Interviews med Verónica Vicente Ruiz

I am a graphic designer specialized in the food industry, specifically in rebranding and packaging.

She mentors professional graphic designers and is an associate professor at Cesine University Center.

She graduated in BB.AA. from the University of the Basque Country and with a master's degree in MBA & specialization in marketing.

Winner of a bronze PENTAWARDS, International Packaging Design Award in the category of sustainable food packaging, winner of an Iron in A'Design Award competition in the Packaging Design category, winner of a National Design Award ANUARIA selection for best logo of product and winner of three ARCAPACK National Packaging Design Awards, two selections for best food packaging and best "ecofriendly" packaging, reduction of materials, recyclable, sustainable production, respect for the environment.

Art director and founder of Veralidad studio, before creating her own studio, Verónica was co-founder of Que tono de verde.

It is a story that comes from my adolescence... while I was studying compulsory education, my teachers told me that I was not worth studying, so when it was time to do high school I was not able, and I listened to what they said and I went to do Administrative studies, when I finished these studies I had several months off and since I didn't want to be without doing anything, my sister who was studying fashion design at that time told me that there was a graphic design course why not look at it. And I looked at it. And I enrolled. And I studied it... and I fell in love... with this profession.

Discovering design was when I was encouraged to study for an art degree, already focusing on creativity, with wonderful teachers, it was my first contact with creative people.

When I finished and realized that I was not bad at it, on the contrary, I was encouraged to take the entrance exams for the prestigious University of Fine Arts of Salamanca, I passed with flying colors and entered the university.

Five years later, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, I returned to the world of design, I began to work in studios and design agencies in my autonomous community, but I quickly realized that in agencies and studios I was not going to be able to develop the work that I liked them and I was missing parts of my profession that I needed to deal with, like talking to the client.

This is how my first studio with my sister believes that she also turned to the world of graphic design and now I have my studio where I have wonderful clients and my own creative process adapted to my needs and without losing sight of the client's needs.

My priority when designing is always the same: to visually convey what the client wants to communicate in their brand or in their packaging, which is why I give a brief and a moodboard to the client that they must fill out.

This is one of the main aspects of my design process, and it is what helps me define an appropriate strategy for each client.

This strategy is what defines the idea or concept of design and is the key when designing.

As for my technique, it is purely digital, I don't do sketches by hand and something I need before starting to design, properly speaking, is to have all the elements to develop the project, hence in my workflow before starting to design the client You must also send me all the material for the development of the work.

When presenting the first proposals, I include texts to the visual forms so that the client better understands the concept and the reasons for my decisions regarding their strategy or design.

I have my workflow very defined so it is divided into three steps: management, production, delivery. This is how I keep a constant in all the projects and I activate each step as I progress in the project, in such a way that I know when I have to create or just send emails with feedback.

The most exciting phase of the project is always the time for pure and hard design, the first moments after the previous investigation is when everything flows in my head, I have more information and I am more inspired, it is my moment of creative lucidity and it is when I have I have to start designing because the muses have knocked on my door and want to come out in droves.

And what I feel when designing is peace, sometimes mixed with euphoria (especially when I see that everything fits).

What I like the most when I am designing is the feeling that the job has been well done, that what I have designed is exactly what the client is telling me in the brief, which is exactly what I had in mind for that client. and that it is perfect.

I have to admit that my training was classicist and that has influenced my way of seeing art and design, because I am always looking for the purity of the forms, which for me are in a minimalist style, it may be an inconsistency, but for me makes sense.

One of those influences and skill is the treatment of color, I know how they are created, how they are composed and I apply it in my work and it helps me not only to create broader color palettes, but also to understand how to print and how to work in printers.

Like the composition, I have internalized the basic principles so much that I apply them without realizing it, something that has made it easier for me to see composition mistakes at a glance.

As a designer, my favorite style is minimalism, surely influenced by the history of art from my studies at the Bauhaus school, and especially by the artists of the Artistic Avant-garde era, which was a real discovery for me.

My idea for the future is that my business continues to grow, with better clients and myself as a designer.

I don't have a route because like a good ant I go little by little and step by step.

In the future, what I want is to make a name for myself in graphic design, it's not about being famous, but recognized as a good professional in my field. When I grow up I want to be a prolific and creative graphic designer with my own design studio where I will work with freelancers from different places.

I want to be remembered as a good graphic design professional.

Right now I would love to design a package for any traditional product from my area, those products that seem to come from tourists, but are the richest, made with a lot of tradition and know-how, I would love for a local business that sells one of these products to revolutionize its packaging.

A thousand plans for the future regarding design is to continue growing as a designer, to continue learning, researching, innovating... the limit is in the stars...

What I would say to fellow designers who are just starting out is to gain experience, to work hard, not to give up, to keep going, because with hard work and perseverance marvelous projects come out.

The warning I would give them is that they learn a lot, this profession never stops learning.

To become someone in this profession, you have to work, work hard and not give up, because many people don't understand what we do and we have to fight against it every day.

One of the things that I have never been told about in any conference or training is creative blocks, be careful with them, because they can embitter the most wonderful profession there is. Never forget to fill your creativity with experiences.

The best advice I've ever had in this world is knowing how to set limits for clients, saying no, it's necessary, and even more so when clients think what to do with drawings.

Well, to tell the truth, I didn't think I was successful until a few weeks ago a fellow designer told me that she wants to get where I am, that she was GOD (it's a bit of an exaggeration).

As I am a freelance and I am in my cave, I think that I do small things that here from the living room of my house nobody notices my little things, but it is not like that, people see what you work on, and I am not referring to making noise in social networks, I mean answering a question from a colleague on a Tuesday at three in the afternoon, I mean answering a Telegram from a group of designers to help a colleague...

Days after this colleague's comment, another designer from the other side of the country told me something similar, that's when I believed it, that's when I realized that I was doing well, that I was reaping the fruits of all my work and my effort.

My biggest piece of advice that I tell my students is that we are all creative, don't judge yourself badly, don't treat yourself badly, don't compare yourself to others. We each have some abilities and a way of doing things and of seeing our creativity.

The first thing I have to admit is that I am privileged, because I work in what I like and under my conditions, starting from there I have to say that my day-to-day happens like that of any other freelancer, I answer client emails, I review feedback and I correct and design new projects after researching.

I am the mother of two small children, so first of all I take them to school, then I go back home to work (I am freelance), I take advantage of their school hours to be able to work in silence.

As a good freelance I answer emails, work in my own business and serve my clients.

I consume a lot of design online, be it design contests such as articles, interviews, etc...

Although I admit that I don't have my own style and I don't follow trends when it comes to designing, but I focus more on the tastes and needs of each client.

I don't usually reflect trends, especially because I like timeless designs that remain modern over time, maybe that's why I like the minimalist style so much because it allows this.

As for inspiration, I always take it from the previous research that I do before starting to design, I am a designer who prefers that inspiration be caught sitting at the computer and that helps me when it comes to getting motivated.

For me, for a design to be considered good, I must see quality and originality. Regardless of whether it follows fashions or not. Personally, I prefer and consider timeless works better, but depending on the sector, fashion rules.

To be honest, I don't have the slightest idea... I should say that I have to be very creative and abide by the standards that the consumer demands, but I'm afraid that a successful job in the world of sales may not be so successful in the world of sales. world of designers, and vice versa... a design is liked very much in the professional world, but it doesn't work in sales...

A few years ago I would have answered this question differently, now if I know the answer and if I know when a design is ready, it is easy when that design brings together all the aspects that the client wants to communicate in it or the strategy that I have defined for the brand is reflected in that design at first glance.

If I can a design is complete, the problem is that someone else can develop that design in a different way and he would change or improve it, but not its creator.

My work ends when I believe that it is developed correctly, when nothing is left over or missing, and I never, ever improve work that has already been completed, I have finished with them and therefore they are finished.

Whether the project becomes a success depends on many factors beyond my control, above all that the client is happy and the client keeps that design intact over time.

Óleo Olivia has been my unicorn, it has given me a lot of joy since starting with the design the first time, which for any designer is a source of pride, up to the different awards that it has won nationally (Spain and internationally).

The apple of my eye because I have managed to reflect exactly what the client needed with a super well-defined design strategy.

I must say that due to my training in Fine Arts there are certain artists who for me were the forerunners of graphic design, who are the ones I have as a reference.

Artists like Alfons Mucha, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Eugene Grasset etc... who, although they are totally contrary to my way of designing, I can't help but be inspired by their idea of texts as unity, compositions, etc...

Of course the Bauhaus school, I love minimalist design, it was inevitable that I like the Bauhaus theory and style.

And the artists of the 20th and 21st century that move me are Herbert Matter, Paula Cher, Saul Bass, Burno Munari,...

Like Spanish designers whom I admire, Alberto Corazón, Cruz Novillo, Chema Madoz, Pepe Gimeno, Daniel Gil or Isidro Ferrer.

And in other disciplines I love Charles and Ray Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and the wonderful Zaha Hadid.

As you can see, I can't keep just one, because as a good art history student, each and every one has something to tell and you can't buy or choose just one because they all have their own context.

I'm afraid my life isn't very inspiring for future designers, but I'll try to talk a little about it...

I don't have a favorite city, I live in a rural environment and I love discovering new cities and cultures, so every time I travel I can't stop thinking that the last city I visit is my favorite city.

If music is part of my creative process, and also depending on where I am in that process, I have different music lists that help me concentrate or motivate myself.

More than my culture, what affects my projects and designs is my cultural knowledge, but not only of my culture but also of others, which I apply without realizing it.

I live in a small town of 300 inhabitants and right now you can see through my window the rocks (lapisces) of the Cabárceno Park in Cantabria, Spain, a magical place for those who appreciate nature.

I firmly believe that if a society has more access to culture, it can have a more open mind and be more empathetic and thus achieve a more advanced society.

For more than twenty years my life has been linked to design and the world of art and creativity.

I hope that when asked if it is easy to work with me, my clients will answer yes, to date, in the feedback they give me I have had no complaints, I think it is because my work process guides them with my emails on how we are going to to carry out the work, in addition to giving them a work schedule so that they know at the moment that we are in the project.

I don't subcontract suppliers, we all work under the same client, so we don't play the tricky phone and I can focus on my designs.

What I usually do is provide my clients with co-workers that I am comfortable with, usually freelancers like myself that I try to help.

The main challenge of my profession is the ignorance of clients, having to educate them in design and in my profession, the fact that they do not value design in their companies.

I think that to be a good designer the main thing is to have aesthetic taste, someone who knows how to handle a design program is not a designer if they do not apply concepts such as composition, color theory, psychology theory, etc...

I firmly believe that co-worker designers are not competition, which is why I share with my professional colleagues not only my prices (something very frowned upon in my sector) but also processes, internal documents, etc... that way we improve both.

I believe it is important within the profession not to denigrate it or speculate on it, but to value it, that is what I try every day in my business.

That is why in my business I have a part that is mentoring for professional designers, to help other colleagues.

I teach at a university created by CESINE, where I share all my knowledge with my students and contribute my values to my profession to my community.

Whenever I can, I attend design events and conferences, either online or in my city, and I even give one or two, always highlighting my profession.

The visibility that a professional design award gives has an impact that is making my business have other types of clients who are more aware of design.

The benefits of participating in a design contest are visibility, customers and this brings money, simple and clear.

In addition to giving you a cache and creating a name for you in the world. Not to mention that by receiving prizes of this level you can raise the costs of your services.

For a designer it is important that her work is recognized, either because of the ego that from time to time comes in handy, that they remember you, that you have quality and that you should not continue comparing yourself with other professional colleagues.

If you want to make a name for yourself in the business, one of the best ways to gain recognition is to win professional design contests.

I feel very honored not only to be the Designer of the day but also the recognition of my work, which is the best reward for me.

Serra Vegana is a small company that produces cashew ferments and vegan cheeses. Handmade from plants with 100% vegan natural ingredients. The brand promotes the vegan lifestyle by eliminating actions of exploitation or animal suffering, as well as reducing its impact on the environment.

I wanted to infuse the brand with these values and the vegan lifestyle and represent the company.

The company wanted to avoid exploitation or animal suffering and reduce the impact on the environment, which is why they reject consumer items of animal origin.

I hope it continues to give us some more joy, but what excites me the most is seeing how the brand is implementing all the branding design it creates for the brand in all the packaging, store signage and internal stationery.

I have to say that my creative process has an analysis part of the brief and the moodboard that my client fills in and with that I make my creative process much more effective for the needs of my client.

The client hired me to redesign their brand because they did not reflect their lifestyle values and business values.

Yes, the company is currently using the packaging and all the branding created for it.

The client's premises in the briefing are what make me create one design or another, appropriate to the client's needs.

I don't know.

People concerned about a more respectful lifestyle with animals and the environment.

People who practice veganism, or not, people concerned about animal cruelty, respectful of the environment.

With some very important principles and values for them.

They look for the best for her diet, they don't mind moving around and using new technologies in order to have the best food for him/her and her family.

Concerned about the environment.

The client combines a traditional vegan lifestyle with know-how, its brand slogan is: We are vegan for ethical and moral reasons, for our own good and the common well-being.

We live ethically and respectfully

Está sacado del slogan de la marca "We are vegan for ethical and moral reasons, for our own good and the common good. We live ethically and respectfully".

I work with ADOBE, all digitally

What most attracts the attention of the project, I think is its color palette, which is very extensive. Each variety of product has been created with a color that represents it and an isologo with the name of the variety.

There are 18 varieties of ferment flavors and 18 colors for each color, so the customer knows which color they like.

I worked alone, I am freelance, but I do involve the client in the work process, since it is his company and he knows better than anyone what he wants for it.

100% digital

Yes, I do a lot of research before starting to design, especially the competition to see what they do and how to differentiate my client.

The greatest complexity was the wide color gamut that ended up becoming its greatest strength.

With such a wide variety of products, 18 flavours, it was necessary to go to great lengths for the customer to like a proposal with such a large number of colors for the same brand.

To be honest, I tried it to test it, to see if the design was good, to see if I was a good designer, it convinced me that the jury is design professionals.

I learned that it doesn't matter how many colors you put in a project if it's well thought out with a good strategy behind it, everything fits perfectly.

Although only eight design varieties can be seen in the images, which are the ones I designed in the first instance after the branding, the client has ten more varieties that he will apply little by little.

I think that people with a creative personality are a bit lost in general studies, which always give little rigor to artistic subjects, that's why I was lost for a few years.

Although I was lucky to find what I liked with a design course, that was what encouraged me to do all my training, starting with a Bachelor of Art and continuing with a Bachelor's degree, thanks to finding what moved me inside I achieved climb my grade point average.

I come from the world of Fine Arts and although I took Graphic Design subjects, my training is purely as an artist, with two phases, one classicist and the other more modern, just like in the universities where I studied.

I have a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country and a master's degree in MBA & specialization in marketing.

My creative and curious personality is what has made me lean towards this world, as well as the artistic concerns that I have always had.

It all came with a graphic design course that I took between school years, I literally fell in love with the profession and that was that wonderful time when we made collages instead of using the computer like today.

It was at that moment that I decided what I wanted to dedicate myself to, I would have been 17-18 years old when it all began for me. I found my passion and I clung to it, and like the good little ant that I am, I have gone little by little, overcoming challenges, first training, then studying and now with my own business.

It was totally my choice, I come from a family in which my father is a carrier (international driver) and my mother works in a factory, in my time it was not usual in the rural environment where I live for a mother to work, so I have had a very strong reference in my environment.

This is where my tenacity and perseverance in achieving what I wanted has come from, and I must say that my parents never set limits when choosing both my studies and my professional career, on the contrary, although they do not understand very well what I do, They have always supported and encouraged me.

This question is easier... I adore food packaging, I've become a packaging geek, I love the part of communicating the company's values in those packages, the strategy to follow, etc...

I've become a geek in my specialty... graphic designer specializing in food... I can't go shopping with my husband and children because I'm dazed looking at packaging.

Puff, design legend... I think that adjective is going to cost me...

I believe that the most important thing to succeed in your profession is perseverance and hard work, without them you will not get anywhere, and if you do get there it is not on your own merits, and I honestly prefer to have earned it.

I think that work, working on an idea, not staying with the first one that comes to mind, but for that you have to work well on the brief and the moodboard that the client gives you, be very clear about what you are looking for and work on it.

I look at the composition, the color range chosen, the idea or concept for that design, the originality of the idea and the development,... I think I look at many things, from the most technical part to the most creative .

I believe that a good design must have both parts balanced, one cannot live without the other.

For me, a design is really good when the whole thing is harmonious and fits together.

People do not understand that any element or thing that is manufactured by humans is made by a designer who applies a lot of knowledge, not only artistic, but also technical, innovative and even scientific to make that thing.

Without design we could not exist and that is the value of good design.

When something is not designed by a professional, what you get is BAD DESIGN, not the absence of design, which is why everyone should invest in design.

What would I design... a packaging for a super-powerful food company even if it's Coca Cola and I have to stick to the branding and have almost no creativity...

But, on the other hand, my creative mind tells me an innovative, transgressive design for a business aware that by innovating in design it will have an exclusive market for it.

Or maybe an NGO... puff, I can think of so many clients...

My dream project is to finish the design book that I am writing and for which I hardly have time, I scratch as much as I can.

A book to help other creatives to understand themselves, to understand why they had no place at school, to understand why their mind is always wondering...

Work, work, work.

I must say that due to my training in Fine Arts there are certain artists who for me were the forerunners of graphic design, who are the ones I have as a reference.

Artists like Alfons Mucha, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Eugene Grasset etc... who, although they are totally contrary to my way of designing, I can't help but be inspired by their idea of texts as unity, compositions, etc...

Of course the Bauhaus school, I love minimalist design, it was inevitable that I like the Bauhaus theory and style.

And the artists of the 20th and 21st century that move me are Herbert Matter, Paula Cher, Saul Bass, Burno Munari,...

Like Spanish designers whom I admire, Alberto Corazón, Cruz Novillo, Chema Madoz, Pepe Gimeno, Daniel Gil or Isidro Ferrer.

And in other disciplines I love Charles and Ray Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and the wonderful Zaha Hadid.

As you can see, I can't keep just one, because as a good art history student, each and every one has something to tell and you can't buy or choose just one because they all have their own context.

I am a very, very fan of colleagues by profession, I would highlight Moruba and its MATSU design, it was so transgressive at the time, they endowed Spanish wine labels that lacked it with modernity, they were too anchored in the past.

SOSO's work by Eduardo del Fraile is also one of my favorites, from the naming to the packaging, in its simplicity it is so complex that it amazes me.

Cuac de Cabello x Mure also has me in love, the minimalism it gives off, so transgressive in the world of oil, so traditional. An exquisite job.

I could spend hours talking about the work of other colleagues that I admire, I think it's better that I stop.

My best work to date is Óleo Olivia, the branding of the brand and the packaging I created for it.

All in accordance with the idea and values of the business, a strategy that matches one hundred percent with the company and that we have taken to all aspects of the design.

The trick is to work, not to give up, to continue discovering things, to continue training day by day...

I don't know, many times I think that if I hadn't studied what I studied I wouldn't have gotten anything.

I sincerely believe that my path was this.

I adore my profession, it fills me completely and that is much more than many people can say.

Design for me is my way of seeing life, that is the best definition.

My greatest support my family. Starting with my parents giving me an education and now my husband supporting me in everything I do, including my crazy ideas that he doesn't understand, since he is not from the creative world.

I think my curiosity and my tenacity have been my greatest allies.

The lack of understanding of the profession, I think is the biggest obstacle of all, telling people what you do. Educate the client in design...

I believe that each designer presents as he wants, and it is important to maintain his own work process, I know that I am a rare designer and I submit the proposals with text, but I need to tell the client things so that they know how and why I have arrived to that.

But it's my thing.

My next project... I can't talk about it, I sign a confidentiality agreement with my clients.

What should you expect... that it continues to grow, that it continues to win prizes and make a place for me in the world that I adore.

Make a name for myself in the world and have good clients.

I don't know if it will be a utopia but that's what I'm working on.

Well, I think creativity, but that is already intrinsic when hiring a designer.

For me, any society that has internalized culture and design is a better society, more open, more understanding, more creative and imaginative.

I have a project that has started and is about to finish, which I am already thinking of sending it to some other design contest, but what excites me the most is that my client has trusted me and the work has in the final UVI, embossing and stamping finishes. , all...

Óleo Olivia has been my unicorn, it has given me a lot of joy since starting with the design the first time, which for any designer is a source of pride, up to the different awards that it has won nationally (Spain and internationally).

The apple of my eye because I have managed to reflect exactly what the client needed with a super well-defined design strategy.

My greatest joy would be that society and clients appreciate design in all its aspects.

I am convinced that my entire sector, food and packaging, is directed towards the sustainability of packaging and materials.

I sincerely believe that it is not a fad but a change in consumption.

It depends on the client, their feedback and how the project flows.

But my workflow is designed to carry out a project in a month, a month and a half, with times and a schedule.

For management, in my workflow the first of all is the contract and confidentiality agreement, the most tedious part for a designer, I take it off with a stroke of the pen, being the first thing I attack when a client hires me a service.

Lots of little people, in little places, doing little things, can change the world.

In my sector, it is the trends that set the design. Food is a sector that goes very fast and you have to be constantly up to date.

In my case almost 100%, although there are times when I draw an element on paper and pencil, origins of Fine Arts, then I digitize the drawing, so it ends up being digital...

Well, I use all kinds, from Adobe design programs to my online agenda, online calendar and management programs such as accounting and time management.

I'm afraid I'm 100% digital.

In my case, color is one of the elements that I work on the most, and I also work on color psychology, as well as fonts and both typographic and spatial composition.

I would like to be asked about the strategy behind the design, what really makes sense in my designs.

I feel admiration.

For having come up with that idea, for having had the idea, and for having the ability to carry it out, whatever type of design it is.

Yes, I believe in co-design, but I believe more in the idea that designers are co-workers, not competitors.

I would love to work with one of the design studios I admire to learn from them.

Well, actually in my type of design, none, if they have influenced me in how to work, how to serve clients, how to approach a project.

Right now I'm reading "The Way of the Artist" by Julia Cameron, and although it doesn't help me design, it is helping me understand certain parts of my way of being that is later reflected in my business.

Sorry to repeat myself, but with work. Try error, it is one of the best schools.

But also all my knowledge of art has helped me a lot in my profession.

This is easy... Leonardo Da Vinci... I would love to talk, chat, discuss, share, see his point of view on thousands of topics, not just design or art, for me Leonardo was not just a man of the Renaissance and a scholar but a person with such a great creative profile that he could not dedicate himself to only one profession. I would love to talk about his curiosity and if that was what led him to deal with so many different topics.

Although I have to say that I would also like to meet Francisco de Goya, discuss art materials, his painting style, his curiosity about different techniques... etc...

Jajaja, I don't consider myself famous, I consider myself a hard worker, who achieves rewards and recognition for a job well done and effort.

My color, black (the conjunction of all colors).

A place, any new location for me, I love discovering the world.

A food, the Japanese I have a weakness for raw things.

One season, summer, I love the heat, wearing flip flops and not wearing a jacket.

My favorite brand... IKEA? design at an affordable price.

Well, once at a wedding, the photographer who was taking photos of the newlyweds saw me and told another person that he knew who I was, a famous designer, at that time I hadn't won any awards and had almost no social networks, but the boy knew me and knew what I was doing.

Dedicating myself to what I like makes me feel privileged and my days are great.

Music motivates me… when I need to focus on strategizing and reading, I listen to classical music, but when I need to kick myself up and motivate myself I have my own playlists on Spotify.

Nooo, not at all.

I have always been creative, but neither I nor my family thought of this profession, much less when the teachers told my parents that it was not good for studying.

I would love to think that the society we live in will get better, but I'm afraid it won't be like that, I think that in a thousand years humanity will be worse off than we are right now, I don't know if we are living the golden age of humanity , but it is very possible that it is quite close to it. But of course, this is just my opinion.

If you are a designer and want to dedicate yourself to the world of design, don't despair, don't give up, don't let the bastards get the better of you, don't be afraid of mistakes and above all keep going.

Your success is inevitable if you have worked on it.

I didn't fit into the educational system and I didn't dare to do higher studies because the teachers told me I wasn't worth studying, so I fell into a graphic design course, after that was when I found what I liked to do, and I went for it. all of them, I started high school in Arts and then Fine Arts, I found what I liked and was passionate about. When I finished my studies I returned to the world of design already formed.

Since then my life has been linked to the world of art and creativity.

Verality studio is a freelance and independent design studio that works to help companies in the food industry to create and redesign honest brands with efficiency, responsibility and organization to help them stand out from the competition with their company values and ethics as their flag and strategy. Communication.

Design for me is creation, strategy, capturing some whys in a visual way, communicating to the observer.

What I like to do the most is rebranding, that challenge to transform something that already exists and give it another life, other values and communicate more.

I adore minimalism, the beauty of practicality, less is more. It is not necessary to fill a space to communicate well, but to do it correctly to the extent that it is needed.

Puff... I have special affection for some, but in the end I can't choose, they are my own creations and each one has both emotional and artistic connotations for the client... I couldn't choose...

But if I have to stay with something, I would say... my brand image... it is me and I have represented what I am and that is what I want to communicate.

A design for a bricklayer, an uncle of my husband... I had never worked as a designer yet, I had finished my degree in Fine Arts and I was taking a course... I created an infinite cube for the symbol and the brand image that he wanted to put on some business cards and on the lettering of his van.

Illustrator, where I handle myself best and what I like the most is the world in vector.

I am one of those who believe that inspiration must find you working. I do not believe in moments of inspiration that come by divine order. I deeply believe in work and in thinking and developing ideas, that's when I feel most creative.

What I like the most in the initial part, the research and development of the idea, let's say the art direction. I love to investigate and get new ideas from unknown places. Although later I have to develop that initial idea, that is the part that I like the most and where I feel most comfortable.

Pff, it varies. There are moments of incredible lucidity and joy and there are moments of real disappointment and anger. As for emotions, I believe that every designer or creative lives on a continuous roller coaster and I am no less.

This part is already different, when you see that the design is finished, you already have the final arts and it's in production, the emotion that assails me the most is usually pride and joy, to be able to see the finished work, to think that I have achieved, that That little challenge has paid off.

To be honest, I don't have the slightest idea... I should say that I have to be very creative and abide by the standards that the consumer demands, but I'm afraid that a successful job in the world of sales may not be so successful in the world of sales. world of designers, and vice versa... a design is liked very much in the professional world, but it doesn't work in sales...

For me, for a design to be considered good, I must see quality and originality. Regardless of whether it follows fashions or not. Personally, I prefer and consider timeless works better, but depending on the sector, fashion rules.

As I am dedicated to food, it is a very important turning point in the sector right now. And although I would say that you have to abide by these new standards, especially because of the responsibility that it entails for the sector, I must admit that no matter how much I or any designer tries to convince a client about this responsibility, if the numbers do not add up, the client will not. take into account. Food is a very very competitive and absolutely super fast sector in which it is very important not to get stuck.

I believe that in my sector it is very important, anyone can sell a quality food product, the problem comes when there is such brutal competition in my sector. There are several sections of the sector that in the last decade have put a lot of batteries into the question of design and I hope and hope that more sections of the sector begin to see design as something "necessary" for their product.

My last exhibition of graphic work has been in the city of Santander, in a collective exhibition on graphic design. I would love for this exhibition to be distributed to other European cities to publicize the work of graphic designers, often very unknown to the majority of society.

My inspiration comes from the previous research and the brief that the client fills out for the project, as well as the research of the competition and the moodboard that the client fills in as well. I work under a guideline for a client and I get feedback on what the client is looking for, or wants for their project.

I think my style is more minimalist than anything else. I must say that it is the style with which I feel most comfortable and I began to design under this style because it is the one that most attracts my attention in all the creative aspects of my life. Out of inertia I look at minimalist architecture, I adore minimal logos and as a consequence of my personal tastes I design under this style that I adore.

I am Spanish. I do believe that the culture of my country influences my artistic influences, my designs, but I must say that I come from the world of art and what has influenced me the most artistically has been the history of universal art, I always keep in mind international artists when i think.

The cons are more of the employment factor, there is little design culture in the area where I live, getting clients is sometimes difficult because they don't understand design.

I am a B2B designer, and I have my own work system in which my client connects to my system, so it is much easier for me to create for them and they follow a system that they understand and understand.

When a company is looking at several designers, I tell them that not only is the price important, but also being comfortable working is also very important. It must be taken into account that what we designers do is communicate those values or that idea that the client has, if we are not in line with it it is very difficult to work.

Another of the issues that I usually suggest is that they always compare the value of the material that the designer gives them.

Puff, I am super organized and that has made me find a system that helps me a lot, especially with possible creative blocks.

When a client hires my services, the first thing is the paperwork part, pure and simple administration, if this part is not complete I do not start creating, then I continue with a brief and a moodboard on Pinterest (a wonderful tool to know what the client likes ), when I have all the information it is time for my own research and the creative phase. I finish with the client's feedback and later with the final payment and the delivery of material, always everything in the same order.

I have my own email templates to follow this order along with a work schedule that my client always knows when we are on his project.

I have an Arco lamp by Archille Castiglioni, which is the apple of my eye, and the chairs at my kitchen table are Tolix chairs by Xavier Pauchard.

Yes, I'm not a product designer, but I adore design in all its aspects. It is what it takes to have a creative personality.

I am the mother of two small children, so first of all I take them to school, then I go back home to work (I am freelance), I take advantage of their school hours to be able to work in silence.

As a good freelance I answer emails, work in my own business and serve my clients.

I am a professor of creativity and art direction at a university in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, the university is for creative studies, CESINE, there I have rediscovered the illusion of the first years in our profession when you are not yet burned by toxic clients, I have rediscovered that motivation to continue improving and learning. Young designers know a lot about design for young people but little about companies with years of history and few of those resources that experience gives you...

I have spoken to several of my students about the "fellowship" between designers, about how important it is in our profession to surround yourself with good fellow designers, we are not competition, we are colleagues and we can help each other.

The positive aspects of working in a profession that you like, a profession that fulfills you as a creative person. A profession in which you are continually learning to improve, you cannot get stuck in society, changes are constant in our world.

The only negative aspects of our profession are some clients who do not understand or want to understand that you are a professional, not a person who draws pictures.

For me "less is more", I adore minimalism, so I always try to eliminate everything that is left over in a design, if it does not contribute anything to the design or the client, it must be eliminated

I believe that the most important skill for a designer is to have aesthetic taste, that is what you have earned a lot, you will know how to combine colors, you will know how to compose with pleasure... the most technical rules come with years of learning.

I'm an illustrator, I don't usually sketch on paper, and I come from the world of Fine Arts and I always need to have all the elements to start creating.

I only draw on paper when I have to illustrate, I am not capable of doing it digitally, I am still paper and pencil, my teaching was classicist, so there I am.

In my toolbox there is never a lack of different typefaces, I really like to play with the psychological connotations of typefaces, as well as colors, which is why I end up creating quite extensive color palettes for my clients.

For me, the time I spend designing is like gold, it's what I appreciate the most about my job, being a freelance I also have to be the accountant, the administrator, the public relations, the commercial and the community manager... so I dedicate part of my time to my business and every time I have to get more comfortable with my creative process, I do it because it is the task that I am best at and the most satisfaction I get.

So my main time is divided into business, client and design blocks.

Well, if I'm honest, it depends, it always depends on the client, the feedback he gives me, if he has respected the times I set...

But what I can tell you is that within my workflow, which lasts a month or so, I have about 10 days reserved solely for my creative process, because although I always try to get inspiration to catch me working, there are times when it doesn't come out the first time. That you have in mind and I have a margin so that my clients do not get angry.

Unfortunately many times they ask me "and... what does a graphic designer do?", which is basically that they have no idea what we do.

Our profession is still very unknown, even for companies or SMEs, and many of them do not appreciate or do not understand what design can bring to their companies.

Being autonomous in my own business is the most enriching experience as a professional. In agencies and design studios you learn a lot, but you always lack some part of the process, or you don't talk to the client directly or you don't know what things cost...

Being my own boss has helped me not only to understand my profession in all its aspects, it has also helped me to function better in the world and, above all, to understand my own process to better meet the needs of my clients.

I work mainly for SMEs and small businesses.

Some of them are just starting out and I see them growing. It's a part of my profession that I love, accompanying other freelancers like me while they advance with their business.

As I've told you before, I love minimalism, so it's the one I enjoy the most, plus it's the design that comes out alone, I always lean towards this style of design, it's like my weakness and my unicorn.

My plans for the future... keep growing as a professional and keep getting good clients. To improve, to continue learning,... that my business continues to grow... the limit is in the stars and I want to continue trying to reach them.

The next step for me is to get my own space, a container in my garden, a space just for Veralidad studio, to continue being a freelance but with a small

As I have told you, I am a freelancer, so I develop my own projects, what if I do a little differently from other freelancers is that I do not subcontract providers, but I speak to my clients about them (usually other freelancers) and we all work under the same client, so I avoid many problems and develop only the part of the work that I like.

Puff, several... but I have a confidentiality agreement with my clients so I can't talk about them...

You can hire me by sending an e-mail to info@veralidadstudio.es or by filling out the form on my website www.veralidadstudio.es immediately afterwards I send you an email to make an appointment via video call, there we will face each other and start talking.

Yes, the world of creativity is an exciting, wonderful and super-gratifying world for the people who dedicate ourselves to it, but many times it is clouded by people from outside this world, a little empathy for the professions of others would come in very handy. In general, everyone has a hard time working, everyone has had a hard time training in their profession, and every profession is worthy of praise.

Creatives don't just make drawings, we apply a lot of knowledge that we learn over the years.

It was extremely easy, as the client himself has these values ​​in his business, all I had to do was highlight the ecological awareness of the packaging and base it on the ethics of the brand and the client. The balance between environmental responsibility and visual appeal is due to wanting to highlight the ethics of the company, ethics that the client openly shares.

The brand's ethical awareness was so overwhelming that there was no other way to approach the design of the packaging and its materials. Thinking about industrial printing for this project would have to deprive the brand of its most precious asset, based primarily on veganism, which is in favour of sustainable ecology and caring for the environment.

The client actually makes these products by hand in an artisanal way, so in this case what I did was also to highlight the properties of the business itself, giving total transparency to the image of the business. The design is constantly based on the values ​​of the client and the business, highlighting their true criteria for the realization of their products and their own lifestyle.

To generate these ideas in images, the main thing was to create our own "vegan food" icon. By law, there is currently no "generic" icon, so what we did was invent it to have our own vegan icon and for it to be understood as such.That was one of the biggest obstacles in the design, how to explain to the consumer this style of creating food and this lifestyle.

To convey the idea of ​​freshness and integrity of the product, what we did was create a "window" in the packaging so that the customer can see the product in situ, so they can see and appreciate the product. In addition, this way we can also show such a special product, especially because of the natural finishes that the customer adds to each variety of fermented product.

In fact, the dimensions of the packaging are determined by the product itself. My client already had the finished product, he just needed a container to market it, so I adapted the packaging measurements to the product, making it a unique package for my client.As for the design, it is entirely based on the vegan lifestyle, and communicating this lifestyle is precisely where the appeal of this packaging comes from.

Highlighting the company's values ​​with vegan values ​​and its plant-based food spirit, I redesigned the brand image by adding natural elements. This differentiated it from the competition, where a very modern design predominates.The new brand colors are based on nature, respecting the brand's discourse on vegan culture.And I have given it a vintage aesthetic that differs from the rest of the competition, making the brand's character unique and differentiating.

If the design shows that strong connection that was the main interest I had during the design, communicating to the consumer those virtues so different from the rest of the competitors, and also communicating that the brand itself is the first to respect this vegan lifestyle and care for the environment.

Nowadays, the type of packaging is given a lot of importance. I don't think Serra Vegana has a generic influence on other companies, especially because it is a small company, and it is the large corporations that rule the market and their influence.But I would love to show that good sustainable design can be done on a small scale, being totally honest and transparent.Sustainable packaging solutions are experiencing an incredible boom and many companies join in simply to follow the current or trend, but Serra Vegana does NOT, they really have this lifestyle, their owners are really vegan and they care for the environment with their small business. They have not followed any trend, they have simply highlighted all those values ​​that they already had in their company and have shown them to the world so that their consumers empathize with them.

Yes, Serra Vegana has not followed the aesthetics or strategy of a dairy product, but above all because it is not a dairy product and we had to avoid this type of packaging and connotations at all costs. In addition, we would be deceiving consumers, and as I have already mentioned before, Serra Vegana is characterized by its honesty.These cheeses are not a dairy product, they are a "fermented cashew" for this very reason we had to move away from the aesthetics of a dairy product, and we would also be committing fraud, since a "vegan cheese" cannot have the word "cheese" on a package by law. Given this obvious fact that we could not ignore under any circumstances, the idea of ​​the design was even clearer, natural colors, from the nature of the product itself, avoiding the blue color characteristic of dairy products so that the consumer would not see anything similar in a dairy product.Regarding the redesign of the brand and packaging, I wanted to give it a traditional touch, of old-fashioned family know-how with a vintage aesthetic, not so much because of the years that the company has been making "vegan cheeses", but because the company is actually made up of 4 people who are family, so we manage to distinguish ourselves from the competition with very, very modern designs.