[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":75},["ShallowReactive",2],{"i-material-symbols:language":3,"i-material-symbols:person":8,"i-mdi:instagram":10,"i-mdi:youtube":12,"i-ri:linkedin-fill":14,"i-ri:twitter-x-line":16,"i-ri:facebook-fill":18,"post-creative-spotlight-nicole-tomita-landesa":20,"i-material-symbols:person-outline":69,"i-material-symbols:calendar-month":71,"i-mdi:schedule":73},{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":7},0,24,false,"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M8.125 21.213q-1.825-.788-3.187-2.15t-2.15-3.188T2 11.988t.788-3.875t2.15-3.175t3.187-2.15T12.013 2t3.875.788t3.175 2.15t2.15 3.175t.787 3.875t-.787 3.887t-2.15 3.188t-3.175 2.15t-3.875.787t-3.888-.787M12 19.95q.65-.9 1.125-1.875T13.9 16h-3.8q.3 1.1.775 2.075T12 19.95m-2.6-.4q-.45-.825-.787-1.713T8.05 16H5.1q.725 1.25 1.813 2.175T9.4 19.55m5.2 0q1.4-.45 2.488-1.375T18.9 16h-2.95q-.225.95-.562 1.838T14.6 19.55M4.25 14h3.4q-.075-.5-.112-.987T7.5 12t.038-1.012T7.65 10h-3.4q-.125.5-.187.988T4 12t.063 1.013t.187.987m5.4 0h4.7q.075-.5.113-.987T14.5 12t-.038-1.012T14.35 10h-4.7q-.075.5-.112.988T9.5 12t.038 1.013t.112.987m6.7 0h3.4q.125-.5.188-.987T20 12t-.062-1.012T19.75 10h-3.4q.075.5.113.988T16.5 12t-.038 1.013t-.112.987m-.4-6h2.95q-.725-1.25-1.812-2.175T14.6 4.45q.45.825.788 1.713T15.95 8M10.1 8h3.8q-.3-1.1-.775-2.075T12 4.05q-.65.9-1.125 1.875T10.1 8m-5 0h2.95q.225-.95.563-1.838T9.4 4.45Q8 4.9 6.912 5.825T5.1 8\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":9},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M9.175 10.825Q8 9.65 8 8t1.175-2.825T12 4t2.825 1.175T16 8t-1.175 2.825T12 12t-2.825-1.175M4 20v-2.8q0-.85.438-1.562T5.6 14.55q1.55-.775 3.15-1.162T12 13t3.25.388t3.15 1.162q.725.375 1.163 1.088T20 17.2V20z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":11},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M7.8 2h8.4C19.4 2 22 4.6 22 7.8v8.4a5.8 5.8 0 0 1-5.8 5.8H7.8C4.6 22 2 19.4 2 16.2V7.8A5.8 5.8 0 0 1 7.8 2m-.2 2A3.6 3.6 0 0 0 4 7.6v8.8C4 18.39 5.61 20 7.6 20h8.8a3.6 3.6 0 0 0 3.6-3.6V7.6C20 5.61 18.39 4 16.4 4zm9.65 1.5a1.25 1.25 0 0 1 1.25 1.25A1.25 1.25 0 0 1 17.25 8A1.25 1.25 0 0 1 16 6.75a1.25 1.25 0 0 1 1.25-1.25M12 7a5 5 0 0 1 5 5a5 5 0 0 1-5 5a5 5 0 0 1-5-5a5 5 0 0 1 5-5m0 2a3 3 0 0 0-3 3a3 3 0 0 0 3 3a3 3 0 0 0 3-3a3 3 0 0 0-3-3\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":13},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"m10 15l5.19-3L10 9zm11.56-7.83c.13.47.22 1.1.28 1.9c.07.8.1 1.49.1 2.09L22 12c0 2.19-.16 3.8-.44 4.83c-.25.9-.83 1.48-1.73 1.73c-.47.13-1.33.22-2.65.28c-1.3.07-2.49.1-3.59.1L12 19c-4.19 0-6.8-.16-7.83-.44c-.9-.25-1.48-.83-1.73-1.73c-.13-.47-.22-1.1-.28-1.9c-.07-.8-.1-1.49-.1-2.09L2 12c0-2.19.16-3.8.44-4.83c.25-.9.83-1.48 1.73-1.73c.47-.13 1.33-.22 2.65-.28c1.3-.07 2.49-.1 3.59-.1L12 5c4.19 0 6.8.16 7.83.44c.9.25 1.48.83 1.73 1.73\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":15},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M6.94 5a2 2 0 1 1-4-.002a2 2 0 0 1 4 .002M7 8.48H3V21h4zm6.32 0H9.34V21h3.94v-6.57c0-3.66 4.77-4 4.77 0V21H22v-7.93c0-6.17-7.06-5.94-8.72-2.91z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":17},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M10.488 14.651L15.25 21h7l-7.858-10.478L20.93 3h-2.65l-5.117 5.886L8.75 3h-7l7.51 10.015L2.32 21h2.65zM16.25 19L5.75 5h2l10.5 14z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":19},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M14 13.5h2.5l1-4H14v-2c0-1.03 0-2 2-2h1.5V2.14c-.326-.043-1.557-.14-2.857-.14C11.928 2 10 3.657 10 6.7v2.8H7v4h3V22h4z\"\u002F>",{"postType":21,"id":22,"author":23,"date":26,"modified":27,"title":28,"slug":29,"seoTitle":30,"seoDescription":31,"excerpt":32,"trimmedExcerpt":33,"content":34,"readingTime":35,"featuredImage":36,"postCategory":42,"relatedPosts":47},"post",42389,{"id":24,"name":25},"author-0301142015","Canto","2020-03-24T18:28:16","2025-11-20T13:03:29","Creative Spotlight: Combining passion and purpose with Nicole Tomita from Landesa","creative-spotlight-nicole-tomita-landesa","Interview with Nicole Tomita from Landesa","Nicole Tomita is the Digital Media Coordinator at Landesa. She shares with us details about her exciting career and what role creativity played in her life.","For creatives, reconciling our passions with a sense of purpose is a lifelong journey. Join us and Nicole Tomita, the digital media coordinator at Landesa, as we chat about her journey exploring the intersection between her love for art and her desire to help others. About Landesa Landesa is a nonprofit that partners with governments […]","For creatives, reconciling our passions with a sense of purpose is a lifelong journey. Join us and Nicole Tomita, the...","\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For creatives, reconciling our passions with a sense of purpose is a lifelong journey. Join us and \u003Cstrong>Nicole Tomita\u003C\u002Fstrong>, the \u003Cstrong>digital media coordinator\u003C\u002Fstrong> at \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fcustomers\u002Flandesa\u002F\">Landesa\u003C\u002Fa>, as we chat about her journey exploring the intersection between her love for art and her desire to help others.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About Landesa\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192245\u002FCreative-Spotlight-Landesa-Nicole.png\" alt=\"Nicole Tomita, Digital Media Coordinator at Landesa.\" class=\"wp-image-42391\" srcset=\"\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192245\u002FCreative-Spotlight-Landesa-Nicole.png 1200w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192245\u002FCreative-Spotlight-Landesa-Nicole-450x236.png 450w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192245\u002FCreative-Spotlight-Landesa-Nicole-1024x536.png 1024w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192245\u002FCreative-Spotlight-Landesa-Nicole-768x402.png 768w\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Landesa is a nonprofit that partners with governments and local organizations to secure legal land rights for the world’s poorest families. The organization uses Canto to centralize their digital assets. \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fcustomers\u002Flandesa\u002F\">Read their story here.\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cbr \u002F>Hi Nicole! Tell me about what you do at Landesa!\u003Cbr \u002F>I am the digital media coordinator on the communications team. My role is taking charge of all of the digital platforms we have: the website, our social media and some of the email marketing, including the monthly newsletter. I also have other more discrete projects that I work on. For example, we’ve done a digital annual report for the past couple of years and we just finished developing a new animated explainer video that we’re really excited about.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In the past, you have worked in the arts and with other nonprofits. How did you get interested in art?\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I didn’t actually take my first visual art class until my senior year of college, where I majored in political science\u002Finternational relations. It was an observational drawing class and I was like, ‘oh, my God, I love this so much.’ Each trimester after that, I took another art class. Somehow, I had never taken an art class until I was 20, which was really unfortunate, and that inspired me to work in arts education later down the line.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You did a Watson Fellowship, which is a one-year grant for purposeful, independent exploration around the world. Tell me about your project and your experience!\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My Watson Fellowship explored how disabilities, particularly intellectual disabilities, are perceived in different cultures and the role that sports can play in that. I had coached and volunteered with the Special Olympics for most of my life, so the original idea had been to join up with Special Olympics chapters around the world and to work with coaches, meet people in that community, travel with them to competitions, etc. But it didn’t work out perfectly, so I ended up joining with different schools, programs, and social services that support people with disabilities in Ecuador, Morocco, Namibia and Cambodia. In a couple of those countries, I was actually able to live with families with people with disabilities, which is how my family was, too. It was an extremely wonderful experience to get a glimpse into these other communities; I learned a lot.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I found that even if there aren’t strong government social safety nets for people with disabilities, there is almost always some sort of support system that exists, formal or informal, that’s through schools, nonprofits, families and\u002For community advocates. Parents are often the most vocal advocates. Unfortunately, awareness is often low, and then those who need services don’t (or cannot) always access them due to a number of reasons. I found some really great organizations doing fantastic work, but they, like most grassroots nonprofits and services, always needed more funding and resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"567\" src=\"\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192247\u002FFatuma-on-hillside1.jpg\" alt=\"A female worker in a field, taking a break.\" class=\"wp-image-42377\" srcset=\"\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192247\u002FFatuma-on-hillside1.jpg 1024w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192247\u002FFatuma-on-hillside1-450x249.jpg 450w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192247\u002FFatuma-on-hillside1-768x425.jpg 768w\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">That sounds like a really incredible experience. Did the fellowship and your learnings affect the direction you decided to take in your career?\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes! In my last country, Cambodia, I ended up working with this fantastic organization called Epic Arts. They use arts as a form of expression and empowerment to bring people with and without disabilities together. In the program I worked with, they offered dance, drama, and visual arts courses for adults with and without disabilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I joined as a volunteer to teach their visual arts class. At one point, they asked if I could help design a poster. I didn’t have any experience, but I taught myself with a tutorial and the poster was a success! So I ended up taking on a ‘graphic designer’ role too. That’s one of my favorite parts about working with nonprofits – you often have the opportunity to step into many different types of roles that you might not have in other sectors.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I loved working with Epic Arts so much that I ended up staying there for almost two years. I feel really lucky to have been a part of such a wonderfully supportive, artistic community. During that time, I honed my graphic design skills a lot more through YouTube videos and tutorials. I continued to teach visual arts classes, and also did some research on the state of special education in Cambodia. It was so much fun.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I got back to the United States after having been abroad for nearly three years, I moved up to Lake Tahoe and worked as a photographer and ski instructor at a ski resort. At the same time, I continued working in arts education with a nonprofit in the region, whose mission was to bring performing and visual art to all of the students in the school system there. I had at first been hired as the marketing coordinator doing graphic design and outreach for the arts performances that we did for the community. I ended up transitioning into a role that was also coordinating that performing arts program, which brought in critically-acclaimed artists to perform for students in schools.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wow, that’s really amazing. How did you end up at Landesa?\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About two years ago, I decided to move up to Seattle, mostly because I have family that lives up here and was eager to live in a bigger city. I applied for this job at Landesa and it’s been truly great so far. I’ve been able to show what I’m passionate about and do that at work, which is such a privilege. Now, I get to do quite a bit of graphic design, whether that’s designing posters and banners for different events, making graphics for research papers to distill complex concepts, or website design. I also got to travel to our office in Tanzania where I interviewed and photographed women farmers in rural areas, that was a real dream come true. Just recently, I also got to do my very first illustrations for Landesa to go along with a blog one of my colleagues wrote; my boss was super supportive in letting me spend time on it. Getting to do that as a part of my job was also a dream come true!\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\" src=\"\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192246\u002FIndiras-family-with-a-title1-min.jpg\" alt=\"A happy family with two children sitting in a village.\" class=\"wp-image-42386\" srcset=\"\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192246\u002FIndiras-family-with-a-title1-min.jpg 1024w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192246\u002FIndiras-family-with-a-title1-min-450x298.jpg 450w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192246\u002FIndiras-family-with-a-title1-min-768x509.jpg 768w\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You’ve worked mostly in the nonprofit world throughout your career; was that intentional?\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The way that I always conceived of my education and purpose was to use these skills and the opportunities that I’m given to help people. I think a lot of my journey has been trying to figure out the best way to help people, or support them, with my skills. I’ve been pretty lucky that I’ve been able to find different ways to do graphic design (and art!) and continue to develop my skills with nonprofits as I work with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do you also practice art in your free time?\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes! I recently got an iPad and I’ve been working on illustrating a children’s book. I find time to do it on my commute to and from work, and sometimes just in front of the TV.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I do art and drawing, I lose track of time in a good way. I feel like there aren’t too many other things in life that make time fly like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Thanks so much for taking the time to chat, Nicole! Learn about Landesa’s work \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.landesa.org\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fh3>",6,{"url":37,"url_md":38,"alt":39,"height":40,"width":41},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canto.com\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192247\u002FFatuma-on-hillside1.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canto.com\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F19192247\u002FFatuma-on-hillside1-450x249.jpg","",567,1024,[43],{"id":44,"slug":44,"title":45,"path":46},"industry-insights","Industry insights","\u002Fpost-category\u002Findustry-insights\u002F",[48,55,62],{"featuredImage":49,"postId":50,"slug":51,"title":52,"description":53,"path":54},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canto.com\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2019\u002F10\u002F19193522\u002Fcreative-director-inspiration-e1570837902410-450x240.jpg",35155,"how-4-creative-directors-stay-inspired","How 3 creative directors stay inspired","At Canto, we work with creative people from various industries. Seeing their beautiful content, we asked what keeps them inspired! Here's what they said.","\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-4-creative-directors-stay-inspired\u002F",{"featuredImage":56,"postId":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"description":60,"path":61},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canto.com\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2019\u002F04\u002F19193310\u002Fvideo-file-types-11-450x300.jpg",17682,"video-file-types","A comprehensive breakdown of different video file types","Learn the varying advantages of different video file types to figure out which optimally fits your needs. Here's a breakdown of popular video file formats.","\u002Fblog\u002Fvideo-file-types\u002F",{"featuredImage":63,"postId":64,"slug":65,"title":66,"description":67,"path":68},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canto.com\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2020\u002F05\u002F19191732\u002FParty-Reflections_2-450x338.jpg",45093,"creative-spotlight-leading-through-uncertainty-with-maurisa-beaver-from-party-reflections","Creative Spotlight: Leading through uncertainty with Maurisa Beaver from Party Reflections","Maurisa Beaver is the Chief Culture Officer at Party Reflections, a special events rental company. She talks about how creativity is at the center of her work.","\u002Fblog\u002Fcreative-spotlight-leading-through-uncertainty-with-maurisa-beaver-from-party-reflections\u002F",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":70},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M9.175 10.825Q8 9.65 8 8t1.175-2.825T12 4t2.825 1.175T16 8t-1.175 2.825T12 12t-2.825-1.175M4 20v-2.8q0-.85.438-1.562T5.6 14.55q1.55-.775 3.15-1.162T12 13t3.25.388t3.15 1.162q.725.375 1.163 1.088T20 17.2V20zm2-2h12v-.8q0-.275-.137-.5t-.363-.35q-1.35-.675-2.725-1.012T12 15t-2.775.338T6.5 16.35q-.225.125-.363.35T6 17.2zm7.413-8.587Q14 8.825 14 8t-.587-1.412T12 6t-1.412.588T10 8t.588 1.413T12 10t1.413-.587M12 18\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":72},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M12 14q-.425 0-.712-.288T11 13t.288-.712T12 12t.713.288T13 13t-.288.713T12 14m-4.712-.288Q7 13.426 7 13t.288-.712T8 12t.713.288T9 13t-.288.713T8 14t-.712-.288M16 14q-.425 0-.712-.288T15 13t.288-.712T16 12t.713.288T17 13t-.288.713T16 14m-4 4q-.425 0-.712-.288T11 17t.288-.712T12 16t.713.288T13 17t-.288.713T12 18m-4.712-.288Q7 17.426 7 17t.288-.712T8 16t.713.288T9 17t-.288.713T8 18t-.712-.288M16 18q-.425 0-.712-.288T15 17t.288-.712T16 16t.713.288T17 17t-.288.713T16 18M5 22q-.825 0-1.412-.587T3 20V6q0-.825.588-1.412T5 4h1V2h2v2h8V2h2v2h1q.825 0 1.413.588T21 6v14q0 .825-.587 1.413T19 22zm0-2h14V10H5z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":74},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M12 20a8 8 0 0 0 8-8a8 8 0 0 0-8-8a8 8 0 0 0-8 8a8 8 0 0 0 8 8m0-18a10 10 0 0 1 10 10a10 10 0 0 1-10 10C6.47 22 2 17.5 2 12A10 10 0 0 1 12 2m.5 5v5.25l4.5 2.67l-.75 1.23L11 13V7z\"\u002F>",1787762653594]