"90% of our turnover is packaging"
Bulldog Studio is a creative graphic design studio, specialized in packaging and branding and focused on mass consumption, beverages and gourmet products.
Why did you become a designer?
A bit by chance of life, I'm from December, you know that end-of-year children who go slower at school, well yes, I've always been in tow. I was never a bright student.
When I finished EGB I didn't know what to do and I wandered through architecture, fine arts and finally I ended up in advertising graphics, where I found some kind of stimulus and I thought it was fun to be a designer.
When and why was Bulldog Studio created?
In December 2007 I started as a freelance designer under the name of Bulldog Studio, despite the fact that the company was established a little later, this year we celebrate 15 years, and we continue!
I worked in a large advertising agency, in a media agency, in a print shop and also as a client (as an art director). I saw that my work could be done in another way, much more creative and better paid, and this pushed me to work on my own.
Already the growth of the company is something inevitable, you grow as you open new clients and you modulate your company and space for it.
They are specialized in packaging and branding.
What characterizes packaging design?
At the beginning we did everything, a design all-rounder, but I have always believed in specialization, so these are the areas that we feel most comfortable with. We come from mass consumption, so the agility in interpreting a briefing is maximum, and thanks to our team and experience, we know how to find excellence in printing everything we show on screen.
I don't think we have a defined profile or style, it is true that we like to work with volumes and textures in our designs, but I think we have an elastic profile that adapts to the needs of each client and brand.
What is the difference between working for the consumer goods, gourmet or pharmaceutical sector?
They are very different sectors in all aspects, in speed of needs, printing costs and even in the way you communicate, both with the consumer and with your client.
GC is like formula 1, everything is for now, in gourmet production they are usually smaller or family-owned companies, so customer support is vital to provide security in decisions and, in pharmacy, projects are very long in the time and are very focused on achieving a specific goal.
Each sector is different, but we are all passionate about it and we move in it naturally.
What measures are you implementing in favor of a more sustainable packaging?
Here you have touched the wound! We always try to be sustainable in production, we explain to all clients the importance of using FSC or 100% recycled papers, vegetable inks, etc. But the money is what rules.
In all our projects we try to advise the client, from the selection of bottles/light bottles (less emissions in transport) to palletizing resources.
What is the most important thing when designing a label: typography, illustration...?
The whole, the concept, the typographical selection, the color, the illustration and its dialogue.
If you have perfect proportions but you have three eyes you will be “weird”, it is always finding the perfect balance, that harmony that makes a label “work”.
Tell us about two of your projects.
Right now we have a very big project underway, for months we have been working with Félix Solis on a complete restyling of one of its brands, Peñasol.
It is a very difficult project, many formats, many countries and you have to look at everything with a magnifying glass. Luckily everything is going perfectly and we feel very comfortable with the project and with the client.
Another interesting project was the one we published weeks ago, for a small Ribeira Sacra winery, EDV. A family that had never "done marketing" and we have built the entire portfolio for them.
In your opinion, what is the situation of the design sector in Spain? What are the problems you are facing? And his achievements?
Design in Spain is not valued, you work for foreign clients and you feel valued, they listen to you and they pay you well.
I think if a designer reads this they will think; oysters what reason you have. Here people don't listen (for the most part), they give you a briefing but they end up deciding on the design.
Main achievements, that they listen to us, that they allow themselves to be advised (that's what they pay us for).
How are new technologies influencing design?
Technology with good use is always good and adds up, at the study level we do not notice this technology in excess, since we are "off-line".
Among the services you offer, which ones are most in demand? Is the digital world growing more?
90% of our turnover is packaging, we are working to grow in branding (which is another of our strengths) and in naming services.
As mentioned above, by positioning ourselves a few years ago in packaging and branding, the market adopts us as such, so very few digital projects enter. It's not that we don't do them, but they are residual.
Can you tell us what you are currently working on?
A couple of drug restyling projects, several wine projects, a super nice project (which will be released towards the end of the year) of a vermouth for Italy and a collaboration with a winery in Romania, a long-term project with many brands involved.
Seen in three lines, it seems little, but this, together with the day-to-day of small things of clients, is non-stop, and may it continue for many more years!
