I am kicking off the 2015 with two new Print Media Centr contributors and it is my honor to introduce the first, Roberto Blake, and welcome him to the community! Like most people, Roberto found me through social media. He started sharing his awesome design videos with me, and after I watched a few (along with his 17,000 subscribers!!) I knew I needed to swoop him up. Roberto is creative, yet firmly grounded in the reality of the purpose of design and it’s role in marketing. His video design tutorials are informative and insightful, and even though he has just started attending our weekly #PrintChat, there is no doubt he has much to contribute to the print community.
I’m really psyched Roberto was willing to share some of his brain with us… and I encourage you all to follow him on social and subscribe to his You Tube Channel. His video about resume design alone is worth the trip! Here is a little background and some helpful advice from Roberto. Stay tuned to PMC for more!
DC: Who is Roberto Blake and what does he do?
RB: Honestly? I’m this complete nerd who spends a lot of time with his face in front of a screen pushing pixels and making pretty pictures, or his nose buried in a fantasy novel. The other 10 hours of my day I’m working with some truly wonderful people to produce design work and helping other designers by giving them some insight to the industry or providing tutorials. Building relationships is something that is very important to me and I feel that we are privileged to live in a more connected world than has ever existed.
DC: How do you define Design?
RB: I’ve never been fond of the text book definitions or the wikipedia entry. I define design or at least “graphic design” as visual problem solving and communication. It’s not commercial art, I really despise that term. Art is something I love because it is free to be interpreted and there is no right or wrong. Design is different, its about communication, intent and a call to action. When I work with clients I spend a good portion of time getting them beyond thinking about what they like, and what can accomplish their goals and communicate the value of what their brand can deliver to people.
DC: How do you see the relationship between design and print?
RB: If design is about communicating your intentions and value, then print is the experience of it. The one true failing of digital in many cases is the experience of it. The touch, and even the scent of a print and the feeling over ownership that comes from holding something in your hands is something that human beings have gotten used to, and I don’t think that is going away anytime soon.
DC: What do you think are the biggest branding mistakes out there, and how can they be avoided?
RB: The truth is many brands don’t know who they are and even worse who their customers are. They know who they’d like to be, and they also project that on to the customer base. Once you know who you are and the value you provide, you will understand who is most in need of that and how to engage them. You have to give value and demonstrate value. Most brands today just want to ask for the sale without truly qualifying the benefit to a customer.
DC: How effective has video marketing and social media been for your business? What are 3 tips for success?
RB: Video Marketing and Social media have taken my business to the next level, and will be the reason it scales in the future. Video provides people with the experience of you and offers you unlimited reach. It has the potential to draw an unlimited amount of people to you, indefinitely. Social Media allows you to engage with your professional peers as well as people you are in a position to benefit, in real time by being part of a conversation.
My 3 tips would be this: find a problem to solve and deliver the best solution for that problem while being entertaining and informative, get creative with it. Be consistent in creating value for your audience/community, and deliver what you say you will for them. Finally, understand the context of your relationship with the audience. Truly understand who is coming to you and why they are coming to you, this will help you serve their needs better.
When asked why businesses exist, 9 of 10 people will tell you they exist to make money. That is a problem in communication, because they didn’t listen to the question to understand the context. The desire to make money is not why a business exist. It cannot continue to exist just because it desires money and operates from that premise. Businesses exist only so long as they can create value for their customers by delivering, superior products, and a superior experience.
I’m sure Blockbuster wanted to make money, Netflix delivered a better experience of users watching movies, now the entire movie rental industry doesn’t exist. Understand the problem you are solving. Solve it better than anyone else, or make the experience of it the best it can be. If you don’t you’re just asking for a kid in a garage to take your customers.
DC: With the world going virtual, what is the future of design? Where are the opportunities?
RB: We now live in a “Content Driven Economy”, so the opportunities are literally endless for design. That’s not me being naive or optimistic, it’s a fact and it’s why business is growing each month. Apps are becoming easier to build than ever, but not everyone is an artist or designer, but they know that presentation moves products, so they need icons, splash screens, banners to market it, a website and so on.
Publishing is easier than ever and there are far less middlemen between a writer and an audience, but books are judged by their cover. A Content Driven Economy is probably the best thing to happen to the design industry because there will be more demand and more people generating content that need designers of all skill levels and backgrounds.
There is probably more opportunity for designers now, than there has been in the last 20 years. I think that people have to understand that it’s just different than even 10 years ago in terms of how to succeed, learn and grow in the industry.
Connect with Roberto: Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / You Tube / rblake@robertoblake.com
