David Romualdo, digital art director, speaks about that added value of quality design and brands, and how to reinforce the message to reach the audience with greater guarantee of success.
Does a brand need to invest in high quality designs?
Of course. Using quality designs means to invest in the image that the company projects towards the clients, audience, and even competitors. This type of work is always associated with concepts such as quality, professionalism, and dependability.
What role does photography have in your daily work?
It is something important, indeed, but not essential. A concept can be transmitted through a good copy, image, lettering, etc. However, a visual element (photo, video, or illustration) helps to reinforce the message and reaches the audience with greater guarantees of success. It is also true that today there is too much abuse of image banks due to their immediacy, wide range of resources and, above all, low cost. It is much more advisable and rewarding to work with a bespoke photograph made for the occasion by a professional team because, in addition, it is the way to create a unique image for the project and not one that can have any other campaign, project, web, etc.
Is it easier to express something through illustrations, or photographies?
It depends on the type of project, client, budget, and even on the trends associated with that specific campaign. Many times I would prefer to opt for the illustration rather than using the image archive, which is the normal. In my opinion, it is much more satisfying and fun to choose a less easy path, such as illustration, which requires an extra effort and, at the same time, helps me to improve. On the other hand, working with good photographs made by a professional team and starting from a previous concept is heave for any designer.
How can you be sure if a particular graphic or visual style may work?
There is no an exact equation to know when a campaign, a web, a photo, will work. However, professionals may follow patterns, trends and, according to what type of campaign or public, there are formulas with which you know that you will succeed.
How do technology or the digital media have influenced the world of illustration?
Como todo, tiene su parte positiva y su parte negativa. Creo que existen dos tipos de creativos: los conformistas y los que no lo somos. Para los primeros, el hecho de tener a su alcance recursos gratuitos que pueden hacer suyos les conduce a un acomodamiento extremo, ya que no se esfuerzan en crear los propios; ya sean fotografías algo más complejas o simples iconos. Para los más inquietos, nos supone un abanico de nuevos medios que aprovechamos para seguir avanzando en nuestro aprendizaje.
Like everything, it has a positive and a negative side. I think there are two types of creatives: the conformist and the non-conformist. For the former, the fact of having free resources at their disposal that they can make themselves excessively comfortable, unchallenging. The restless will dare with new media as constant training and updating. Try to imagine what Basquiat may have done today with all that digital tools…
Are we now more visual than verbal?
I would say that is the case, yes. We are constantly exposed to an image overload. A clear example of this are WhatsApp and social media emoji: as there is always one for each situation, we do not even bother to write, we send the selected symbol, and that is all.
