Gonzalo Alatorre

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Gonzalo Alatorre ("GA") for their original perspective and innovative approach to design as well as their creative lifestyle, we are very pleased to share our interview with our distinguished readers.

DL: Could you please tell us a bit about your design background and education?

GA : I studied Graphic Design in the Universidad Iberoamericana, in Mexico City, Mexico. I also have a Bachelor's in Science degree in Mathematics and Evolutionary Biology from the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, BC.

DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?

GA : I love the problem. I believe I have an innate understanding of what a brand is, and how to make that brand stand out. I thrive emotionally when presented with a problem and tasked with

DL: Did you choose to become a designer, or you were forced to become one?

GA : I don't have a clear answer to that. I did not grow up being into art or music. I have always been into sports and the outdoors. Yet, somehow I ended up in design, and I have a particular affinity for brands and the effect they have on the world and people.

DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?

GA : We have clients across many industries and sectors, so we have the opportunity to experience every type of design. We like them all. We love the system, not the client.

DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?

GA : This is difficult for me to answer, as I don't consider myself a legend; that is a title for others to give me and their reasons why. I believe I am still in the stage of my life where I need to learn from others more than I can teach other people.

DL: What distinguishes between a good designer and a great designer?

GA : Humility. Attention to detail. Seeing the big picture. A designer than understands the importance of simplicity and the elegance that comes with it.

DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?

GA : God is in the details. Does it propose something new? Does it challenge the status quo? Have all the unnecessary elements been removed?

DL: What is the value of good design? Why should everyone invest in good design?

GA : I believe Steve Jobs said: Great design is great because of how it works. This is a great statement, but in a way it is incomplete. Design also looks to elevate the aesthetic into a universal beauty. Without this pursuit of beauty, it becomes just engineering.

DL: What would you design and who would you design for if you had the time?

GA : We love the system of design, not necessarily the design project itself. Design in many ways, for me, is like food. Even if you have a particular food that you love so much, having it every day makes it banal and stops being special. Variety is the spice of life.

DL: What is the dream project you haven’t yet had time to realize?

GA : One of my passions in life is hunting. By hunting, I get to spend many days in the mountains alone, connecting with nature. I also get to feed my family wild meat (the ultimate organic)n and avoid supporting industrial farming, where animals are raised in cruel conditions. One of my dream projects would be to work on the brand strategy, identity, and touchpoints of brands like Beretta or Sako, which have immense brand equity, yet are underrepresented by poor brand touchpoints.

DL: What is your secret recipe of success in design, what is your secret ingredient?

GA : Pay attention to your clients. They know their business better than anyone else. As well, make decisions from a position of actionable intelligence. Otherwise, you are just leaving it to chance.

DL: Who are some other design masters and legends you get inspired from?

GA : From every designer out there. I love seeing other people's work. I always get amazed as to how they solved the design problem and learned from it.

DL: What are your favorite designs by other designers, why do you like them?

GA : So many to name a few, but the one thing they all have in common is the fact that they proposed something new, and have the elegance of simplicity.

DL: What is your greatest design, which aspects of that design makes you think it is great?

GA : I hold all of our work at the studio in the same regard because we only have one level of quality we provide to our clients. We do not accept providing our clients with anything that is not exceptional.

DL: How could people improve themselves to be better designers, what did you do?

GA : Listen more, talk less.

DL: If you hadn’t become a designer, what would you have done?

GA : A biologist.

DL: How do you define design, what is design for you?

GA : The opportunity to solve a problem in the human context, where part of the solution includes the pursuit of universal beauty.

DL: Who helped you to reach these heights, who was your biggest supporter?

GA : Everyone around me. From my family and wife to those who accepted working with me, especially the clients who trusted us with their brands.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

GA : I don't consider myself a great designer. That is a title for others to give me if I have earned it, and they can describe what makes me a great designer. However, if I had to answer the question, I would say the trust from every client and former employer that gave me an opportunity to work.

DL: What were the obstacles you faced before becoming a design master?

GA : All obstacles I have come across have been, in hindsight, self-imposed. Not believing in myself, not making sacrifices, or working hard enough. I can't blame anyone else for my failures or the obstacles I have faced in life.

DL: How do you think designers should present their work?

GA : With humility and not forcing the vision we have as designers on our clients.

DL: What’s your next design project, what should we expect from you in future?

GA : We have many projects on the go. We are working with clients that are changing the world. We are supporting their vision with clarity because clarity is compelling.

DL: What’s your ultimate goal as a designer?

GA : Disrupt the market landscapes our clients operate in. Make our clients stand out.

DL: What people expect from an esteemed designer such as yourself?

GA : A commitment to elevate their brand, to make their brand be superbly represented in a market saturated with sameness.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

GA : By proposing something new and challenging the status quo. I did a TEDx talk in 2005 that talked exactly about this subject. It can be found in Youtube.

DL: What are you currently working on that you are especially excited about?

GA : All of our projects excite me equally. I love the system/discipline of design.

DL: Which design projects gave you the most satisfaction, why?

GA : Every project where our clients trusted us blindly and took a risk in their positioning and brand identity.

DL: What would you like to see changed in design industry in the coming years?

GA : The elimination of the commoditization of design by the use of technology. We should all be working to elevate the discipline of design, yet many people see the opportunity to make a lot of money by providing subpar design at cheap pricing. This is affecting our profession.

DL: Where do you think the design field is headed next?

GA : I don't know. Predicting is difficult, particularly the future.

DL: How long does it take you to finalize a design project?

GA : Every project is different, depending on its complexity. They take as long as they need to take because we do them right the first time around.

DL: When you have a new design project, where do you start?

GA : By learning every thing there is to learn about our clients and their target market.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

GA : Listen and think before you speak.

DL: Do you think design sets the trends or trends set the designs?

GA : Design sets trends. I believe that when the trends set the design, this is the mark of a poor designer.

DL: What is the role of technology when you design?

GA : It is nothing but a tool to realize our vision.

DL: What kind of design software and equipment do you use in your work?

GA : We use pencils and paper first, followed by Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Sketch, and everything in Mac computers.

DL: What is the role of the color, materials and ambient in design?

GA : These are all components of the language of design.

DL: What do you wish people to ask about your design?

GA : What is the context and background of the project? We are trying to solve a communication problem. Without understanding the problem, how do you know if we have solved it?

DL: When you see a new great design or product what comes into your mind?

GA : Wow. I am always amazed by the work of other people.

DL: Who is your ideal design partner? Do you believe in co-design?

GA : Of course. My team. We all approach every project without egos where all ideas are valid. All the work we do is collaborative.

DL: Which people you interacted had the most influence on your design?

GA : All of our clients. It is their communication problem we are trying to solve. They shape and mold the work we do.

DL: Which books you read had the most effect on your design?

GA : The Harvard Business Review.

DL: How did you develop your skills as a master designer?

GA : Work, work, work. Our work is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration.

DL: Irrelative of time and space, who you would want to meet, talk and discuss with?

GA : Jacques Custeau. Charles Darwin. Coppernicus. Joaquin Sabina.

DL: How do you feel about all the awards and recognition you had, is it hard to be famous?

GA : When the 2010 Olympic Logo was unveiled, I got a chance to experience what fame can be like. It is a knife that cuts both ways. It is hard to stay humble and your feet on the ground. It can bring the best and the worst of people at the same time.

DL: What is your favorite color, place, food, season, thing and brand?

GA : I have never been able to define a favourite. Why is blue better than orange or fuchsia. How is paella better than chorizo, bolognese, or rendang beef? Life is too short and beautiful to choose favourites.

DL: Please tell us a little memoir, a funny thing you had experienced as a designer?

GA : When I started to work as a designer for the great Alfonso Huerta in Mexico City around 1992-1993, I was the junior designer in the firm. I was taken by Alfonso to client presentations. Still, I had to carry the big Mac computers, keyboards and monitors to these meetings, and I was in charge of working on the computer during the presentation. I look fondly on these days and always chuckle. I learned a lot about doing what it takes to make the client feel they matter. It was a lot of work, and I had no voice in these presentations, but I had a pair of ears that allowed me to learn how clients need to be taken care of.

DL: What makes your day great as a designer, how do you motivate yourself?

GA : Seeing my team thrive. I manage each designer individually based on their personality. gives my role as a creative director a meaningful existence.

DL: When you were a little child, was it obvious that you would become a great designer?

GA : Nope. Never crossed my mind.

DL: What do you think about future; what do you see will happen in thousand years from now?

GA : Life will be radically different than it is right now, but impossible to know how it will be different.

DL: Please tell us anything you wish your fans to know about you, your design and anything else?

GA : That design thrives from collaboration. I am only the result of the teams I have been lucky enough to collaborate with.