«Our focus is branding, the creation, management and activation of brands»
TSMGO | The show must go on bets on "design with a head", on creativity at the service of a strategy. A combination between thinking (thinking) and executing (doing) precisely and adjusted to each client, as explained by its founder, Ricardo Moreno.
Why did you dedicate yourself to the world of design?
Actually it is a logical consequence, my background and experience comes from the world of management and marketing. When I launched TSMGO, our initial proposal was focused on providing services to companies in these areas, gradually we incorporated design and creativity, which in one way or another always appeared tangentially in our projects, in order to offer a complete service. . Today the binomial thinking (strategy, branding) and doing (creativity and design) is the main added value as a company.
In your opinion, what is the current situation of design in our country?
I think we are living a sweet moment, the Spanish level is internationally recognized and is part of the elite. A few months ago I was in London at the Pentawards Gala and the Spanish representation was numerically numerous and valued in terms of quality, not in vain was a Spanish company selected as the best packaging company of 2022.
We must not settle, because there are still countries that are ahead of us, but if there is something in which we stand out, it is in audacity, in the way of approaching projects without restrictions and with true leaps of faith.
How and when was TSMGO born?
In 2009, after a reasonably successful personal career, I decided to reflect on what I could offer and what to develop to create an attractive proposal. There is an obvious gap in small family businesses that cannot afford a full-time manager in their structures and in this area I am beginning to offer services under the TSMGO brand. The market itself directs us to offer a more holistic service and since 2013 we have been operating with this configuration. The companies that turn to us have grown and we are now participating in projects of an international dimension and with Spanish multinationals that require a specific team to develop new initiatives where innovation plays an important role.
What are they specialized in?
Our focus is branding, the creation, management and activation of brands. What happens is that an important part of the activation is the packaging, which is the physical evidence of all the intellectual effort that goes into a branding project, and we also feel very comfortable there.
It is easier to show a tangible project through packaging than to explain the brand platform and all the development that goes into it. If we talk about packaging, our focus is on the world of food and beverages with a premium character, where we have a lot to contribute. Fortunately, we live in a region that is naturally trademark-oriented: La Rioja, and we have a special sensitivity when dealing with packaging that requires telling a story. The world of wine provides us with a lot of learning on how to be able to narratively synthesize generations of viticulturists in a bottle of wine and that the consumer clearly perceives it.
What sectors do they work for?
In branding projects we have a lot of experience in services: consulting, legal, health and industrial.
In packaging, beverages and food are the sectors in which we have accumulated the most experience, from craft beers, wineries and spirits to bean-to-bar, juices, dairy or oils...
We understand first-hand the requirements of a consumer project in the same way as a niche-oriented one, where our marketing expertise is essential to properly interpret a briefing and the sensitivities of the promoter or interlocutor.
What is the priority when designing a packaging?
Understand well how it impacts the client's business. How important it is for the company and to unravel the nature of the project: it is strategic, it is tactical, a commitment to innovation... From there we try to unify language and see that we are aligned and talk about the same thing. We spend a lot of time identifying how you define your consumer and what you know about them. For us these first steps are very important because they define the success of the project, this first on-boarding is essential to build a long-term relationship.
Once we approach the design, we take into account the maximum number of restrictions to find a creative way to solve it. Our philosophy at TSMGO is that only when resources are limited or limited does the spark of creativity emerge.
What importance do you attach to illustration?
It is one more resource within the palette of options offered by the design, depending on the project we can use it or not. If you review our projects from recent years, you will see that there is no style or element that we use on a recurring basis. Each development demands activating a tool to achieve the best possible narrative, illustration is a language that helps to communicate and transmit an idea, if we believe that it adds up, we incorporate it resolutely and there are several examples that have used it: Optik, U-Chocolate, Cupbreaker…
Can a font totally change a design?
Of course, fonts can synthesize ideas and transmit a lot with their strokes and their morphology, first with their forms and counterforms and then with how they compose and order the information.
A typeface has the ability to transform a design and make it appear more contemporary, classic... it provides another layer of information that when decoded by the consumer helps the product to be perceived in a different way.
How do you contribute to a more sustainable packaging?
Today there is no project that leaves this sensitivity on the sidelines. We incorporate it as one more mandatory in the design process, a restriction that helps us explore ways to make this packaging more respectful, in most cases the client marks it as a 'must'. In others we are the ones who put it on the table; Lastly, when we talk about sustainable, sometimes we focus a lot on materials, processes and techniques and perhaps we have to delve into other options: different uses or second uses, how to integrate them into a recycling cycle. For example, we are now involved in a project (NIAGA SPALDIN) of sustainable rest systems that are thinking about what happens the day after you change the mattress, how to re-incorporate the materials into the production cycle and avoid the waste generated with a second life.
In this regard, is it being more active in food than in other sectors?
I think that food is somewhat more advanced than other sectors, especially because it affects us more directly, fashion is also making a firm commitment to sustainability. There is still a long way to go, especially since the transition from the use of disrespectful materials entails a significant economic effort for manufacturers, both in terms of changing technology and supply, but any movement helps.
In a wine label, is the most important thing to convey the essence of the brand, of that specific wine?
Actually, not just wine, any product. We have to be able to synthesize our value proposition at a glance. Make the consumer perceive and identify what makes us unique and different. In the world of wine, the fragmentation and fragmentation of brands, denominations, and regions means that we have to invest a lot of resources in trying to encapsulate as much information and the history of a winery in a very limited area as a label; Fortunately, there are more elements that help consolidate that perception: capsule, bottle...
Tell us about one of your projects.
Among others to highlight, Rompecopas, a wine from Bodegas Alzarra. The Barricarte brothers wanted to start a new wine project in which attention to detail was the utmost.
Starting from the nickname with which they are known in their town –Rompecopas–, we build our own, differential imaginary and that serves to put the spotlight on the enjoyment of wine. Inspired by the real story of the nickname, we transferred that narrative to all the elements. A story that leads us to discover what Rompecopas means.
What goals do you have for 2023?
At the moment we want to commit more to the international projects in which we are participating and the way to do it is by opening an office in Napa Valley, the wine epicenter of the USA. We have seen that our proposal is highly valued there and we have enough references to be able to tackle more projects with guarantees.
At a more domestic level, consolidate our reputation in the world of branding and packaging with projects that have a significant disruptive nature.
