Jorge Blanco & Asociados' New 2012 Logo

One of the things I love doing the most, is identity design. So, when Jorge Blanco approached me to re-invent his logo and brand, I was delighted to be considered as the person to do it.

I worked on various approaches and designs. And after exploring every alternative that came to mind, Jorge picked his favorite and, voilá! the agency has a new logo.

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Jorge for believing in me enough to let me tinker with his brand. It was an honor to do so, and I am most pleased with the final result.

Here are some of the options that did not make it.

5 Things You Need When Hiring a Freelancer

I've come to notice that whenever I'm beginning a relationship with one of my clients, somewhere in our first conversations, the topic of what I need, to start the work, arises. So I conjured up this magical list of the five most important things anyone looking to hire a freelancer (such as me) should have.

1. A general description.
Write what you visualize as the design/website/logo/etc... It can also be a specific description, but it should allow the artist to employ their art powers and create their vision on the project, always within the established boundaries.

2. A defined goal.
With this one, you need to be as specific as possible. In other words, Where do you want the work to take your business? Get younger people to call? Sell more red cars? Get more website traffic? 

3. Flexibility.
Sometimes clients want to address a lot of different people with the same message/piece. Please understand, that sometimes it cannot be done, or it cannot be done well. Sometimes diverse messages are what it calls for!

4. Full spectrum of work.
Be clear with your hired gun. Tell your freelancer all the pieces you need. Also if the same design will show up in different media. This might affect the way we design or do certain things. For example: If we're designing a logo, we might do it on full color, but if it will be printed on a t-shirt, we might need to do a two color version of the logo. If we know this before-hand, we can adjust our design to be sure it will work later. Be transparent!

5. Payment.
Of course this is what makes everything go, so be sure to have 50% of the total amount to give up-front to commence work. Some Freelances charge 25% and others even charge full rate before doing anything. Be sure to ask about this. You should be on the same page with the person who will be giving life to your project. Sometimes you can even arrange for a monthly fee. And find out when will the last payment be due. Upon completion? Net 15? Net 30? Talk it out!

I think that about sums it up. Have you had a relationship with a freelancer and different issues have risen? Be sure to tell me below, on the comments section. If you want to work with me, be sure to contact me directly!

Photo Manipulation x3

It's been a while and I haven't showed you any more photos I've manipulated. I must say, it's always fun to see what the image was and what it became.

So here I give you three examples of images I've worked on recently.

Turbine Man

Similar to the previous. For this image, done for Cabrera Auto, I used several stock images and my illustrative skills. The sky, some of the green area, the man, the car, the sign and the turbine were separate images. The road and some of the green areas were drawn by me.

Process

Finished Photo

Rocket Man

This was done for Cabrera Auto. One of the clients, Jorge Blanco & Asociados has and I had the pleasure of working on. I used a shot of the dealership we had, and several stock images for the rest. The man, the rocket, the fire and smoke were separate images.

Process

Finished photo

Diversión Pura

Searching the official Suzuki assets gallery for images that could be used for print media, I found this shot of a Grand Vitara in a river and the setting reminded me of El Yunque. So I went ahead and downloaded it. After a few minutes, "Having Fun" was the only thought that had stayed on my mind by just looking at the photo, so that's what I wrote. "Pure Fun".

This is the starting image

The process

Finished photo

Which one is your favorite? What would you have added or taken from these. Be sure to leave me your comments below!