Creativity clearly sits at the heart of Airbnb – whether in its brilliantly simple visual identity by DesignStudio (which has ushered in a wave of slick tech rebrands since it was unveiled in 2014), its imaginatively designed office spaces created by its in-house Environments team, or its custom font Cereal, designed in collaboration with type foundry Dalton Maag.

As Airbnb’s Global Creative Director, Naz Arandi has bagged herself what would be many creatives’ dream job, but her career journey has been more unusual than most. Born in Iran, she lived there until her second year of college, when she decided to move to the US. After graduating from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and a brief spell working as a teacher, Arandi swiftly moved into the ad world with stints at agencies including Ogilvy. In 2014, she moved in-house to join Netflix, where one of her most memorable projects saw her invent an IRL Netflix and chill button.

Since joining Airbnb in 2017, Arandi has overseen high-profile launches for sub-brands including Airbnb Plus, Airbnb Luxe and Airbnb for Work. Here, she discusses the influence of her upbringing on her creative process, and her long-term vision for the brand.