María Isabel Nieto Tróchez has always been a creative soul.
Growing up in Colombia, Nieto recalls joining every single extracurricular her school had to offer – dance, music, or drawing classes, you’d spot her there and everywhere else.
“I was always trying to put myself on stage,” she says.
Even with her ICFES – Colombia’s high school exit examination that determines a student’s university admission – around the corner, Nieto wasn’t one of the kids burying their heads in the books.
“On Saturdays, other kids would go study for the tests or do things that would help them get higher scores on areas they need to go for careers they were interested in, but I did none of that,” says Nieto. “I was very busy with my extracurriculars, and I was not sure what I wanted to do, so I didn’t do that much studying.”
The revisions that Nieto did only lasted a week, and it was mostly because the school provided them with mock papers to work on.
“I had no purpose for the exams; I didn’t have a particular score I wanted to get,” Nieto explains. “Everyone had scores they wanted to get into certain schools, but I didn’t, so I spent the day before the exam just relaxing and watching movies. And then the next day, I did my test just thinking ‘Okay, it is what it is.’”
Imagine Nieto’s surprise when the exam results revealed that she scored fourth best in the country.
“I only saw the number four, so I was expecting 400 something,” she says. “But I got number four in all of Colombia. It was crazy, I kept double-checking because I know I did pretty well but I was not expecting it to be that.”
While it was a pleasant surprise, receiving such fantastic grades still didn’t give Nieto an idea of what she wanted to do in her near future.
‘Design was something I saw myself doing, or at least studying’
To remain productive, Nieto spent the six months after receiving her ICFES results studying English whilst trying to figure out her aspirations.
During that time, however, she was also getting calls from universities offering her scholarships due to her impressive grades – one of them being Universidad de los Andes, Colombia’s number one university, according to QS World University Rankings 2025.
“I wasn’t sure about the calls – I wasn’t ready, but the scholarship was a big opportunity for me to be able to fund my studies and not bother my parents with any student loans and extra work, so I knew I had to pick something,” she says.
Luckily for Nieto, her cousin was pursuing a design programme at the university and invited her along to have a tour of the classes.
It was like love at first sight, especially because the programme allowed Nieto to explore a range of different classes. This includes paper engineering, drawing, animation, product design, scriptwriting, programming, and so much more.
“It was fun because I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do,” explains Nieto. “I just wanted to have fun and try the things that interested me. In the end, I got many skills out of it.”
Graduating with such a degree gave Nieto the skills she needed to work in a marketing agency, where she worked with brands to launch campaigns and events.
Despite holding the title of graphic designer, she was doing everything from writing copy to calling vendors – not what she expected from her first job.
“I was still very into drawing and being more crafty, I’ve never been the kind of person that is in front of a computer the whole day,” she says. “I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do – but I knew scriptwriting and production had been one of my favourite classes.”
It was by chance during Nieto’s annual visit to SIGGRAPH – a conference centred around computer graphics – that she came across a storyboarder from Pixar.
There, she was advised that if she wanted a role in the animation company – a prospect that interested Nieto – the best way to go about it was to earn a master’s degree from the US to ease her transition.
“And I was like, okay, I’m gonna do that,” says Nieto.
From designer to production designer
Her quest for a school for art and design led her to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), ranked #15 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024.
“There was a girl who told me that it was hard to get into SCAD,” recalls Nieto. “She said that you had to be the smartest person in Colombia to get in, but you know, I’m the fourth smartest in the country,” she laughs.
“And I remember a friend who was going for their master’s degree in the US told me that the worst thing they can do is say no, but if you don’t do it, you’re giving yourself that ‘no’. Whatever you do, the worst outcome is already there – but if you apply, you might get a ‘yes’ instead.”
But for Nieto, it wasn’t a matter of simply applying to SCAD – she had to first look for scholarships to pay for her master’s.
That was neither easy nor fast.
Nieto had to go back and forth with her sponsor (who turned out to be Universidad de los Andes) to secure a spot in SCAD, showing reasons why she believed an art and design programme was worth the investment.
In the end, she was put on a waitlist – only when one of the approved scholarship students declined the fund would she receive it.
Bummed – because what were the chances that someone would turn down a scholarship? — Nieto decided to take a break from scholarship hunting before trying again, a break that coincided with her 23rd birthday.
As a treat, she decided to take her savings and spend it on a trip to Disneyland Paris.
And clearly, Disney really is a place where dreams come true – when the clock struck midnight, signalling Nieto’s birthday, she got an email confirming that someone had indeed dropped out of the scholarship and she was next in line for it.
Next stop: SCAD, Savannah, Georgia, US.
Or, it should’ve been, but COVID-19 happened and Nieto had to defer her programme for a while.
By the time she made it to her classes in person, she was often the only one there.
“But it was good because I got to learn a lot,” says Nieto.
Her professors had more time to help refine her skills, while Nieto got to know her professors better.
But halfway through her master’s, Nieto found the curriculum increasingly uninspiring.
“We had a class where we had to colour comic pages in different styles because if you wanted to get into an animation career in the industry, you needed this skill,” explains Nieto.
“And at that moment, I wasn’t sure about it. As much as I liked it and felt very comfortable drawing characters, it was not as challenging and I wanted to go a step further and work with bringing real-life characters to life.”
Perusing SCAD’s website led her to discover the production design programme, and it was like finding her love for art all over again.
The work of a production designer is important. They often head the art department and are responsible for bringing the director’s ideas to life by coordinating an overall visual appearance and artistic style throughout the production.
Take Hannah Beachler, for example. Her work on Marvel’s “Black Panther” series brought the movie to life, and for that, the production designer won not just the Art Directors Guild award and the Critics Choice Award, but an Academy Award too.
Then, there’s Sarah Greenwood, the production designer behind Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” The minimal computer-generated imagery in Barbie Land should tell you enough about just how far she and her team worked to make this movie the legend that it is.
“I was like, I think this is what I’m supposed to do, everything made sense,” says Nieto. The costume, makeup, and wig styling classes – it was her calling.
Nieto had grown up loving the stage, but she had also loved being involved in the production side of things too, such as building the set or helping run the show.
After talk to her student advisor and a professor in the production design programme, and a tour of the building where productions were held,Nieto made the decisive switch from art to production design.
“It was the best thing I’ve ever done,” she says. “Now every time someone comes to me and says that they don’t know what to do, I’d tell them to switch things up and try new things.”
Why production designers are lynchpins in the industry
Nieto joined the production design scene like a fish to water.
Despite her lack of professional experience and joining the programme midway, she pulled her weight in spades, thanks to her ongoing love and skill in drawing.
“Those skills I learned from my undergraduate and being in SCAD’s design programme were helpful for my production design classes as I was able to sketch my ideas and concepts in the pre-production part of the projects,” she says.
Whether it was making a dress for one of the play’s principal characters or helping with the cast’s hair and makeup, her calmness during stressful situations made her the rock that held everyone together.
“Being in production means doing real things,” says Nieto. “Everything is for real and not just for a grade. You’re working with performing arts students who were the actors and people from props to make this a very real experience.”
“It’s not as big of a deal as big productions from corporations, but someone’s still paying a US$5 ticket to come see this, so it has to be worth it.”
Now if this was Nieto’s mindset when working on a smaller, college production, imagine her current work ethic as a Wardrobe Assistant for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey at Feld Entertainment, the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live touring shows.
Her role involves managing the inventory of over 70 performers for more than 160 live performances, ensuring that the costume’s laundry is completed, and making alterations or mending the garment.
Though, managing inventory is just a small part of the work; the real work is, at least in Nieto’s words, “Solving things at the very last minute.”
But the best part about working as a production designer? It’s helping people feel comfortable in and out of costume.
Touring with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey meant spending an extended amount of time with people from different backgrounds, some of whom may not be used to being away from home.
So who else better to help them feel a little more at home than someone who has lived through it, not once, not twice, but thrice?
Nieto had started her university life as a 16-year-old when her classmates were already 18; she tutored a class primarily full of guys older than her; she joined her production design programme halfway through the course and was one of the few international students there – and excelled in all of it.
When Valentine’s Day came around during the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey tour, she slipped little bags of candy, baubles, and even handwritten notes into everyone’s costume racks, much to the delight of everyone.
“I wanted to be the person who is there for someone because I know how they feel,” says Nieto. “They’re like my family, and I just want to do something nice for them. These are the things that make my work worth it.”
It’s not easy being a performer, having to put on a smile every day to entertain a crowd, and Nieto understands that keenly.
A sense of trust between the talent and the crew is necessary, especially when the show must go on, regardless of a bad day or a wardrobe mishap that can be saved with a smile and some quick work.
“For me, the main purpose is making sure that the talent wears something that makes them comfortable, happy, and safe, so they can shine and do their work and look beautiful doing it,” says Nieto. “That is my purpose in life – making things beautiful.”