Ever think about the creativity behind all of the billboards, signs in shopping malls, or even the copious amounts of digital advertisements you see daily? Next time you’re out, take a look around. While you may think about how simple they can seem from the outside, there’s a lot of in-depth creativity and development behind-the-scenes. Take our two amazing graphic designers for instance: Ross Culliton and Loring Casarotto. Both of them started loving creativity and art at a young age and have a HUGE passion for coffee. However, our graphic designers understand the importance of strategy, and switching up a design when creating it to make sure all of the pieces fit together.. as well as having an ecstatic and thrilled client!

Keep reading to find out what it takes to be a graphic designer, and the best Spotify playlists to listen to to get in your creative zone!

A Day in the Life of Our Graphic Designers:

How do you start your mornings?

Ross:

COFFEE, COFFEE, COFFEE. An iced almond milk latte to be specific and for those wondering what to bring to our next meeting or to win my heart 🙂 

Loring:
This will come as a total shock to most,  I’m sure, but I can’t start the day without a giant iced coffee.

Why did you choose graphic design as your career? Did something or someone inspire you?

Ross:

Ever since I was little I was always curious about what it was like to create all the ads we would see on TV, in magazines, and around town. Being part of that strategy and creative development is what drives my passion to create unique and inspiring projects.

Loring:
I’ve always been a creative person who liked to draw, and when I was growing up I wanted to be an artist. When I was in highschool, a family member suggested I take his Intro to  Adobe Illustrator class, which exposed me to the world of digital design.

What’s your go-to song selection to listen to while you’re creating designs?

Ross: 

This is ever evolving for me. I usually have an ongoing playlist that evolves and grows as the weeks pass.. Usually at the beginning of a new season I start fresh and discover new music that will inspire my work. Currently I am between two playlists that I have made. Each have an eclectic mix of songs from all different genres. 

Here are links to the playlists: 

Social Iso Party: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0s9uo15LCJGlgbQmqgn1oj?si=ePsi227ISV62GW0Jb9gi_A

Summer 2020

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1EtPbS51XV56OtGZdw9Kk4?si=WV06qdu7QF2kgPjArrn6Fg

How do you get through challenging times at work?

Ross:

The toughest times for me are when the creativity is not flowing as strongly as usual. To get back into that flow I keep myself extra observant of the things around me to create new inspirations. Whether that is watching creative films, discovering new trends in design or just absorbing everything that is around me, I can be sure to find myself with new sparks of creativity. 

However, sometimes all it takes is taking a step back and watching something that will make me laugh like Schitt’s Creek. Guaranteed LOLs everytime. 

Loring:
Throw on some headphones, grab my coffee, focus up and hunker down. 

Is there a specific ‘aesthetic’ you lean towards?

Ross:

My overall mantra in my work is discovering how to share as much information as possible in the most simplistic way. Lately I have been keeping my designs bold, colorful and minimal. 

Loring:
Recently I’ve been using a lot of  color in my designs, and pushing towards a cleaner overall look with more white space. 

What advice would you give to those pursuing a career in graphic design?

Ross:

Train yourself to be able to look at things at multiple angles/perspectives. Don’t allow yourself to get into a wormhole of just one idea. There are many directions to take for just one project but you won’t know which is the best until you try them all out. Be patient and allow yourself to discover that creative perfection. It is truly one of the best feelings in this line of work when your work  just clicked into place and all the pieces of the puzzle fit.

Loring:
Always be experimenting, especially when you’re in school. Challenge yourself to do different things on every project and don’t use the same things that worked previously. Play with texture, shapes, color, fonts, etc. Whenever you see cool designs out “in the wild” like magazines and websites, try to figure out how it was done, or pick something about it you really like and use it in a project of your own.

Share one of your favorite designs:

Ross:

The favorite question for me on any topic is never an easy question for me to answer. It is forever changing depending on my mood, especially when it comes to food. Current projects I am working on often are my favorite since they are in the forefront of my mind and where I am channeling my creativity.  However I do have a type of work that is my favorite. 

Large format print projects have always been a favorite of mine. From the larger than life  murals I have done at Wells Fargo across the country (Example) or the recent installation of  the CT Post Thank You to the Superheros banners (video: https://vimeo.com/441077378) is just a range of examples. Thinking  of how it will interact in the environment the work will be displayed in and the impact it will have on people viewing it creates an extra level of inspiration for me in my work that translates into the final product.

Loring:
I don’t have a specific design by someone else, but I wanted to mention the branding stuff that we’ve done for ASG Information Technologies. We did a complete branding overhaul for them and I’m very proud of how all of that came out. 

Our graphic design team at Image Marketing Consultants are always fun to work with! They assist other team members, like our social media and public relations team, with any creative graphic design needs for clients.

Want to learn more about our graphic designers? Visit us at ImageMarketingConsultants.com, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook!