Today we’d like to introduce you to Myles Mendoza
Hi Myles, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Sure! I’m a San Diego native and professional coffee drinker(unofficially). I have an unbelievably amazing wife and two boys who make me feel way cooler than I actually am. As a kid, art was always a part of my life. From elementary all the way up through high school, my notebooks were flooded with drawings and doodles. Like a lot of kids in the late 90s, skateboarding was a HUGE part of my life and thinking back now, I remember drawing my favorite skate logos in my notebooks. No particular reason other than I liked the way letters and shapes formed a symbol. Skip to my first semester in college, I took an introductory design class and was exposed to Photoshop. After the first day of learning how to fix a torn photo with the clone stamp tool, I felt as though I had gained powers. I mean, fixing a torn photo? Who else could do that?! The following semester I got a job at a silkscreen company where I learned the basics of Illustrator and worked for four years designing t-shirt graphics, embroidery and further learning the ins and outs of basic design. After becoming unsatisfied with that job requiring quantity over quality, I got an internship at my first agency that completely changed how I felt about graphic design.
For the next three years I worked alongside illustrators and designers, creating work for the entertainment and action sports industries until early in 2015, I became the Art Director of a new studio where I currently work.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not. It took many years until I realized more specifically what I wanted to do in graphic design. The first Agency I worked for dissolved and I was notified same day! After being let go, I had a hard realization that no matter how hard you bust your ass at your career, it can all be over in an instant. You never know. Having said that, busting my ass in my career paid off when I was asked to become the Art Director for the studio I currently work at. Although I was excited at the prospect of starting at a fresh studio, the responsibilities that came with it were pretty heavy. I’m constantly aware that the way we carry ourselves, the quality of our work and the way we treat our clients entirely determines how successful we are and continue to be, something I hadn’t thought too much about when I was an entry level designer.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
If you take a quick gander at my Instagram account, you’ll be hard pressed to not find logos and Star Wars art within 2 scrolls lol. It was, is and always will be one of my passions, along with creating badges and typography. As far as my professional career, I’m the Art Director at HRO Design studio in Mission Valley. Although we’ve worked for nearly every industry you can think of, our focus is primarily in the entertainment and consumer product industries. I’ve had the insanely fortunate opportunity to work with so many great brands and people over the years. Some of my favorites have been for Hasbro, Star Wars, Marvel, Warner Bros. and Discovery Channel. We are a small but mighty team of 3 and stoked to play even a small part in what new design trends are moving forward. I’m also pretty lucky to be able to work alongside my great friend and design wizard Raul Sigala, who is the ultimate sketch master and in my opinion one of the best designers in the game. We get to crank out super fun projects that include: branding, identity, toy packaging, typography, 3D design and style guides. Basically if you’ve ever walked down the toy aisles at Target or Wal-Mart, you’ve seen something we’ve made lol.
In my personal life I run my freelance business, Mendoza Creative, for personal projects and clients. I’ve hosted a few super fun design challenges with Logoinspirations on Instagram which gathered thousands of entries from designers all over the world. Lately however I’ve really enjoyed diving into the world of creating my own fonts. I’ve worked on type-based projects for damn near a decade and I finally decided to design type for myself. One aspect I have a lot of fun with in design is learning how to cater to different styles and genres. I vividly remember Raul and I working on Barbie and Harley-Davidson projects in the same day lol.
What were you like growing up?
Pop culture has always been a huge part of my life. Drawing my favorite characters was something I did daily. I love movies, especially quoting them. The Office has lately been a large part of my quote arsenal. As a kid my ultimate dream was that someone would create a real lightsaber, you know the kind that cut hands off? I love toys and Disneyland trips, which I feel has deeply influenced my style and approach to design and illustration. I’ve always had a great sense of humor and sarcasm. Laughing at myself I’d say is a good quality trait lol. I was and still am in love with video games. I love collecting vinyl toys, pins and I am the proud owner of 11 lightsabers. Also I still hope lightsabers will one day become real. Did I mention I love Star Wars? I think in one way or another, every Disney trip, skateboard deck, toy, pin and movie has helped shape my creative process and it’s an industry that I’m super proud to be a part of.
Contact Info:
- Email: mylesmendozadesigns@gmail.com
- Website: www.mylesmendoza.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mendozacreative
- Other: https://www.hrodesign.com
Image Credits
Raul Sigala
