Hey, everybody. My name is Ashley, and I'm the social media manager for extensive. And I am here with Oscar Guerrero. He is a tight face designer And I'm gonna let him introduce himself. Go ahead, Oscar. Hello, Aisley. Thank you for having me here in in in this interview. Well, I am an independent dive designer from Columbia. I have my own foundry called Sumo Type Foundry, and I work in type a design about ten years. Wow. And I I first found Oscar. I was scrolling from the extensive profile, and his Instagram came up, and it's just so fascinating, and you guys are gonna be able to see some of his work shortly. But I love to just chat about your experience a type designer. So can you explain how you got started in type design? Well, I started in type design about ten years ago. With a huge knowledge gap, but a lot of motivation. At the beginning of my career, I didn't have an interest in typography. It was a talent I discovered by accident. Actually, it began when I traveled to Buenos Aires in two thousand eleven. I was looking for new job opportunities. In Argentina, I discovered a lot of graphic design inspiration and at the University of Buenos Aires. I found a postgraduate degree in type design that got my attention. I applied, they accepted me, and I started my classes. At the beginning, I start with a lot of fear because my classmates had so much experience than me. But little by little, I was getting more involved in the classes until I fall deeply in love in type design. At the present, I work in different kind of projects related to type design. I sell my typefaces through several foundries, I designed custom typefaces for important brands in Colombia and in other countries in Latin America. I design custom logotypes, and I teach in some universities here in Colombia. I did not know that you taught as well. Wow, you're busy I love that. Yes. Yes. And I love what you said, you learned piece by piece. I think a lot of people don't start. Because they don't have all the answers there, but I love your story. It's so inspiring that you you didn't stop. You you kept going. Yeah. And let's chat about what role does history play in type design? Well, history is everything to me. Although I know that historian, it is where I have found my greatest source of inspiration. I treat each typeface as a tribute to an ancient typographer or calligraphic style. I feel like I've already found a personal style where I use history as a model and calligraphy as a visual resource. Each of my typefaces from the last two years has a level of interpretation based on a historical model on on a calligraphic style. Nice. And we're gonna take a moment just to look at some of your designs now. So, Oscar tell us, what inspired you to offer tight face with a strong historical background? Okay. I really like history because it was my first approach to understanding typography. For me, it's easier to understand photography, if we observe historical evolution. For instance, the commercial context in the nineteenth century in England, during the industrial revolution, allow the design of new typographic styles such as flat faces or slab serdips, and I love how those historical facts directly influence the design. Then in in my work, I try to use history as a resource of inspiration so that the typefaces have a strong historical background. Nice. So Oscar, you have worked with brands all over. Tell us about that in a few of your favorite partnerships. Yeah. And for with my favorite custom project is the typeface I design it for a pop named the Irish pop, base it here in Bota. The client was looking to refresh the brand identity without losing its roots. This was a case where typography had a great importance, not only because it solved the technical issues. It also became an extension of the logo. Then first, I research on calligraphic styles of Gallic and Celtic alphabets. And second, I work with the structures of these calligraphic models in order to carry out a workshop with the client. I love working in a collaborative way with the client. As this made them feel so more connected to the project, and they felt the typography as their own. Then as of today, the run uses this typeface as a resource in all its communication platforms. Nice. Wow. I'm just thinking back, entrepreneurship and this is just a testament that if you keep going, you can land those big projects that you've been going after. And I and I love that this is happening for you and that you're able to help. Other brands and able to help other people to grow their business as well. Because that's what it's all about. Yes. So creative block. The create creative block, it it sucks. Let's just be honest. How do you overcome that? Well, I think creative blocks are part of every designer process. It's not necessary to see them as a problem, but as a natural evolution of the work. In general, I have created blocks when I work in personal projects. But since I don't have a deadline, I simply walk away for a couple of weeks. And after that time, I can see things more clearly. In custom projects, it's unusual for creative blocks to appear since I try to gather all the information I need from the client before I start to design. This makes everything flow in way? Did you guys hear what he said? He said he walks away for a couple of weeks? Yeah. Not a couple of hours. No. Not a couple of days, weeks. And I think a lot of times we try to rush this creative process when we should do exactly what you have done and walk away. So that is such great advice. Thank So Oscar tell us how does Bogota influence your creativity? Well, I live in Bogota for fifteen years. Although it's not it's not my hometown. It's where I found opportunities and the ideal environment to develop my work. My hometown is called Pasto, is located in the south of Columbia. Okay. And in in that city, you can see art and craft almost everywhere, and that influenced my creativity during my childhood. And where eventually aggravated in in graphic design. Okay. Very cool. And is your family there as well or nice? So you get my uncles. Yeah. Okay. You big family? Yeah. It's a big family. Okay. I I come a very large family. My mother alone is one of seventeen. Okay. So it's like, oh my goodness. It's a it's a lot of us. So I I love family, and I love that you're surrounded by them. They're important. Yes. That's true. So let's talk about some of your favorite type designers or or foundries? I always found inspiration in in classic designers. For instance, my first typefaces were tribute to the work of Nicholas Jensen or Jim Batista Baloni. There are also contemporary designers whom I'm I follow closely. I love, for example, the work of Paul Barnes from Commercial Type. The Portuguese designer, Rui Abeo, and the work of Fernando Melo from Brazil. I feel they have a deep understanding of typography and managed to give it a particular flavor based on on classic styles. Got it. Thank you for shouting them out. For sure they'd love that. So who are some of your favorite Latin American type desires or foundries. Yeah. I'm fortunate that I have I had a certain personal relationship with some of the type designers I I most admire. One of them is Farikosi. She is an amazing designer from Argentina. Who is also my best friend. And we talk every day, and she has helped me in many ways, not only in tech design. Another designer that I admire since my beginnings is Ruben Fontana, who was my teacher in Argentina in the post grade postgraduate degree. I have also worked on custom typeface projects with the Mexican Design Design Studio enigma. Leading by Isaiya Loiza. I learned a lot from them, and they are people who I admire and appreciate very much. Alright. So speaking of people that you admire, is there anybody that you want to collaborate with? Yeah. This is has already happened two years ago, we did a collaborative product with frequency. We came up with the idea of designing an experimental variable font. We are very different in our interests and ways to sign in typography. And taking advantage of this, each one, design it a very different extreme, a very different master in in in the family, in the variable family. By being compatible, in its drawing, we managed to generate a series of intermediate instances mixing the two ways of thinking. This variable fund is called June, and you can find it in the in In First website. And in the end, it was a very interesting project because of the concept behind the typography. So tell us, Oscar, how do you find inspiration? Okay. I think there are moments where you should wait for inspiration, and others where you should look for the information you need to working. In my personal projects, I always let the inspiration appear within the calligraphic practice or by reading a topic of history that interests me. This is something that could take weeks or months. In custom project, I think we can wait for inspiration to appear. It's necessary to extract all the information from the client so that the project works in their required time. In my process, I'm usually very methodical in the search for for information, and this makes CDC to find the correct answer to solve the project. I don't usually wait around for inspiration. I just work. Got it. Okay. And I know everybody has their their way. We all find it differently. I think the main overarching theme is to figure out what works best for you. So I'm I'm glad that you figured it out, Oscar. And I have one more question for you. What do you do for fun? In the beginning, you told us you do a lot of things. You're an entrepreneur, You teach. But when you're not working, what do you do for fun? I'm working out. I love to exercise, and I always find space in the in the day to do it. It's something that helps me release tension and think better about what I should do during the day. And it's so very healthy and liberating. Yeah. Yep. And then, of course, we all have to take care of ourselves as creatives, but on a more professional level, do you have to close us out, and this is the last question I promise, do you have any advice for type designers out there? What type of advice would you share with them? I think the greatest quality title signer can have is patience. Diography is a discipline of a lot of work and study. A project can take years to complete, and this makes it difficult for many designers who are more eager to show what they are doing in in in social media. Then my advice would be to learn from their mistakes, study hard, and to be very, very patient. Because to become a major designer, you have to spend several years of hard work. Patience is key. Yes. And you're right, social media has prevented people from really being patient so they can do their best work. So that is phenomenal advice. Thank you for sharing that. A lot of people won't be honest and say that, but I love that. And I I really love this chat with you. So thank you guys for joining Oscar and I. Be on the lookout for some more wonderful, amazing interviews with creatives from Allo, or you guys have a great day. Thanks, Oscar. Bye.
