Early-Bird deadline for the PRINT Regional Design Awards is March 1, 2017. Enter now!
PRINT’s latest Designer of the Week Caio Andrade doesn’t really consider himself a designer. He doesn’t really use Photoshop or Illustrator. He no longer works in advertising. What he does is create. And teach. And help brands start conversations with people. And he does all of that with the belief that “human connection and creativity are the basis for everything from art to commercial projects.” All labels aside, we think his work will inspire you.
Name:Caio Andrade
Location:São Paulo, Brazil
Website:www.hicaio.com
Design school attended:
Hyper Island—Stockholm. As a typical Brazilian, I almost froze my ass of for two years while studying digital media creative there.
How would you describe your work?
To be honest I feel like a fraud giving this interview. I can barely use Photoshop, Illustrator or anything that may require a graphic tablet.
I believe in one tool: people.
It’s more about the connection than the craft; designing, for me—it’s just an amazing opportunity to start a conversation.
Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere! Just kidding, sometimes I [feel] everyone answers like this.
I don’t think we can get magically inspired [by] things around us; inspiration only comes when we work and really look for it. I believe it’s way more efficient to start a very simple project and find the inspiration to make it better, than it is to look for inspiration to start a project.
Try to see inspiration as [a] tool for improvement, not a starting point.
My advice: Always be working on something.
Who are some of your favorite designers or artists?
I wish I could have the simplicity of Candy Chang, Ivan Cash’s sense of empath, and thedetermination of Jeff Greenspan.
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Do you have a favorite among all the projects you’ve worked on?
Can I have two?
I would say the Not Available On The App Store and the Skip Ad Project. They were quite similar in execution: a simple sticker that creates a completely new story depending on where you place them.
They are my favorites because the value here is in hands of the person who puts them up, not in the one who designed it, and that was one of my biggest learnings in life: The [bigger] your ego, the [smaller] your world.
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Is there a project that stands out to you as having been the biggest challenge of your career so far?
It was, by far, a project called the 30days30projects (em bom português 30dias30projetos).
A couple of friends [and I] challenged ourselves to create a new project every day for 30 days.
We had a very short amount of time to have an idea, produce and publish it, and all before 8 PM while working in our regular jobs at ad agencies (if you work in one, you will know what I mean).
Some of the 30 projects kinda suck, to be honest, but that wasn’t the goal for me—[it] was the learning. Many will disagree, but I strongly believe that if you really learn [in] the process of developing a new project, the outcome can be shit.
What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
I hope to make more friends. Getting to know and work with different people is by far the biggest accomplish I can think of. So, If you’ve read this far, thanks! Please reach out, let’s Skype or grab a coffee together.
What’s your best advice for designers today?
Start something and let people be part of your process. They will surprise you.
