Perks of Being a Budding Designer: Young Carlos is Planning it for the Next Generation

Carlos Rodrigues

About a fortnight ago, I had a chance to speak to a brilliant young man named Carlos Rodrigues, a young designer in the making from London with big dreams and some eccentric ideas. We spoke about designing and other stuff and it turned out to be an interesting interview. Carlos goes by the handle @NGDLondon on Twitter (NGD stands for NexGen Design) and is a really interesting guy to talk to. Here’s a bit of the chat. Do read to know about the aspiring teenage designer and what he thinks & hopes:

Me: Tell us something about yourself Carlos? What’s ‘Your Story’?

Carlos: I’m a college student of graphic design. Grew up in England, moved to Brasil in 2004, and back to the UK in 2007. I had a rough time at school, as a result of which, found a lot of time to myself. I embraced this time and picked up some new skills along the way, like roller blading, but no matter what phases I went through I always went back to something artistic, usually photography. In September 2010 I studied business, and micro economics, I wanted to pursue it, but soon found out it wasn’t for me, so I dropped out and worked in retail for a year, September 2012, I enrolled in the graphics course.

Me: So you always went back to designing… if that’s OK to say?

Carlos: You can say it, but it wouldn’t be entirely accurate. I only started designing (both print and products) in the past 4 years. Photography has been a part of my life since I was a little boy.

Me: You are a shutter bug too! Does it help you in your work?

Carlos: It definitely inspires my work but only recently I have been learning how to combine the two.

Me: What’s NexGen design all about and what’s the inception of the idea?

Carlos: I used to own a software development company called 9001 productions that recently got broken down and sold, one of my partners wanted to start a stock trading business and NexGen was going to be the name. However that never took off… and it got laid to rest, about a year and a half down the line I started my own page “Carlos Rodrigues Creative Design and Media”, where I would get people to check out my projects, then I renamed it to NexGen when I approached the same partner to start a T-shirt business. Due to our conflicting schedules it never took off either, and has now been postponed until further notice. I still kept the brand because it looked nice, and I registered the website.

It’s more of a blog on Facebook and twitter now but I want people to know what I’m all about so I can start to cast a net for potential customers. NexGen Designs aim to be a one stop shop for all design needs, including hardware and promotional material. Eventually I would like to add my passion for business and add advertising and business consultancy to my portfolio

Me: Hmm so you are now building a personal brand around NGD and carrying it on your own? What’s the current status?

Carlos: At the moment I am dedicating my time studying, but when I turn 18 I want to get into financial stock market in order to fund NGD.

Me: What is it that you make and who should buy your stuff…

Carlos: My designs a classy stylish yet loud, so only someone who can appreciate the design and knows what goes into achieving what I do will know that it was an ambitious idea to begin with, but to everyone else its beautiful minimalism

Everyone should buy my stuff, if one day I become famous I would want my products to be accessible to everyone, and if they cost a lot its because it was expensive to produce, not because of the label.

Me: So if I were to ask you to associate your design with a celebrity… who will fit in the best?

Carlos: Wow I’ve never thought of it like that… it would be more of a character who is a fictional celebrity, like Tony Stark (Iron Man) loud, ambitious, determined, but still stylish and classy

Me: Is there something specifically NexGen looking forward to create?

Carlos: Super sleek and modern hi-tech workspaces with NO visible wiring. I really want to design a brand identity for a company that want a futuristic look. Something for a tech related or a pharmaceutical company.

Me: We are in the deciding phase of our logo identity. Would you like to quickly suggest something about it?

Carlos: Well I don’t think I’m experienced enough to comment on someone else’s work, but I think mono print is the way forward, thus allowing for different color schemes at different times of the year and events. Personally I have a thing for acronyms followed by a location, feels sophisticated

Me: What’s your daily source of inspiration?

Carlos: I commute every day, be it college, work or for leisure, but because I always travel on my own, and always use the public transport, I get time to take in what’s around me, and appreciate a vast timeline of design, be it in buildings, clothes or simple color schemes

Me: Is that something you would like to suggest other young budding designers like yourself?

Carlos: Teens like me are always texting, even when they’re walking its ridiculous, they miss out on so much…

Me: I know that you are studying as of now and you are about to turn 18… where do you see yourself and NexGen in 5 years from now?

Carlos: I design as I go, I Improvise, I don’t do thumbnails, or anything like that, its all trial and error, and my life is the same. NGD might be a simple blog as of now, it might pay the bills someday or it could be world famous. I say it because NGD is mine and I am NGD, so all I would say as of now is that in five years time we will still be around.

NGDLondon will become a business, at the moment I do a lot of credited work for people to help pay some of my fees. Poster designs and a bit of help for local businesses. Like i said my main concern at the moment is my studies, but I do have some ideas I want to work on. And when I get paid next I’m going to produce the bag that started all of this.

Me: Anything that you would like to say to your potential clients who a read this…

Carlos: I don’t take on a project without committing myself 110% to it, Hiring me is taking on someone who will care about your success. If I don’t believe in your business I won’t work for you, but if I do then you get both my professional and personal commitment, My core values are, and have always been Honesty, Respect, and Integrity. Plus I am NEVER EVER late.

Here’s Some Artwork from Carlos:
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Marty Huggins

Brand Freak at The Local Brand

Administrator and Chief Editor for TLB. Loves to talk. Super freak about publishing. Loves watching obscure movies, good cook and overall gentle fellow. Reach him if you want to write an article for TLB. Email him on marty@thelocalbrand.com