6 Questions for Ricardo Gomez

Meet the newest member of the BatesMeron team, Ricardo Gomez! Ricardo is a recent Columbia College grad, Chicagoland native and our super-sweet design intern! 

I interviewed Ricardo as part of our 6 Questions feature: a series of one-on-one interviews with people we work with who’ve made us proud. Sometimes I like to turn the tables and put our own staffers on the hot seat so you not only get to meet them, but also see just how special our team really is.

1. Why did you decide to study graphic design in school?

Design incorporates all of the little things that I love, whether it be vectoring out illustrations or deciding on a color palette the same way you do before a painting. It was hard for me to believe that my class assignments were even homework. As a designer,  I was also exposed to lots of mediums. At school I worked with screen printing, painting and photography. Before I launched my design career I was a cook,  dishwasher and even a landscaper.

 2. You went to Columbia College, which is an awesome school. What advice do you have for those who are about to embark on an education there? 

The best advice that I can give to someone who is about to enter the design department is to be as open as possible with their school work. I grew a lot at school because I chose really personal subject matter to work on, which was really hard to do because the department revolves around class critiques and it really puts the spotlight on you. At first, talking about and displaying personal content for other people’s criticism made me feel vulnerable and exposed, but it ensured that I worked hard on my projects because I wanted to represent myself to the fullest. It got easier to go up there and present each time and it really benefitted me and my work in the long run.

Sometimes I would bring my camera to school and I’d capture some really awesome photos on my walks through the south loop. Here is a shot I took walking east on Jackson a few years ago.

BONUS: What’s the best kept secret for food in the South Loop area?

Best food? McDonalds. Just kidding. Fontano’s Subs is my pick, but I hear a lot of praise about Devil Dawgs.

3. What brought you to BatesMeron? What do you hope to learn while you’re here?

What attracted me to BatesMeron first was the variety in the work that we do here. Then I realized that the people who work here are very inviting and a lot of fun.

4.  Lightning round:

cats or dogs? Dogs

movies or books? Movies

pizza or tacos? Pizza

Cubs or Sox? Cubs

summer or winter? Summer

vinyl or digital? Vinyl

Instagram or Snapchat? Instagram (@thericardogomez)

coffee or tea? I love coffee, but sometimes they spell my name funny at Starbucks: REQARDO

beer or wine? Beer

Star Trek or Star Wars? Star Wars

5. Give us your top three sources for creative inspiration.

Original painting by Ricardo Gomez

My first fountain of inspiration has got to be my musical sources. I’d say the albums t that have been most impactful to my creative career would be:

Astral Weeks by Van Morrison, Instant Gratification by Dance Gavin Dance, Ursa Major by Third Eye Blind, A Flare for the Dramatic by Pierce the Veil, One of These Nights by The Eagles, Morrison Hotel by the Doors and Transferences by Spoon.

I also have a small collection of books of works of my favorite painters. When I don’t know what to do I run through those for inspiration. Some of my favorites are John Singer Sargent, Alphonse Mucha and Winslow Homer. Another thing that I do is keep copies of my old work, so that I can come back to it later when life has improved my technical skills. I think this is definitely considered creative inspiration for me.

Madame X by John Singer Sargent

6. When you’re not at BatesMeron helping out the team, what is your favorite thing to do?

When I am not working I am either playing soccer with my buddies, with my girlfriend, starting on a new painting that I will never finish or drinking some ice cold Coronas or Modelos.