Visual.ly the largest global community in infography and data visualization, based in San Francisco, California, has interviewed to Ernesto Olivares as part of their program Visually’s Marketplace. Being a member of a community as important means to improve every day our work and attend to the details of the projects we develop. This is the interview:
I’ve been working independently for six years. But in the last year we formed a team of visual communication professionals, along with researchers and developers. We are able to provide creative solutions for any information or data visualization needs, including illustration & 3D modeling, strategic content, web design & interactive development.
– Tell us a bit about yourself: how did you get into design, and how long have you been doing it?
I always had a huge interest in how things work in detail. In particular, I was inspired by the 1990s coverage of the Gulf War by visual journalists who made the conflict a milestone in the history of Journalistic Infography. I realized that my goal was to make infographics to understand the world from its roots.
I got my Bachelors in Publicity but I have been always dedicated to designing in different newspapers, till about 15 years ago when I jumped into Journalistic Infography design. During that time I have been working as infographics editor for newspapers in Spain, U.S. and Latin America. In the last 6 years I established myself as an independent designer, doing research and designing infographics for all types of media and businesses.
– In seven words or less describe your style.
Simple and Clear Visual information
– If you could take a seminar With One designer or artist, living or dead, who would that be? Why?
Actually two: Jeff Goertzen, for its visual style faithfully attached to information and Alberto Cairo for his great data visualization and data management abilities.
– Which is your favourite colour? Why?
Orange, I always loved it and I’ve never really known why, I just like it.
– What is the biggest mistake you’ve made in your work and what did you learn from it?
The largest mistake was 25 years ago in front of an Apple Macintosh SE running as a server. I could barely move the mouse, but was in the process of learning and, accidentally, I erased all of the information on the hard drive. I deleted all the contents of the newspaper and it was late. I learned that too much curiosity can cause problems.
– And your greatest achievement? Tell us about the project you are most proud of in your career till now.
My current study: ErnestoOlivares.com is one of the most important and ambitious projects I have ever started. Using the knowledge gained from practicing Journalistic Infography and applying it to commercial and outreach information, has been a process of study and significant growth.
– Who should we feature next in this space?
The National Geographic guys, they are fabulous.
About Ernesto Olivares and Visual.ly:
Since 2011 Visual.ly is the largest community where you share, promote and create infographics, in fact, 80% of viral infographics on the network come from their creators. Ernesto Olivares, Visual Journalist with over 15 years of experience is a leading visual communicators of Visual.ly, with infographics views more than 135,000 times and developing viral marketing projects and strategic content for major brands and technology companies in the U.S. and the world.
