Another year is coming to an end and it is always a good time to take stock. Lately, when I get together with friends who work in this sector, I have noticed that we are all a bit disconcerted. Although I think that bewilderment is quite normal in any job with an artistic component, this year I sense a different feeling.
We talk a lot about artificial intelligences, about what we will do when technology passes us by. Let’s not be dramatic, technology has always introduced new production models since prehistoric times and it would be absurd to think that the same thing won’t happen to us. I’m not particularly worried that an algorithm can replicate an image similar to the ones we make or that our clients can even ask for it directly.
Our work is much more like that of a tailor. We make bespoke products for the architects we collaborate with and more importantly, we are critically involved in the process. You may be thinking that it is presumptuous of me to say that I have been part of the design of some of the projects we have helped to represent, but I firmly believe it. What’s more, the day I feel I can’t contribute anything I think I’ll change jobs.
Every infographic studio is different and it is very important that we know how to choose our own. For me, drama is a way of life. We have studied architecture and we have not spent so many years studying structural calculations, urban planning, pathology… to be the children of the images. This infantilisation of our profession does not interest me, nor does it represent me at all. On the other hand, I am still fascinated by the process that goes from the idea, from the pencil, to the construction of a building. That is why we have stayed to live in that precise moment. Not because we don’t like architecture, not because we find the process impossible. We live in the gap that separates nothing from everything and that makes us especially responsible for the result but also enjoy one of the most fascinating moments of the process.
I have also come to the conclusion that living constantly doing competitions is not a possible way of life. Or at least very difficult to coordinate with a normal family life. That’s why in drama we try to alternate our responsibility in competitions with more commercial or Real Estate images. We don’t get frustrated because these quieter moments allow us to update our website, prepare classes or perfect some aspects of our workflow. I’m currently freaking out with Figma for example.
Once, buying eggs in the supermarket, I saw the phrase: “eggs from happy hens”. I thought that as a team leader at the time (everything is more horizontal now), it was the most I could aspire to: images of happy people. That I hope is drama.
That is what this blog is going to be about: why and how we live our profession. This is my voice and I hope my colleagues, with whom I share so much and discuss so much, will join me. Like all the ideas I have, it is very easy for it to languish, so if you like it, let us know!
Best regards!