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Interview with Carlos Jiménez García |
Home > Designer Interviews > Carlos Jiménez García |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Carlos Jiménez García (CJG) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Carlos Jiménez García by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
CJG: I've thought a lot about this... And to this day, I still don't know when or how I decided to become a designer. I would be lying If I said that I've always wanted to choose this profession. It was something that didn't even cross my mind. It is true, however, that I've always loved to create things: I used to make my own toys, spend hours drawing... I even won several awards and competitions. I even remember that after finishing my school homework, stayed up very late every night messing around with Photoshop, editing videos or learning how to create things with the computer. But just because it was something I really enjoyed; never thinking about making a life of it... So, it was my last two years of high school and I chose all my subjects according to my goal to study astrophysics at the university. And I was decided to do so, until one day, still don't know when nor why, I went to my parents and told them that I wanted to be a designer. However, I had a problem: none of my subjects at high school was compatible with the change of career, so to be able to follow my passion and become a designer, while taking all of the science subjects I had at school, I studied and prepared by myself the ones I needed to be able to make the exam to apply for design at the university. And that is how my journey through the design world began. I swear that to this day I still don't know what changed inside my head to make that decision. But whatever it was, I will always be grateful for it.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
CJG: CHRLY DSIGN® is a high-end digital design & branding agency specialized in Digital Brands. It provides creative innovation for companies that seek to step into the future, push their limits and evolve. What makes it different is its pure motivation to innovate and provide value to make digital brands evolve so much, their big dreams become tiny.
FS: What is "design" for you?
CJG: To me, design is everything. I could not possibly imagine how my life would be without it. Not only it is my hobby and profession, but also an escape valve for all the ideas and projects that cross my mind. A channel to connect with the world and feel that I’m doing something worth it with my life, somehow contributing to something bigger.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
CJG: By nature I’m a person who likes to try new things and never settle down, so I guess I would say anything that challenges my creativity and forces me to crank my gears and come up with new concepts or explore unknown areas.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
CJG: Can’t say just one… There are so many designs that have impacted my life and the way I see things. I specially admire the work of people such as Dieter Rams or Hans Gugelot who were able to create timeless designs that even to this day feel modern and revolutionary. I also feel a special connection with the 80s essence and aesthetics. There’s something magical about those years; if you think about it, they were unique in so many fields: movies, music, products, video-games, cars…
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
CJG: There are two possible answers to this question. Chronologically the first thing I ever designed for a company was a logo. However, it was before I even began to study design so I wouldn’t say it was a very professional job. And that is when the second possible answer comes to play; my first ever design, now established as a professional, was a complete brand for a filmmaker company.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
CJG: I adore the digital world and its endless possibilities. That’s why I’m focused only on digital stuff. I feel a true love for videos since they are an incredible way to express and communicate many different things, but also for interactive designs, which are, in a certain way, the same as videos but with the addition that they involve the user even more, allowing him to be part of the action instead of just a witness.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
CJG: I don’t have a moment or place like some people do, that helps me to come up with ideas. Whenever I have to do something, I just do it. And by that, I’m not saying it is just sitting down and the perfect idea comes to my mind, I wish, but it doesn’t work like that… I usually have to dig till I find the treasure; sometimes it takes making a lot of holes, other times less; sometimes enjoying the first sun rays in the morning, others in the quiet of the night…
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
CJG: To me, the most important thing is to get a good concept or basic idea to build upon. That state of planning, when you define the path you’re going to follow to make sure it matches the expectations and accomplishes the established goals. I know that it is the part most people tend to skip or reduce as much as possible, since it can be kinda boring and, as creatives, when you start a new project you’re so excited and can’t wait to put you’re hands down in the mud and start creating things. However, if you want everything to work out and be able to deliver at your best, you gotta slow down, sit down in front of that horrible blank piece of paper and start planning what you’re going to do, how you’re gonna do it and why. Crafting a strategy. To me, that’s the key to a good job, thus where I like to focus on more whenever I have to do anything.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
CJG: To be honest, I don’t know. I just love it so much that, as cheesy as this might sound, when I’m designing the whole world stops and everything around me disappears. I can spend several hours in front of the computer and feel like it was barely a few minutes.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
CJG: On the one hand the satisfaction of seeing the results of a lot of effort, time and dedication. But on the other hand, a bit of emptiness since you create an emotional bond with every project you’re involved in. And when it reaches an end, it’s like flipping the page and leaving something behind.
FS: What makes a design successful?
CJG: It depends on what kind of design it is and the objectives it tries to fulfil. To me, every design that can solve the problem it is intended to, in an effective, creative and simple way is a successful design.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
CJG: First of all the objective of that design. Design is always a solution to a problem. So in order to understand whether it is a good solution or not, you first gotta understand what problem it is trying to solve. Secondly, the context. It is not the same to make something in 4 days due to an extreme deadline as to have 4 months to develop the idea, for example. And finally the rest of the elements such as aesthetics, concept, execution….
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
CJG: Design is always meant to be at the service of people and must be used for the good of mankind. It should always place at the centre the person is going to interact with and its necessities. That includes taking care of the place we all live in: our big blue planet. So, to me, the major responsibility design has is to never forget that.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
CJG: We’re gravitating towards a working model where creatives and designers will be in charge of all the thinking, diagnosticating and conceptualization, while a machine or program will take all the creation process, generating all the deliverables in a few minutes. This will empower those professionals who propose new concepts, think about different ways of doing things, understand the needs of the project they’re working on, and approach things creatively. However, those other designers who just do whatever they’re told to do without analyzing if that is what is really going to help to reach the project goals, follow trends and just create things, barely providing new points of view, will disappear. Eaten by a world where they’re not needed anymore since those machines will be able to do the same job faster, cheaper and with less margin of error.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
CJG: I find inspiration in everything that surrounds me. Wherever I go I’m always analyzing everything, trying to understand how it was done and why it works or does not work. I love cinema and the visual style some movies bring to the table and pretty often I find myself looking back to moments such as the 80s or 60s, which have an amazing personality and essence that holds even to this day.
FS: How do you work with companies?
CJG: At CHRLY DSIGN our pure motivation is to innovate and provide value. The honest drive of serving the causes of the companies we work with, to achieve their dream results even if that would mean having to step aside and tell them we are not the best fit for the job.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
CJG: They should look for someone who is passionate about his profession and genuinely wants to help people. Someone who would go the extra mile to make sure they get the results that will help them get what they’re after, without trying to sell something in every conversation they have. Someone whose only desire is to truly add value, being able to tell them not what they want to hear so they can close the deal, but what they really need. Someone who is honest enough to recommend other designers and professionals instead of himself if he thinks they are a better fit for the job and could provide better results.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
CJG: Design is always a solution to a problem. So my first stages are focused on analyzing and comprehending, as accurate as possible the actual situation, to later provide solutions that can actually help. That means that investigation, analysis, observation and planning are the first stop in the journey. Then comes strategy. In this phase, I take all the collected data of the first parts, and think about possibles paths to follow. Once I’ve decided the best strategy to get to the desired results, it is finally time to get creative and start designing and producing.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
CJG: Right now my life is not very exciting… I wake up pretty early at around 6:00h in the morning to put in some work hours before going mountain biking (if it is bike day) or doing some meetings and then I keep working on different projects all day long until 2:00 or 3:00h that I shut down my computer, read a bit and go to sleep (yeah, I don’t sleep that many hours).
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
CJG: Young people tend to focus and get obsessed with mastering programs and getting the last piece of tech. When in reality, what really matters is what’s inside your head: your creativity, the way you think, what you’ve got to offer… Programmes change and disappear, but those things don’t. We’re seeing it with AI; the people who only make things, copy others and follow trends without putting anything new on the table, are seeing their jobs at risk. Whereas the one who thinks, proposes new ways of doing things and knows what to do in which situation, is finding a really powerful ally in AI. So, be the second guy. Focus on building your mind.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
CJG: Something positive is that you create things that not only help people but will be part of this world for a really long time. However, the price to pay is that you never disconnect. Your head is always analyzing everything you see and filling up with new ideas and projects.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
CJG: KISS. “Keep It Stupid Simple”. When designing, it is usual to get carried away thinking about how to do things, what to use or not to use, which style to follow… We tend to overthink the secondary aspects, forgetting our main goal: to deliver a message. This happens because our first instinct when creating something is to think about what to add to refine it, when in reality, what we should be thinking is: what can we get rid of? Is every element helping to clarify our message? The more things we add, the blurrier everything gets, and the less effective it becomes. So my golden rule when designing is to keep things simple.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
CJG: I would say that a combination between empathy and curiosity is low-key the most powerful combo a designer can have. At the end of the day, we are all designing for people; so being able to put ourselves in their shoes and understand how they feel or what they need, is key to creating a good design that can actually help them with whatever problem they might have. However, to be able to do so, we gotta be curious to learn new things. The design field is always evolving, with new tools and ways to do things. Meaning, that to provide the best results we can to the problems our clients hire us to solve, we ought to keep always learning and improving.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
CJG: I use a lot of stuff, the Adobe Suit, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Cinema 4D and the list goes on and on and on. I’ve even been using AI tools since before they were a thing. I don’t close the door to any tool nor get married with programmes. Whatever thing provides the kind of high-end results we seek for our clients, that’s what we’ll be using.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
CJG: I’m a calendar maniac. I have all my life scheduled in my calendar, to make sure that everything I have to do is done in time and that I have time to do everything I would like to do. My process to do this, is to first establish the goals I want to achieve (this could be the end results of a project, something I wanna learn, etc) then I write down all the things I need to reach that goal and divide them into tasks. Those tasks, at the same time, have several to-dos that I distribute over my days. That way, every single day when I wake up I don’t have to think about what to do. I just take a look at my calendar and see what I have scheduled for today, knowing that I don’t have to worry about anything else; just by clearing my daily tasks, every project is going to be finished in time.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
CJG: It depends… Every project is a new world with different needs and characteristics. That’s why in CHRLY DSIGN we take really few projects at a time, guaranteeing that we can deeply immerse on our client’s brand current situation and provide high-end solutions to its needs.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
CJG: CHRLY DSIGN provide creative innovation for companies that seek to step into the future, push their limits and evolve. Focusing on digital brands such as e-commerces, software companies, multimedia companies, Apps, online services, etc. However, we also work with companies that not necessarily are digital, but have a very strong presence in this field, and want to get the most out of it. Such as Red Bull, for example.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
CJG: I love every project that challenges my creativity, encouraging me to explore points of view and perspectives I was unaware of before, forcing me to step up and evolve, becoming a better designer and professional.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
CJG: CHRLY DSIGN is consolidating as a new award-winning Digital Multimedia Branding company, working with digital brands to make them evolve so much, their big dreams become tiny. In this chapter of my life, I’m focusing all my efforts, knowledge and creative abilities on growing this agency, so digital brands can get the ultimate push they need to get on the path to their dream results, with tools and design that understand their true nature and potential.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
CJG: I design myself. However, I don’t do everything inside of every project. Each aspect should be tackled by an expert on that matter, to reach the best results possible.
FS: How can people contact you?
CJG: People can contact me via email: hello@chrlydsign.com, through my website: www.chrlydsign.com or sending me a message on Instagram, Behance or YouTube which are the only social networks I use. My name is CHRLY DSIGN in all of them.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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