Meet the VIC mentors
Anastasia Simone
Anastasia is a Hong Kong-grown Senior Art Director at Droga5 Melbourne. She’s a Cannes See It Be It alum, served on the D&AD jury in 2022 and 2023, and currently sits on the ACA Futures Board.
In her spare time (lmao), she’s a first-time indie video game dev, and illustrates covers for books by emerging Black and brown authors.
Career & Background
What inspired you to do what you are doing now?
My mom taught me that any problem can be solved with creativity. When I found out that creative problem-solver could be a real career that let me explore a great, big range of artistic disciplines while working with other artists and dreamers, I knew I had to do that.
Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?
I’ve worked at Geometry Global, McCann (Cathay Pacific team), Leo Burnett, Havas Host, and now Droga5. I’ve had the pleasure of judging award shows like D&AD and AWARD Awards, as well as the incoming AWARD School entries. I’ve mentored with D&AD Shift and AWARD School.
Your favourite food for thought
Books
– Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi)
– There Are Rivers in the Sky (Elif Shafak)
– Helium (Rudy Francisco)
Podcasts / Thought Leaders
– The Imposterous (Podcast)
What drives and inspires you
What are your core values?
Compassion, Risk-taking, Vulnerability
Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
Current obsessions are Kendrick Lamar and Doechii. They’re both culture-leading visionaries with consistently fresh visual taste—everything I see amazes me—and they’re both uncompromisingly human in how they express and explore their creativity.
You as a Mentor
Why have you decided to become a mentor?
Coming up, I didn’t see anyone like myself in leadership positions. Although I’m still learning and growing, I know that my visibility makes a difference to young creatives who feel like they can’t belong in this industry. And we really, really need them to stay.
What are the top skills or qualities you bring to mentoring?
Compassionate, Sees potential in others, Present and focused, Resilient, Willing to be vulnerable
Ready to apply?
The best time is right now. Take a chance – you never know where an Assisterhood mentor can take you.