🏾🙌🏻🙌🏽 This week, we're featuring Fabian Molina, an animator, design director, and educator currently with Oddfellows. Fabian joined us on 10/13/21 for our Design Lecture Series (See recording at the end of this Q+A!).
Fabian Molina is an associate creative director at Oddfellows in Portland, Oregon, where he helps lead teams to create the best narrative brand work possible. After receiving his degree in Digital Arts and Animation, he decided that he wanted to help brands tell their stories. Since 2012, he’s been working directly with brands like Nike, the National Women’s March, Tillamook, Pandora, and Google. In his free time, he’s currently working on his first short film.
Oddfellows helps companies bring brands to life in extraordinary and emotive ways. “Purposefully Odd,” they seek out the rare, the non-traditional, and the unexpected. Their approach is based in creating feelings—desire, lust, love, urgency, happiness, conviction—to work at a deeper level.
Graphic Design department head Kristin Rogers Brown spoke with Fabian in October, 2021.
Q: What do you geek out about?
A: Movies, music, and food. I think there’s something to how much emotion can be brought out by watching, listening, and eating. So I try really hard to learn about what makes these three art forms work. I can talk forever about any of these 3 things.
Q: What do you do to get "unstuck"?
A: I've learned that the only thing I can do to get unstuck is to just keep going. Keep writing, keep drawing, keep working. You’ll get past it. Sometimes I take a nap and come back to it but the only real solution after a small nap or break is to try again.
I write stories and try to make films because it’s a way to express my feelings, thoughts, and ask the questions I’m too afraid to ask someone directly.
Q: What music (or podcasts) are you listening to, or what are you reading right now?
A: These change weekly but here’s where I’m at today.
Music: Kali Uchis, Tyler the Creator, Selena, Future Islands
Podcasts: The Daily (news), The Big Picture (film)
Movies: Titane, Grave of the Fireflies
Books: Crying in H Mart, the Jim Henson Biography (just finished)
Q: What is one thing you want to learn right now?
A: I want to learn how to read, play, and create music. I think once I’m done with my short film, I’ll take some piano lessons. If I get another life, I hope to come back as a musician. But right now, I’d settle on learning how to make a good Mexican Mole, like my mom’s recipe.
Q: A Good question from a previous guest... “Why do you do what you do?"
A: I write stories and try to make films because it’s a way to express my feelings, thoughts, and ask the questions I’m too afraid to ask someone directly. I show up to work every day to work with some of my favorite people on this planet and to make something cool with them. I do what I do because I don’t think I really know how to do anything else.
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Hear more from Fabian in conversation with students and faculty in our Design Lecture Series (recorded, below). Talks are in person for PNCA students, staff, and faculty, and also open to the public streaming FREE with registration (we'll send you a link). Co-hosted by PNCA Graphic Design and FISK, along with our friends in PNCA's Animated Arts program for this special talk. See more from Fabian on his website, or follow @fabianmolina or @oddfellowstv on instagram.
Follow along with our #fridayfives on instagram @pncadesign.