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Carlos Segura There can't be many designers out there who have not flicked through a [T-26] type specimen book without drooling at both the fonts and the amazing packaging. The [T-26] foundry is just one of the many divisions of the award-winning Segura Inc design agency, founded by Carlos Segura. Carlos was originally from Santiago, Cuba and came to the US in 1965 when he was nine. He progressed from being a drummer in Miami to working in advertising agencies in Pittsburgh and Chicago. Eventually he started his own design agency with the aim of mixing as much fine art into the commercial art as possible. We talk to the multitasking Carlos about fonts, music and running one of the most respected design agencies in the world...
PIXELSURGEON: You've been living in the USA since 1965 - do you feel more Cuban or American? How have your Hispanic roots influenced your design, if at all?
CARLOS: I am American. I know that sound like I'm abandoning my "roots" but Cuba gave me and my family nothing but "shit". I am who I am today because of what America permitted me to be. Having said that. I am very proud to be Cuban in the sense that it is my family who brought me to this world, and they, are the roots in me, not Cuba.
What made you decide to take the leap from working for other people to starting your own design company?
I was very unhappy.
You're probably best known worldwide for [T-26]. Are you proud of that achievement or would you rather be known for your other projects?
I am proud of that, but I really am much more than [T-26]. I am a designer first. I happen to revolve my design around "typography" so the foundry is a logical second choice.
In what ways do you think [T-26] innovated the type market?
First, a bit of history. (sorry for the long answer)
Officially, the foundry started in the fall of 1994. The early nineties was a very energetic period in graphic design as a whole, and there was plenty of acceptance to go around for different points of views. We were definitely at the right place at right time. I had done a project through my design firm for The Merchandise Mart in Chicago in which I designed a custom font for the annual international interior design and furniture show. The campaign received a lot of recognition in the design press and we were fortunate enough to get many awards, as well as trade articles about this campaign, Communication Arts being among them. Somehow, the font “Neo” was becoming desirable and we started to get many calls asking if it was available. This was just part of the reason for us to start considering this venture. The other part was our belief that, during this period, there really was no singular place for a designer or other client to go to in search of “experimental” or “unique” typography. The choices at that time were 1) draw it yourself, or 2) go on an extensive time consuming search with no guaranty that you would find what you needed. Keep in mind that the web was not a major player yet.
We did go through a bit of hesitation, because while in hind sight there are more foundries today than ever, we were in search of a “reason for being” believing that the world really didn’t need another one.
There were many “real world” issues that we felt were not being addressed by the industry so we put our thinking caps on and developed a strategy for a better offering, above and beyond the “fonts”. Some of those were...
1) Offering student discounts. We were the first (and still are the only) foundry that does this. It is still difficult today, but back in 1994, the expense of a student to “gear up” was quite high, and we wanted to help. We offer 40% discounts to full time students (with proof of a class schedule) for two reasons, a) we know it’s hard to keep up, and b) and perhaps more important, we know our data is easy to copy. It’s a fact of life. We wanted to earn the respect and dedication of our market by being sensitive to their reality, so we offered a way for them to acquire our products without having to resort to stealing. This lead to a “seeding” that pays off each day since these “students” are now “the employed industry” and they now come back.
2) Expanding the user license. During the year we started, the industry standard was 1 font/1 CPU. Again, understanding the reality of the market (which was, and for the most part, still is) someone who buys a font is going to install it in more than one system. To a degree, we consider this to be acceptable, not wanting to “punish” someone for being fortunate enough to have more than one system. So we offered a 10cpu/50 printer license with each font. We have since revised this to 10cpu per font with 20% of the price for each additional 10 cpu’s. We also offer a 50% discount to customers who wish to purchase a cross platform copy at the time of purchase.
3) Relaxing service bureau usage. When a customer sends a file to a service bureau, we felt (in the increasingly growing “foundry” market) it was unreasonable to expect any “SB” to have to purchase the font just to output the job, so we permitted this to occur, not kidding ourselves in knowing that this was going on anyway. The only thing we asked is that the “SB” not archive the font. We did this for two reasons: a) Again, keep in mind that this was at the beginning of “digital outputs” and all of the bugs had not been worked out. lot of mistakes happened, and usually, it was the customer who had to pay for it, or, b) in rare cases, the “SB” had to eat it.
4) Contributions and donations. When we started, it was a good time, but it was also bad in terms of AIDS. We developed and produced specific collections of fonts were all of the proceeds were donated to non profit organizations dealing with this issue. On occasion, we are also very supportive of efforts within our trade. For example, we have donated our library, or portions of our library to the AIGA and other organizations for raffles to generate funds to specific educational ventures by these non profit organizations or schools.
5) Opening the doors. If you were a beginner, or and unknown font designer, your chances of being taken serious were slim at best by the top foundries of the time. We opened the doors of opportunity to everyone who wanted to send us something to look at. And we got some amazing stuff.
6) “Gift” marketing. The creation of our “fontkit”, which we use to this day, was a breakthrough in font marketing. It was very different than what was out there and it instantly became “collectible”. We started by committing to the concept that we would produce our materials in a limited matter, and once they were gone, we would never reprint them again. The led to us numbering our fontkits. We are currently at #24. They come in 10x13 silkscreened burlap cloth bags, full of catalogs, posters, postcards, small collector kits, napkins, coasters, and much more. Each font received a canvas of a full spread in which to be displayed, and was always “designed” instead of simply put on a sheet.
7) Digital direct mail. From the very beginning, we wanted to explore new and unique ways to position ourselves, and one way that got us an immense amount of press was the exploration of this very new medium called “quicktime”. [T-26] embarked on an effort that we called “digital direct mail” in which we created a short 1 to 2 minute “music video” of each typeface, except the star was the “font” and not a “band”.
8) Website. Internet sales was a very important avenue for us, and we were at the forefront of this new technology.
9) Why designers submit to [T-26]. This is a very intangible issue but real nevertheless. The foundation for the brand was in place before we even had a brand or an intent to create one. In essence, it started with what Segura Inc. grew to stand for in the design community, and the fact that it is a division of that effort. Segura Inc. had started 4 years before we even thought of starting [T-26] and had already made a mark in the business. I was already known in the industry after 10 years of Art Direction work at advertising agencies, and that helped spread the word. It’s ironic that this needs to be mentioned, but we worked very hard to be up front, honest and straight forward with everyone, and we treat everyone who comes across our path with respect, whether it was a long time professional or a beginner still in school. Do that for a while and it starts to pay off.
Are you surprised at how successful it became?
Yes. Most people think we are bigger than we are.
Which typographers make you sit up and take notice or inspire you?
There are quite a few, but I am going to pass on naming them because I don't want to offend anyone that I might forget.
Who were your inspirations when started graphic design and who do you find exciting today?
Neville Brody, and Rick Valecenti, but I would have to say that the influences came from bigger sources. I have always (and to this day) been influenced by the work coming from Japan and London.
You seem like a guy who has a lot of creative passions and outlets: motorcycles, drumming, typography, designing... is there one thing you do that you like more than the others or is the mix important?
The mix is important because the combination is what makes uniqueness.
Segura Inc is ten years old, but you've remained a relatively small agency in terms of the number of staff you have. Has this been a deliberate policy?
We stay small on purpose so we can be selective about the work we do. The bigger you are, the more work you have to take to "feed the beast" and that can lead to compromises.
You also work with your wife [Sun Segura, Segura Inc’s Managing Director] - have you ever had a shouting match across the studio?
Of course. But she's a great human being. I'm very lucky to have her in more ways than one.
How did Segura Inc embrace the web and new media?
We started at the very beginning. Mostly for [T-26], and then for Segura Inc. Jim Marcus was very helpful in helping us with that.
Where are your favourite destinations when you surf the web?
This changes so often that I hesitate telling you what they are. Of course there are constants, like Shift and alike, but there are some that play an "everyday" role that I find very helpful. like "Google" and "Amazon".
Did you grasp the possibilities of computers in typesetting and page design when Macs first came out or were you dismissive of them?
Oh no, I jumped in at the very beginning. Before Macs. I actually think this was one of the reasons we got well known. We were one of the firsts to go digital. At the time, I was in the ad agency business, so most of my colleagues wondered what I was up to. They were slow to jump in.
What was the idea behind setting up 5inch?
It's a bit similar to the reasons for setting up [T-26]. We saw a need that wasn't being filled by anyone else, so we did.
What made you realise that there was a gap in the market for slick silkscreened blank CDs and how did you then go ahead and make that happen for you?
We started by doing custom CDR's for our companies (Segura Inc, Segura Interactive and [T-26]) and we used them to deliver our data to clients and printers. We got alot of questions as to where we got it done and also realized that there was simply nowhere to buy these kinds of blanks.
You have an obvious interest in music, both designing record sleeves and starting a record company. Tell us a little bit more about Thickface.
Thickface was a deeply internal love. I was a drummer for 11 years before getting into design. That was my intent for a career, but I switched purely by accident and got into advertising. Music has been a very big part of me for a very long time. I also was a DJ in my younger years.
How did Jim Marcus persuade his just pregnant wife to appear on the cover of Everplastic's Aquagirl CD?
She didn't need much persuading. :-))
Do you have a different approach when you do something for a major star like Christina Aguillera than some of the smaller music acts you might create artwork for?
Sure. The bigger they are, the less open minded they are so there are alot of rules in play, especially from the label. Most of the time, we never even meet them. With smaller acts we get to meet and get to know each other.
How much freedom do your designers have when producing artwork? As an art director do you let them do what they want or are you a guiding hand?
I believe in absolute freedom. Completely. It is one of my "peeves". I mean, I try to allow people to do what they do best in every aspect. That does not mean that there can't be room for discussion, but I prefer that to take place "after" and not "before". Limiting someone can only deliver compromise.
What's the piece of artwork that you're most proud to have produced or been involved in?
I did a very special piece for [T-26] that was designed to premiere in London at an annual AtypI conference [see image at the top of the page]. I like how it turned out. (There are more, obviously, but this one comes to mind).
In almost every photo of Segura Inc, Yuki [Carlos and Sun’s labrador] appears somewhere in the frame. Segura Inc seems like a really cool, laid back place to work. Do you look forward to your Monday mornings?
Yes I do and I work very hard to make sure that everyone that works here does too. From making sure that we have good stuff to work on, to standing up for my designers, to treating them with respect and trust.
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