Meet The Staff – Creatives on Creatives

RAFAEL: When you’re a Creative, sometimes you gotta look at things differently.

REBECCA: You know, putting our heads together.

REBECCA: Hi, I’m Rebecca, and I’m a Creative.

RAFAEL: Hi. I’m Rafael, and I’m a Creative.

REBECCA: And this is Creatives on Creatives.

REBECCA: So Ray what made you want to get into graphic design slash art in school?

RAFAEL: Well, I always liked to draw growing up, and my idea was that I would become an illustrator. But I soon realized I didn’t have the chops for it. I still wanted to go into, design school. And while I was at school, our teachers, our figure drawing teachers called us into the teachers lounge, and they had the first Macintosh.

And if you could picture three teachers around this Macintosh, and then about seven of us all around the teachers, and we were
all huddled over that little screen. And just seeing someone trying to draw on that screen just completely blew us away.So I thought that was the direction that I wanted to go. And when they offered classes on digital design and in Photoshop, I got in there and that’s where I stayed.

REBECCA: No, that’s really cool because it’s so similar for myself. My dad goes through a lot of hobby phases when I was little, like cooking, collecting, photography, all different things. One of his phases was Photoshop, and so whenever he had that I would just jump at any chance of like scanning things into the computer and manipulating it in any way I could.

I was just kind of super in love with the idea of copying and pasting or even undoing something. Yes, there you can erase things, but like I’m drawing in marker, I can just go back and erase everything.

RAFAEL: Yeah.

REBECCA: The idea of undoing things was a new concept to me so I loved doing that. And then once I got to school, I joined the school newspaper, and I worked in every capacity between design, writing. I kind of just learned if I can be creative in my job I think I’ll be pretty happy.

So then I actually pivoted from art to marketing, and then I minored in design so I kind of still have the balance of all good things creative.

REBECCA: So you started in freelancing and I started in marketing. Do you think our paths shaped how we approach creativity differently?

RAFAEL: I don’t know, possibly. I think we’re influenced by our surroundings. And, since I was surrounded by me early on, you may be a bit more well-rounded than I am.

REBECCA: I mean, I wouldn’t necessarily say that. I think our creative upbringings just gave us different lenses, points of view. Neither is better or worse. Just kind of shaped how we problem solve differently.

RAFAEL: Yeah, I think with me being by myself a lot, when you start in a creative capacity, especially a small agency, you’re usually by yourself, and there’s not a lot of people that, think the way you do, communicate the way you do. So, that I think was a benefit with me being by myself, I could just kind of work through the whole process by myself without needing an interaction. But I greatly respond to good interaction.

REBECCA: I think everybody can benefit from great collaboration. Which is something we’ll get into in a little bit.

RAFAEL: So what is the best piece of creative advice you can give?

REBECCA: I think the best piece of creative advice I would give someone, is don’t focus on the masses. You know, you’re not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. You want to create for your target audience and kind of focus there so you can kind of build stronger connections. It’s not necessarily you’re not going to please everyone, but I think it’s so easy for us to be like, oh, well, this isn’t going to sell or this isn’t the right copy, because, you know, not everyone understands that. But I think you have your niche, follow your niche. I think stay true to yourself.

RAFAEL: Yeah, I think that’s a really good point to be true to yourself. And for me, it’s also be prepared to defend your work. You don’t need to be defensive, but I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve been in a situation where the client, or even coworkers, didn’t understand the direction that I was going in or didn’t like a color or a visual or something like that,
and then I would break down the math behind what I was trying to do, why I made this choice, why I went in this direction. Why it’s blue. Why it’s this. Why it’s that. And then once you get to the point that you can communicate that without effort. then nine times out of ten, your coworker, or hopefully the client, will be more on board and understand that you didn’t just slap some things together.

REBECCA: So with that being said, what advice would you give your younger self?

RAFAEL: I would tell myself not to be scared of people liking your work. You know, I still hear today; What if the client doesn’t like it? What happens then? Well, what happens then is you listen. You ask the client what don’t you like? Why don’t you like it? And then you play off of that. Because you can’t make an informed change without knowing the full picture. So if someone is just going to say they don’t like it because they don’t like it, that helps no one. But if there is a reason and you respect that reason, you show them that you’re listening and then you pivot. Hopefully they’ll like the next direction that you take.

REBECCA: I think for me, what I would tell my younger self is that to not compare myself to others.

RAFAEL: That’s great. That’s a great one.

REBECCA: You know, it’s so easy to look around and think someone else is ahead, more successful. But really it’s not a race. There’s no finish line here. We’re all just kind of doing our best and you’ll get there when you get there. And that’s kind of how I want to try to live. But it’s hard not it’s hard to not compare yourself to others, especially, when you’ve done the same things, gone through school the same way and you’re like, oh, how’d they get so much further? But it’s not that simple.

REBECCA: So how do you build trust with the client or your team?

RAFAEL: First and foremost, I try to be the best listener I can, and I try to ask as good of questions as I can to learn, the most about the client or the team member. So when we start to work together, I know, their likes, their dislikes, their personality, different traits like that. So I have things to key off of and that I think facilitates the work. Then also trying to put coworkers and clients at ease. Sometimes there’s, you know, you’re working with, with an agency, you’re working with a designer and you’ve got this idea in your head that designers just want to do what they want to do. So I like to to put the client at ease and try to show them that I’m working for them. This is their project. It’s not mine. I’m not looking
for a portfolio piece every single time. I’m looking for the best solution to their problem.

REBECCA: That’s a great point, Ray. Listening to the client and making sure that they feel heard is so important. But they’re also looking to us for opinions and expertise, and sometimes it’s kind of hard to get that across. So I try to be assertive and explain why we make the decisions and why we take certain actions. Because those explanations, as you kind of were saying before, can go a long way. Helping everyone understand the strategy behind the creative.

RAFAEL: How has technology changed the way you approach your creative?

REBECCA: Technology has helped tremendously. Just given the advancements in different graphic design programs such as the whole Adobe Suite and honestly, even Canva. They’ve proved to be such a game changer because I’m able to work more efficiently and quicker without having to, like, teach myself different aspects of the very advanced side of these programs. And I can continuously present new designs or different direction, or work in different ways without having to, you know, do a lot more work on that back end.

RAFAEL: Yeah. I think, along the same lines, I think technology has allowed me to be faster concepting and creating options. I mean, there’s nothing like, you’ve got one idea and you copy it and you tweak one thing and you copy that, you tweak it, and then you’ve got seven variations that to the naked eye doesn’t look like anything, but it’s a completely better design just for the fact that you didn’t have to redraw every single thing.

REBECCA: You can just do color switches or, you know, one element is different on this one versus that.

RAFAEL: Especially like with logo design, you know, you’ve got you’ve got an idea and you’re looking at it. And when I first started I would try and do the one, one design and then I go to a completely different design. But I learned over time that if you copy that first one and just change things, rotate things just a little bit, a little bit, you see how nuance plays such a huge deal, or makes a really huge impact on the evolution of the design. And there’s where I think technology has really helped me out.

REBECCA: All right. So let’s talk creative blocks. I mean, we all get them. How do you break out of a creative block?

RAFAEL: I like to just get up from my desk and take a walk. It could be going outside, walking around for a little bit. I also like just walking around the office and hoping that, you know, if I’m looking at somebody else’s office and they catch my eye, maybe they need to talk to me. Maybe they need a break. So I’ll sit down with them and chat it up a little bit and not about work, just about anything. And that kind of clears both our heads and, you know, can get back to it after that. How about you.

REBECCA: I typically tend to switch mediums, so if I’m having a hard time coming up with some social media copy, I will switch gears and design something. Or if I’m struggling to put something together that I like design wise, I’ll switch over to writing clear my head, kind of clearing the clutter that’s in my head. And then once I feel re-energized, I go back to the task that I was working on. And typically I’ll be able to do so. Now if all else fails, I love a good nap.

RAFAEL: That’s good. Yeah, sometimes I’ll just go and you know, get on Instagram for a little bit or watch something on YouTube as well. You know, I’m on this kick or I don’t even know the guy’s name. He does all these, you know, card magic, but it’s all like, you know, put four aces in a row and he shuffles the deck constantly. That that kind of, like, takes you completely away from what you’re doing and, you know, and if that fails, Nick is really good. He and I will, wrestle. You know, we like to wrestle a little bit. Sometimes some Greco-Roman, sometimes some, Turkish Slap and Tap. So, you know, a little exercise for a little clearing of the head that always works.

REBECCA: Okay. Pivoting here. What’s your favorite part of the job?

RAFAEL: This is part of it right here. Laughing with coworkers. Collaboration. Collaborating with talented people, makes each of us better. I look forward to it. You and I work together quite a bit. Which I always look forward to. I don’t do a lot of social media stuff, so just hearing your takes on those kinds of things, working with the PR and marketing side, their mindsets and their way of handling, you know, problem solving and things like that. I learn a lot from all of these people, and I hope they learn a lot from me. How ‘bout with you, I mean. Right. Are you learning a lot for me?

REBECCA: Yeah. A great team really does make all the difference. But for me, no day is the same. And that really keeps me sane. I thrive on, you know, going back and forth and kind of going back to what I said about switching mediums earlier is I do get that opportunity a lot to kind of go from one thing to the next very quickly. So I might be brainstorming something. I might be designing something. I might be fine tuning some copy, really. Whatever it is, it’s all so different and it kind of keeps me on my toes and keeps me creative.

RAFAEL: Nice. So are there any personal projects sparking

REBECCA: I mean, in my free time I’ve been doing a lot of like collaging, fitting existing things into different areas and how I do what looks differently. It’s just it’s been really fun, very therapeutic. And just trying to get, you know, some stuff that I’m, like, proud of.

But I think I’d love to be involved on, like a bigger branding project. I think that would be really fun to work on.

RAFAEL: Yeah, I’d like to do another branding project, like the one that we did for Frankie Martin’s Garden. I really liked starting from just ground zero and working with the client, understanding the concept that they’re looking for, understanding this is the tone, this is how we want people to feel when they come into a place or the food truck park. I loved working out the logo and the variations of the logo and elements and things like that, and how they played in with the social media campaign and how we did all that, and then into the website, into the merchandizing, all of that kind of stuff. I thought, as a team, we all did such great work on that project that I would love if that was every project.

REBECCA: How do you stay inspired in a fast moving industry?

RAFAEL: Well, my wife’s choice of shirts for me is a big inspiration. I think I inspire a lot of people here as well.

REBECCA: So they certainly keep me from falling asleep at my desk.

RAFAEL: There you go. But, my big thing is, I’m all over Instagram. I’ve got a core group of people that I follow, people that I consider mentors, graphic design geniuses, I think, who have been doing this, some a lot longer than me and some a lot shorter than me. And, I get inspired by them. I get inspired by them by them telling me that it’s not easy all the time. It’s there’s there’s these hurdles you have to overcome. There’s the imposter syndrome that that we all, go through. So it’s, you know, when we all feel that at our desks, it’s always nice to see people that inspire you. They’re all going through the same stuff. And that’s what we really have to remember. Yeah, those guys. Their creativity, how they look at the world, how they talk and share their content. That’s very inspiring to me. And I try to bring that into the office and, and also into, my artwork.

REBECCA: Okay. Going back to the idea of listening, I really kind of try to pay attention on social media as much as possible on what people are saying, what’s going on, what’s hot, what’s not, what’s topical, all of that. There’s so much there’s so much noise right now that it’s hard sometimes to kind of squeeze in there and be like, okay, really, what’s relevant, what’s not, but just seeing what people talk about is really one of the things where I get that inspiration from. And then another thing is just kind of staying in touch with people that I’ve either worked with or gone to school with, and kind of seeing where their success takes them and how they, you know, transfer how their life kind of transpires. It’s really refreshing.

RAFAEL: So I stated that I tend to use Instagram primarily. You being the social media manager, what platforms do you follow?

REBECCA: I tend to use Reddit, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest. Not really a social app, but slack. Yeah.

RAFAEL: That’s quite a device, a diverse group. Diverse – word of the day

REBECCA: Sticker word.

RAFAEL: End.

RAFAEL: Okay, I think that went well,

REBECCA: Yeah

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

RAFAEL: Okay, wait. We got to think of something to say here. We’re upside down. What can we say because we’re upside down.

REBECCA: Lauren you got anything?

RAFAEL: Damn it. I’m blank.

REBECCA: The Creatives aren’t creative.

LAUREN: The Creatives put two creative heads together.

REBECCA: All right.