Today we’d like to introduce you to Manuel Ruiz.
Hi Manuel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a Graphic Designer with more than 24 years of experience on the graphics arts business. I have always been in love with communication through graphics, at school I was in charge of painting the banners for school events, when I was just 18 years old I started studying art and painting at the Julio Arraga school in Maracaibo where I learned the hand of great artists painting techniques. My family had a boat manufacturing and sales company, so from a very young age I was involved in the organization of nautical events and competitions, creating the graphic image and marketing material for events such as the Rally Sur del Lago and Rally Nuestros Rios son Navegables ( the longest river boat race in the world). Then I started my university studies in graphic design and as soon as I graduated I was hired by the University of Zulia to teach Computer Graphics. After 2 magnificent years dedicated to teaching, I decided to start my first graphic services company, ProSeñal was a company that was born small but always made up of the best talents in design and graphic printing in Venezuela. We managed to gather a team of more than 22 professionals with a single goal, to change paradigms and break schemes with our unique style of branding.
By 2015 we had already managed to print graphics for important oil industries, banks, restaurants and businesses in the west of the country and received many awards for our jobs. In 2017, through a O-1 (Outstanding Talent Visa), I was hired by Chino and Nacho productions to manage their graphics image in United States, so I was involved in event image creation again, concert graphics, merchandise and the new wave of digital marketing through social media. At the same time, I have always provided my services for the creation of logos and branding for new companies, a job that I am passionate about and that I take very seriously, company owners place their trust in me to create all the graphic elements of their brand, as It is the logo, typography, color palette, theme and marketing material. Companies like Milano Care, Holpeca, GeOrganico, ClauVinck, Ark, and many others operate in different parts of the world that maintain my constant graphic advice.
Currently I also work as Art Director at Pro D Signs, my current Design, Signs and Wraps company. I am one of the few 3M certified graphics installers in the United States and together with my design and printing team we are dedicated to creating high impact graphics for all Central Florida. We have wrapped hundreds of vehicles with graphics that can be seen driving around Orlando and surrounding areas. My goal for the coming years is to be recognized as one of the main influencers of branding and marketing in Florida, for which I will fight unconditionally, putting my help to all the companies in central Florida, large and small, so that everyone has a professional image at the level of an important tourist city such as Orlando.
Member of:
https://my.aiga.org/home
https://segd.org/manuel-ruiz
http://adcglobal.org/member/manuelruizdesign/
https://members.hispanicchamberorlando.com/list/member/pro-d-signs-19173
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely not been a smooth road, knowing how to interpret the needs of each company in different countries becomes a challenge, a challenge that I am more than willing to take on. Many projects were modified by the effects of the pandemic, but I have also witnessed the ability to creatively reinvent oneself. From the creation of graphics to prevent infections to the image for new delivery companies and online services, we are all living proof that we are simply evolving.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have already told you about my passion for designing the image of companies. But I am also very moved by helping people regardless of the country they are in. That’s why I created a movement called Mural for a Cause (https://muralforacause.com/). An initiative to donate printed murals to the walls of our city, murals that show positive and inspiring messages for the social causes most in need.
We look forward to hosting our first Mural Design Contest soon, where local designers and artists can express their talents on inspiring murals.
What makes you happy?
To help, definitely few things have made me as happy as helping those who need it most. Not only through my graphic skills, I love helping my colleagues and friends in their projects, I take the time to listen to them at a dinner or over coffee and they always have my best service disposition. I learned a lot about serving others in the Boy Scouts during my childhood and youth. So one of the first things I did when I arrived in America was to enroll my son (Manu) in Boy Scouts, and without realizing it I was already working as a volunteer, I was serving as a Den Leader for 2 years and I am currently still volunteering for the troop.
Contact Info:
- Email: manuel@prodsigns.com
- Website: https://prodsigns.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pro_d_signs/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pro-D-Signs-599770497201692/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4zHh0qAS6uFOsdARayCe4g
- Other: https://www.behance.net/Manacho
