Cornina Hernandez: On Balancing Multiple Creative Projects

Graphic designer and podcast host Cornina Hernandez shares about her creative journey, the impact of mentorship, and balancing a corporate job and passion projects.

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Tell us about your current work role/s.

I am a graphic designer who produces graphics for various companies used for their marketing campaigns. On the side, I do digital art and am currently working on a comic. I’m also the host of a design and creativity-related podcast called Creative Chika. (Chika means chat in Filipino)

What led you to this career path?

I have always loved creating crafts and doing illustrations ever since I was a kid. I’ve always felt that the career that I’ll be having is in the field of arts.

What is your educational/training background?

I studied Advertising Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas, one of the oldest existing universities in the Philippines. I finished a bachelor’s degree but before taking up Fine Arts, I actually tried Conservatory of Music as well. It was fun and I learned a lot taking up Music but Fine Arts was always calling me.

Did you have any life-changing experiences that led you to what you’re doing today?

I feel like my life-changing experiences are the mentors that I had in the different jobs and industries that I’ve worked on. There were those who pushed me to do better, those who gave me the freedom to express my ideas and be able to execute them (not just in terms of design but on campaigns and events as well), and those who enhanced my knowledge and skills in terms of design. All of these mentors helped shape the person that I am today and where I am right now.

What were the challenges you encountered in your career journey?

Having to communicate with a lot of people. I’m a shy person and I find it difficult to communicate and coordinate projects with people but one of my mentors helped me with that. Sometimes, from an outsider’s point of view, they see some of the things that I do as challenging but a lot of the time, I just try to enjoy the ride.

How did your family and upbringing influence your career choices?

My family has always been supportive. They encourage me to join art contests outside of schools and they give practical feedback on my choices in life.

What are you most proud of accomplishing?

One of the things that I’m proud of was when the company that I was working for gave me a chance to execute a project that I had in mind. It was “The Business of Design” where we invited various creatives to talk about their creative journey. It was a series of seminars per week and it was inspired by The Futur’s “Business of Design” series on YouTube. My colleagues kept calling it “my” event but it was a group effort. I’m just happy and proud that it was an idea that I share and we were able to work on it.

What would you say motivates you the most to do what you do?

Being able to create and see the things that I had in mind come to life. As time goes by, I enjoy collaborating and conversing with a lot of people so that also became one of my motivations as well. I guess looking at it now, what motivates me is being able to connect with other people. Be it with the art that I do, the podcast that I produce, or even the simple stories that I share with other people.

On Balancing Multiple Passions

How do you balance multiple projects simultaneously?

Right now I’m a full-time graphic designer at a corporate company, currently creating an independent comic, producing content for my podcast, not to mention being present to the ones I love, and doing house chores lol... I don’t even know! I’m still trying to juggle these things but so far, I try to plan what I can. I have certain days for my podcast recording and production, certain days when I continue creating my comic, and I create checklists every day. One of the difficult parts is being consistent on these plans that I’ve set for myself. Sometimes, I get too excited to finish this certain project that I kind of put the others to the side. I guess it’s all about prioritizing and being consistent at it.

What has been the greatest challenge for you when it comes to balancing multiple careers?

Sometimes I get too caught up on the other projects that I put the others on the side. Some of these things that I put on the side are the important ones as well! So I need to prioritize and plan these things. Sometimes things pile up until I get burned out and just stop everything I’m doing to the point that I literally just do nothing. I try to avoid that.

What advice do you have for others who want to build a life around their multiple passions?

Plan these things! You can’t just go with the flow. I mean, I guess you can for a while when you’re starting, but it can’t always be like that. You’ll get to a point where you’ll feel burned out or neglect some other things that should be important in your life.

Try to see what kind of process works for you and when you find that, try to be consistent at it. Know your priorities and don’t forget to have fun!

What’s next for you, what are you looking forward to?

Looking forward to a lot of collaborations with my podcast! Currently just resigned from being a presentation designer at a design agency and I’m going back to being a Marketing Designer! Looking forward to the projects that I’ll be doing in this new company. Also, more progress on the comic that I’m working on.

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Learn more about and connect with Cornina at:

Website: https://cornina.wixsite.com/corninaart

Instagram: Cornina Hernandez | Creative Chika PH

Facebook: Cornina Hernandez

Podcast: Creative Chika