Name: Shilo

Location: New York, NY & San Diego, California (USA)

URL: www.shilodesign.com

Who is Shilo?
Founded just four short years ago, Shilo is a multidisciplinary design group. We have studios in two cities, San Diego and New York and each has its own Creative Director, Jose Gomez on the west coast and André Stringer, on the east coast.


Your studio has a strong background in skate culture and the hip-hop music scene. What made you move more in to a graphics based studio?
(Gomez) Really early on I was interested in motion graphics and design. Coming from a traditional fine art and design background I was always trying to find new ways to push the limits with what I had available to me. I started a skateboard company called Rhythm back in 1994. Around 1995, we made a video about skateboarding called “Genesis” and that was the first time I was attempting to put my designs in motion. I quickly found the tools and hardware of the day limiting. Back then all we had was Adobe Premiere and little under 8 gigs of storage space. When After Effects came out it really opened the doors and made it a joy to explore the possibilities.

(Stringer) I began studying film and photography in school and took up design as a secondary tool to add to my narrative work. Once I graduated I spent quite a bit of time photographing and editing skateboarding films and design has always been a rich part of that culture. Eventually I was spending more time designing than I was filming and more time at the computer than on the streets rolling behind the professionals. In 1997, I decided to take a job at a network to get the experience of what broadcast design was at that time. I spent the next three years at Black Entertainment Television in Washington, DC mostly doing on-air promotions and design. In 2000, I moved to Chicago and took a position at Digital Kitchen. There I spent the following two years doing mostly advertising projects for the likes of Budweiser, Xbox, Saturn, Earthlink and others but also doing some big projects for HBO, including promos for “The Sopranos” and the main title sequence for a series called “Platinum.” When I left Digital Kitchen I was an Associate Creative Director and in early 2003, the time seemed right to join forces with Jose and start Shilo fulltime–for the prior 2.5 years we were just collaborating on projects for fun in our spare time.

What type of projects does the studio work on and is there a particular type of client you tend to lean towards?
We are fortunate to have a wide range of clients covering an array of industries who have been amazing to work with. I think for us, it’s less about the segment we are working in, be it advertising, film, broadcast or music and more about the individual project. We always love a clever idea or an amazing back-story. We constantly look for new ways to push ourselves and the medium forward. And we have been really privileged that our clients give us the freedom to push limits. That said, we love to work with companies that are truly passionate about their product, companies we feel are looking to push the status quo in getting their message across.

Shilo designed and produced the 2005 Emmy Award-winning main title sequence for Showtime’s “HUFF,” tell us about that.
Prior to working on Huff, Shilo was a venue for us to do a pretty wide variety of work, but most was network related and we had not had the opportunity to work on a project that was of this caliber. The work that we were doing definitely established us as a forward thinking group of designers and directors, but we were mostly doing “contemporary design.” But when we were awarded the Emmy® (for Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Design) for “HUFF,” I think we all knew it would prove to be a pivotal moment for Shilo. As a group, we tried to get inside the head of the lead character, Dr. Craig “Huff” Huffstodt blurring the lines of reality in the process. We built the entire piece in After Effects and pushed it pretty hard. Our render farm was running around the clock cranking out the HD imagery—It was a lot of work but well worth it in the end. We are all really proud of that piece.

What are your favorite types of projects to work on?
I don’t think we have a favorite type of project… But if pressed I’d have to say the projects we enjoy the most are the ones that the client is looking to break new ground. Replicating what’s on your reel already is a sure way to get stuck doing the same type of work over and over. We always try to explain to our clients that while a particular solution my have been right for someone else that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for them. So I guess we try to educate them to expect more and it challenges us to constantly be thinking of fresh ideas and not resting on our past work.

How does your environment (NYC and San Diego) influence your work? How do you keep it fresh?
Both studios are special places and we try to make them as enjoyable to work in as humanly possible. The really cool thing is we both really love our spaces but it’s always nice to switch it up from time to time and travel to each other’s office. I think each one has a unique, relaxed vibe and that is reflected in the work. Both cities are interesting places to explore and you never know when you’ll see something that will inspire you.

As far as keeping the work fresh we are often working on self-initiated and collaborative projects. We consider some of our best pieces the ones we did just for the love of making the work. We recently created a piece called “Energy” that allowed us to experiment with visual storytelling in a unique way. I’m sure some of the techniques and ideas that went into that piece will find their way into future work as well.

Your work is quite unique so we were curious who or what you would say inspires your work the most? What would you say are your major influences? Our friends are definitely the single most important source of inspiration. The guys who work around us everyday… The design community is also huge source of inspiration.

Do you think you are more human or robot?
Is that a trick question?

Do you have any new projects coming up that you can tell us about?
There is always something new going on… We’re working on a longer form project right now. A main title sequence for a feature that will be coming out in 2006 and it’s unlike any project we have worked on in the past.

What do you know about Australian design/designers?
André’s Australian. Well actually, he’s Part Aussie. So I guess that means we know a little something about them.

Thanks Shilo!