Carlos Segura [00:00]

I really want to see Chicago's design language and commitment to craft impact and shape the culture of design all throughout other major cities. I want people to copy us or to just be inspired or amazed by us or to get jealous of us? I want I want there to be that friendly competition. Hello, you're listening to Underscore, a podcast by the Chicago Graphic Design Club. I am your host, Christian Solorzano.

However, today's episode, which is our 50th episode, is going to be hosted by my good friend, Carlos Segura, and a previous guest on this show. And today, he's going to be turning the mic in my direction to ask me about my background, my upbringing, and I share some of the insight and some of the motivations and inspirations behind starting the club back in 2020 and this podcast back in 2022.

I also share some of my favorite things about Chicago's community and some of the future plans that I would love to do with this organization. And I also want to spend some time to just thank you, the listener, for supporting this show, for listening. And if you're new, I want to thank you for tuning in, and I hope that you find these conversations as inspiring as I find them.

And the other thing I do want to mention is that I want to just give a big shout out to all the previous guests on this show. Without them, this show wouldn't be what it is today. So thank you, and we'll talk soon. And enjoy the conversation.

Christian Solorzano [01:56]

Well, here we are sitting in front of each other, Christian, on March 9th, 2024, almost 2 years after you and I had a formal Interview. And since then, I feel you and I have become pretty good friends. I consider you a friend and we have exchanged texts and calls and all kinds of stuff almost on a daily basis since then. I use you for advice. I am very interested in your opinions.

I learn from you and you expose me to many things that, I'm just not either connected to or aware of simply because I'm a one-man shop and you are connected to almost everybody. In the Chicago community. Now, I'm hoping that through this conversation that you are and I are about to have will eliminate the need for a long-winded intro about you, because I'm hoping that the community learns about you from you, not from me or from a bio that I read or anything like that.

And I want to put you on the spot for your 50th episode to turn the mic around and have the community learn about you as you learn about the community. The work that you're doing is absolutely spectacular in my mind, and I commend you greatly. So with that, I welcome you to your podcast. The 50th anniversary. Well, not the 50th anniversary, but the 50th, the 50th episode of your podcast. Welcome.

Carlos Segura [03:49]

Thank you, Carlos. It's nice to not have to do the intro.

Christian Solorzano [03:54]

So I want you to feel comfortable because I feel like everyone in the community has made a connection with you by no accident. You've worked very hard and are extremely generous with the people that you connect with. I remember when you first reached out to me. I think it was at the beginning of 2022, or maybe even late 2021. You just reached out of the blue.

I had no idea who you were, but I was just intrigued of your tone and voice, and I'm so glad that we connected. I really am. So why don't we start by just going a little bit further back and just tell me, tell me a little bit about how you grew up, your childhood, any particular events that you, that shaped you when you were younger that has taken you to today?

Carlos Segura [04:58]

Well, I grew up an only child. I was the main things that I would, I that I like to think about as defining moments for me was growing up as the only child up until I was 11, which is when my brother was born, and also being raised by a single mom.

And I think those 2 things, particularly the being raised by a single mom, I think that really shaped a big part of my outlook on life because I didn't have the standard parental guidance that I think many kids grow up with. So I had a lot of freedom and I had a lot of liberty to explore my interests uninterrupted. So anything that I wanted to get my hands on, anything that I wanted to do, no one was there to really say no.

No one was there to say no. I was never really a troublemaker in the traditional sense. More so, I like to push the boundaries in school, and I like to see how far I could get away with expressing myself in school up until, the teachers would either tell me to stop dressing a certain way or to cut my hair, etc. I've always been a loner, and I think that's something that you and I can identify with.

I love my own company. I love to be alone. I love solitude. And I even remember as a kid sometimes having friends come over to the house and like knocking on the door to ask me to come out and me sending my brother to tell them that I wasn't home. When I got, I got my first computer when I was about 10 or 11, and I remember the first like the first 2 years or so with a computer, I had no internet.

All I had was a computer with no internet. So I had to get creative and at the time, to me, it wasn't graphic design. It was just making things on the computer. For example, I remember making a driver's license for my baby brother at the time. And I thought it was the coolest thing ever because it was a driver's license for a baby. So I would do a lot of like experiments like that. I remember also creating a Mother's Day poster for my mom.

And it had a— it had like, it was all clip art, but it had a soccer player and the soccer player was kicking a ball and the ball was going in the direction of the text and it had a poem about Mother's Day. So that's been my passion ever since, just graphics, text, image. And yeah, that's a little bit about my childhood. I will say that my group of friends growing up probably weren't the best influences towards me.

We were all— we all came from very similar upbringings. There was always— we had this invisible rule that I mean, it was never a rule that we ever talked about, but sometimes I would reflect on it. And it was always so strange because all of our friends, none of us, we were— none of us had fathers. So we were all like these fatherless misfits.

Christian Solorzano [08:24]

Did you feel any particular emptiness or loneliness by not having a dad?

Carlos Segura [08:30]

No, I wasn't kind of— to me, to me, honestly, it was like the most normal thing. And it was funny because when I started to leave my bubble a little bit, I started to discover that other people, like other people, other kids, other young adults grew up with both parents.

Christian Solorzano [08:50]

That's very interesting. And also, the comment that you made, which is touching to me because, as you mentioned, you and I are very much the same in this regard. I'm also a loner. And it's interesting how a loner has become the public face of graphic design in Chicago. And so we'll talk a little bit more about that throughout the other questions that I have for you. But it's a— it's an interesting thing because it is a challenge to overcome that. Not that it's scary or anything.

It's just that it's built within your own personality. And so you have to overcome that too. The other thing too that I found interesting is that you started with a computer with no internet. I also started with no internet because there was no internet. So that was an interesting thing. So we get to your young adult and the biggest scope question that I have for you basically is, why are you doing this?

Carlos Segura [09:48]

Why am I doing this? That's a good question. I, there's always, there's always a different answer. The answer that I always keep coming back to is that I've had great teachers all throughout my life, great mentors, friends. I consider you one of those people. And I've— a lot of my— a lot of the great things that have happened in my life have always come from the result of someone opening a door for me. Answering the phone, helping, giving advice, etc.

And there's a lot of people like that. So naturally, and this is all unplanned, I just like to— I feel an obligation to create spaces where other people can also experience that, because I think it's life-transforming. Sometimes I've been in rooms where I've heard someone say something that perhaps they weren't too aware of, but it was, it's like something that stuck to me and it just changed my life.

And there's been a lot of those moments where someone will just in passing state something and it just sticks with me and then it opens a door to something else. And there's so many things in my life that I could point back to. A single person saying something. And sometimes it wasn't even directed at me. It was just them either talking to themselves or talking to someone else. And I— and there's a lot of power in that.

Christian Solorzano [11:25]

There's—

Carlos Segura [11:25]

I think that's one of the— in my opinion, it's such a great, beautiful thing about life is having those kind of spaces where conversations like that can happen.

Christian Solorzano [11:38]

It's a good segue because I was just going to talk to you about, just yesterday you and I had a conversation offline. Admiring yesterday's event with Rick Valicenti and just the mind-boggling creativity that he has and the achievements. And I recall you telling me that you think people like him and me and the likes of designers of that era were— you used the word crazy.

Because it was literally, it was so hard to create these things because obviously you have to do with your, with your hands. But it just brought me to think about, okay, so you have the club, you have events, you have a podcast, you have a radio station, you now created a magazine, you're a teacher, and you have a full-time job. I mean, come on. What else? How do you even juggle all this stuff? It's just really unbelievable.

Carlos Segura [12:44]

Someone I spoke with a few, like about 2 months ago, they— I asked them the question that you just asked me about right now, about how do you, how do you balance all this, all these things? And their answer was that they have a compulsion to create. And I think that, I think that's a— that sums it up perfectly. And I think for me, it's just like this compulsion to just Create.

And it's, and it's, and it's I don't know what, I don't know what it is, but it's sometimes it's just all I think about.

Christian Solorzano [13:16]

Do you feel like it's just simply part of your existence? It's the personality that you have that's just coming out?

Carlos Segura [13:22]

I think so. But I've always, I've always, I've always been this way. But I think up for a really long time that like these characteristics, specifically in school, like in middle school, high school, they were always— the teachers always try to suppress them. Over time, as I have more and more conversations with people that are also constantly making, constantly creating, I've begun to recognize that there's other people that are in the same shoes as I am.

Christian Solorzano [13:54]

I'm assuming that if you had to isolate one of the 15 things I just said, it would be the podcast. That's your primary focus. Would that be correct?

Carlos Segura [14:04]

It's the one— the podcast is the one thing that well, my primary focus is my job, my day job, because I have to do that. But then the other thing is, I would say the podcast, and simply because there's a schedule that I stick to, and that's to release an episode every other week. And I've never missed, I've never missed one of those. There is one time where I released an episode a day late, but that was the only time.

But for me, having a schedule, having that discipline really helps because it removes this necessity to make it, make a choice because it's like the choice has already been made every other Monday. That's it. It needs to get done. That's it. There's nothing, there's nothing else about it.

Christian Solorzano [14:59]

Can you talk about what kind of insight you're trying to acquire when you interview the wide variety of people that you interview?

Carlos Segura [15:08]

Yeah.

Christian Solorzano [15:08]

I mean, do you have a specific goal when going into something, or is it free flow? Meaning, for example, do you want a combination of personal stories, professional advice, general guidance, or do you want a specific focus on the discipline of the person you're interviewing?

Carlos Segura [15:27]

I think when it comes to designers, let's say in Chicago, that are very well known, sometimes I think people put those people on a pedestal as these like untouchable entities that you could only wave at from a distance. My aim is always to have those guests share their stories and to create some kind of space for vulnerability. Yeah, to just make them, make them seem approachable, which they all are. So that, that's the goal. That, that's the goal.

And then also the other, the other thing is, and this is something that I just have to be patient with, but the idea of someone 10 years from now, 20 years from now, being able to look back at these conversations, that, that's really inspiring.

Christian Solorzano [16:18]

I mean, I think that could possibly be the best part of all of this, not just the podcast, but everything you're doing. You're creating an archive. Unfortunately, that didn't happen in the past as well as it can happen now because of technology. But so do you limit interaction only with Chicago creatives, or are you exposing Chicago creatives to global insights?

Carlos Segura [16:41]

Well, the podcast, for example, that's Chicago only, but All the other programming, like virtual lectures that we've done, all that stuff is open to— like, for example, we've done stuff with people from New York. We had our first talk from Barnbrook, and they're in England.

And so the podcast Chicago, everything else is I always tell people, I want people to want to, want to move to Chicago. I want them to find the club and say, holy crap, there's a lot happening there. I'm going to move there now.

Christian Solorzano [17:25]

I really like the fact that it's Chicago-focused. Chicago has had its ups and downs. Throughout history for what it represents. It was the you know one of the top car automotive locations on Michigan Avenue with Motor Row. Then in the '50s, Motor Row turned into Record Row, and there was you know house music that was born. There was jazz before that. I mean, it was just advertising started in Chicago, the packaged goods capital of the. United States with J. Walter Thompson in the late 1800s.

So what is— what do you think you bring to the table? What, what's different about you other— for example, comparing say the STA or AIGA? What are, what are you trying to bring to the table that you thought was missing?

Carlos Segura [18:23]

Yeah, that's a good question. I think what I bring to the table, what we bring to the table, is Intense curiosity and passion for what we do. I'm not just speaking for myself, but there's a lot of love for graphic design, making, typography. All that stuff to me gives me goosebumps. I get goosebumps when I see, really good work? I just get very excited and I want to celebrate that stuff. Celebrate it, champion it, share it. I think that's what it is.

It's just, let's make this be about the work. Let's not— I mean, we could talk about other things. Sure, let's talk about all the other stuff. But at the end of the day, we're all centered around visual communication, graphic design, creativity. That's what it's about. And I get very critical when I see other design organizations that talk about everything but the work.

It's so annoying to me. It's like, what does that have to do with the work? And sure, you can make the argument. It's like, well, everything's about the work. But no, let's talk about the work. Let's look at it. Let's study it. Let's examine it. Let's be inspired by it. Let's critique it. But it's about the work. It's not about anything else. I mean, sure, it can be. It's about the work. Well, it's about the work and the people that make the work.

Christian Solorzano [19:48]

But you're so active, Christian. I mean, you're just Out there almost every day. You're doing some every single day. It's just unbelievable. How do you manage your time?

Carlos Segura [19:58]

How do I manage my time? Well, I wake up early. I don't drink. I don't have any, vices. I don't stay out late. I don't party. I don't do— I'm actually a pretty boring person. If you were to spend the day with me, you may, you may have some fun, but well, I mean, you and I have had several meals together.

Christian Solorzano [20:22]

It wasn't that boring.

Carlos Segura [20:24]

I know, I know. But everything I— is I'm very routine. It's a very disciplined routine of I wake up, this is what I do, then this happens and this happens and this happens. And it's, and it's just that's— but there, but there's a lot of variety, like every evening I'm doing something different and I'm just surrounded by really intelligent People that I'm really inspired by. So that helps.

I think there's a lot of truth to the people that you surround yourself with impact and influence whatever outputs you create. So yeah.

Christian Solorzano [21:03]

I was just gonna say that very quote. I mean, you are, you become who you hang around with.

Carlos Segura [21:08]

Because I mean, I've hung around with, especially when I was in college, I spent time with people that probably I shouldn't have been spending time with, and I was spending money on stupid stuff. I was staying out late.

Christian Solorzano [21:24]

So what set you straight?

Carlos Segura [21:26]

I think it was just a slow transition. Maybe maturity. Maybe I hit my head.

Christian Solorzano [21:34]

So I know that you're the nucleus of all these things that we've been discussing, but I also know you have a little help from your friends, shall we say. So do you find it difficult to get help?

Carlos Segura [21:49]

I don't, because I've noticed that the people that I tend to— yeah, just the people that I tend to come in contact with are always people that are very similar to me. So I find it very easy to lean on them and also for them to lean on me. So it feels very natural in that sense. So no, I don't, I don't find it easy to, I don't find it hard to get help.

I mean, I have so many people on like speed dial, sometimes I call you, hey Carlos, like this thing happened, what should I do? I have, I, on a weekly basis, there's a lot of those calls.

Christian Solorzano [22:30]

I have to tell you, man, I really like those little short conversations that you and I have almost every day.

Because I mean, at the end of it, man, I feel like, I have no employees, I have no— I live and work at home as you do. And I feel like generally in life, there's just a nucleus of important people. You don't have to have like 100 people. And those are the ones that help you go through, even if they're silly, you and I had exchanged some pretty silly things.

Throughout the day. But, and we, and we all, we all, we spend most of the day laughing at each other. But that's just hilarious. I love it. I love it.

Carlos Segura [23:15]

Yeah. Well, I do. Yeah, go ahead.

Christian Solorzano [23:19]

No, please. You do what?

Carlos Segura [23:20]

No, I was gonna, I was gonna say, I do want to get back to, like you mentioned, what set me straight. And I think the thing that happened was in 2015, I started training martial arts. And I think ever since then, my entire life has changed.

Christian Solorzano [23:39]

So, wow.

Carlos Segura [23:39]

Yeah, that's what it is. But it's funny because it happened such a long time ago that it was difficult to think about. But yes.

Christian Solorzano [23:46]

Okay. I need you to talk a little bit more about that. I've always, my whole life, I've always contemplated doing that and I never have.

Carlos Segura [23:52]

I mean, it's the best thing ever. Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which is what I train. It's the one thing that if I won, if I won the lottery tomorrow, like millions of dollars, I would probably in my, in my list of priorities, Brazilian jiu-jitsu would go above graphic design because I love it that much.

Christian Solorzano [24:13]

Wow, that's amazing.

Carlos Segura [24:16]

Yeah. But yeah, I mean, training jiu-jitsu, which is like the best way to describe it, it's there's a lot of strangling. There's a lot of joint locks. It's kind of like wrestling, but a little bit, in my opinion, more creative. And if you're making stupid life decisions, those decisions are gonna be reflected in the gym. So that's what it was.

It's like, if I keep, if I keep, if I keep acting stupid, I'm gonna keep making mistakes when I'm, when I'm fighting with someone, when I'm sparring with someone. So that's what it was. I remembered.

Christian Solorzano [24:59]

That's interesting that you had, that you had to remember that it wouldn't have been like at the tip since you say you love it so much.

Carlos Segura [25:05]

Well, it's again, it's just it's just something that I just—

Christian Solorzano [25:09]

It's part of your lifestyle. So when does this happen? Mornings, midday, afternoons, evenings?

Carlos Segura [25:16]

It happens in the evenings. Like once I'm— and that's why Monday through Friday, my schedule is usually Design Club stuff, work, Design Club stuff, and then in the evenings, either design class, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, or tai chi. And that's Monday through Friday.

Christian Solorzano [25:35]

I spoke at one of your classes some months ago. I'm curious what your observations are about the teaching experience, the student personalities, meaning what's the general vibe of the student body today, commitment-wise, dedication-wise, seriousness, all that kind of stuff? I mean, what's your general— and I know you're kind of walking on eggshells here, so.

Carlos Segura [26:10]

Well, all I will say is that a lot of the students that I have were all born in the 2000s. And they had mobile, like either an iPad or a phone very early on.

And I think that is not a good thing because it just makes it much more difficult to be able to think on your own and to be able to have a unique point of view because what we see in the media, technology, all these social media platforms, all this stuff, a lot of it shapes how we look at the world and our relationship with other people. And I see, and I, and I do find that it's a bit of a challenge.

And I think it does hold some people— it just makes it much more difficult. I don't want to say like it holds some people back, but it makes it a little bit more challenging to fully embrace who you are and what you're capable of bringing to the table.

Christian Solorzano [27:19]

Do you think— and this is generalizing, which is sometimes dangerous— but do you think that the student body today enters this craft for the sake of exposure, fame, money, or perceived money? As opposed to the true love. Like when back in my day, if you, if you went into this, it's because, I mean, you just absolutely had no other option to do anything else because you loved it so much. I mean, it was, you literally had to go get it. It didn't come get you.

I ask it because sometimes I feel like the wonderful technology that we have today sometimes hides the true meaning of life, I guess. I don't know.

It's very tricky to maneuver the emotions that are inside you when you're being distracted so deeply by what's going on outside. And sometimes, there's this famous observation where someone asks a young person, what do you want to be when you grow up? And they say, I want to be famous. And it's such an empty answer. I just wonder if the acquisition of craftsmanship and learning and expertise is within— I don't know. I'm literally asking because I'm not in that world. You are.

So I just have no idea. And I've been asked to teach many times, but I'm afraid to do it because I don't know if I can deal with all this stuff. You and I have had conversations about that before, but you deal with it quite well.

Carlos Segura [28:49]

Yeah, I think it's a little bit differently for all the students, because I— some of them, I think it's because they truly love it. And those students are always very easy to spot because they'll challenge you in a way that encourages me to see things differently. And I think that, to me, that's the most rewarding part about teaching is when a student challenges and tries to do things in a way that is unexpected. That's really cool.

Christian Solorzano [29:25]

Let's talk about the Chicago Graphic Design Club a little more. What's the long-term goal for the club?

Carlos Segura [29:31]

Long-term goal for the club is I really want to create a school. That's the goal. When I think, anytime I drive past a YMCA, it's like, how awesome would it be if there is the YMCA, but it's of design, and anyone could walk in, they could say, hey, we're teaching a letterpress workshop this weekend. And like Tuesday evening we're screening this film, Wednesday night we're doing typography, Friday night we're having a party with, some designer. That would be awesome.

Christian Solorzano [30:08]

I absolutely love that answer.

Carlos Segura [30:10]

Yeah. And there—

Christian Solorzano [30:11]

Oh my God, can you imagine?

Carlos Segura [30:13]

Yeah, it would be so cool. And there's— and we could have some kind of shared coworking space so that people could go there to work, and there could be a library. A coffee, like a cafe.

Christian Solorzano [30:24]

Oh man, that's just amazing. I love it.

Carlos Segura [30:28]

Yeah, a little outdoor vibe.

Christian Solorzano [30:29]

I mean, I'm picturing it in my mind.

Carlos Segura [30:30]

Yeah, it would be amazing. So that's my, that's my big plan. How we'll get there, I'm not sure yet. But I think the, we've been taking the steps that I think will get us there. Who knows when?

Christian Solorzano [30:50]

Have you— yeah, have you considered including a call for entries, like for example the STA 100 in Chicago kind of thing, competition?

Carlos Segura [31:01]

Yeah, we thought about that. It's— yeah, we thought about it. Yes, and we do want to do that.

We just need to figure out the logistics of how to get entries, how to do all that, because I remember when I was involved in STA many years ago, we used to get entries in the mail, and we had— we spent like a few days, and I remember my job was to collect the entries, lay them all out on a table, and then the judges would come in and flip through things, touch them, discuss them.

And that's— if we were to do, if we were to do a competition, that's how I would want it to be done, because I'm not a big fan of judges judging work on a screen. It just— I don't like that at all, one bit, especially if you're looking at printed work on a screen. It's so difficult to judge.

Christian Solorzano [32:01]

So what is the first thing you would change about our industry?

Carlos Segura [32:04]

I hate buzzwords and jargon. I would probably just get like, make that, make that all be illegal. Like you can't—

Christian Solorzano [32:15]

Give me a buzzword that you hate.

Carlos Segura [32:18]

Like you can't say design thinking or human-centered design.

Christian Solorzano [32:24]

There's one phrase that I hear on TV commercials of late. I don't know why of late, all the time, which just drives me insane. Life-changing moments. It's such bullshit.

Carlos Segura [32:35]

I feel like sometimes the design industry gets so lazy and we just default to the same words all the time. And I'm guilty of it. I think we all do it, but I would probably find, try to find ways to like reframe how we talk about what we do. Even like bios. Like if you read a bio of a designer.

Christian Solorzano [32:57]

Well, I believe you've seen my bio.

Carlos Segura [33:01]

Yeah, I've seen your bio and I, and I was inspired by it because on LinkedIn, my bio, I think it says Christian doesn't like bios about himself or something to that effect.

Christian Solorzano [33:12]

That's good. What do you think the industry is doing right?

Carlos Segura [33:15]

Well, I love all this AI stuff that's happening, Carlos.

Christian Solorzano [33:18]

Oh God. I wasn't going to use that. I wasn't going to bring that word up and now you've done it.

Carlos Segura [33:25]

And I, and I love the NFT stuff too.

Christian Solorzano [33:29]

Oh my God, that's it.

Carlos Segura [33:30]

We're done. Just kidding. Stuff that we're getting. I think it's what I really love and what I find really inspiring, which I feel like is a blessing and a curse, is how much access we have to what's happening in the world of design outside of the United States. Like being able to see what's happening in like Japan, Australia, like Africa, other places, and seeing how they— how their visual communication is expressed is super enriching.

And I mean, obviously there's magazines and there's things that have been around forever that you could, that always feature works from different parts of the world, but it's really inspiring. But at the same time, it's also very easy to plagiarize without, just subconsciously.

Christian Solorzano [34:25]

Yeah, you bring up a good point about the old magazines, and God knows I love technology and use it and appreciate it and embrace it and all that kind of stuff.

But much like going to an antique store and seeing old pictures in a box, which is not going to happen in 20, 30 years because there's no pictures to be in a box like, my studio is full of these beautiful annuals and magazines that basically don't— there's a handful of publishers now that are absolutely killing it. Slanted comes to mind. I love all the stuff that they do. There's a few others.

I feel like, and, well, not too much in the distant future, we're not gonna have those references because all that, all that stuff is online and it just will be gone. Like you can't go to your library and sit in a chair and flip through some old magazines and, relive that time. I feel like, I don't know.

Carlos Segura [35:35]

And I also feel like we've lost the patience to flip through magazines. Because it's, I mean, if you think about it, yes, it's amazing. I mean, we just launched the magazine and I want everyone to buy it, but it's also the inconvenience of having to order it, waiting for it to arrive, sitting with it, flipping through it. It's exciting, but it's also compared to just going on your phone and just typing anything you want and just scrolling endlessly. That's more convenience.

And I think sometimes we choose convenience over the inconvenience of the physicality of things, kind of like making things with your hands. Why typeset something when I can just type something into my InDesign file and hit print and it's done?

Christian Solorzano [36:28]

Yeah. I mean, I mean, we're all guilty of it. I surf quite often. I mean, there are good things. I'll have to say, in the interest of fairness, because I've been exposed to it and have learned, oh my God, so much that I would otherwise not know of because this window to the world is in my hand?

Carlos Segura [36:54]

Yeah, like the club could have not— could not exist hadn't it been for Zoom and Virtual. That's how we started in the middle of the pandemic, like right in the beginning. And it would have been impossible to do all that we did. So it's—

Christian Solorzano [37:14]

I—

Carlos Segura [37:15]

We connected through the internet.

Christian Solorzano [37:17]

So let's talk about the magazine a little bit. It just— you just had your premiere issue. Thank you, by the way, for inviting me to write the intro. That was a true honor. I appreciate it. What drove you to do that? Because I mean, first of all the other stuff you're doing is basically digital other than the events and all that kind of stuff. And while it's time-consuming and extremely, it's just a time sucker.

It's less of a financial burden than putting your hard-earned money On the table to print a magazine, yep, and all that goes with it, by the way. Because, for example, when you do a podcast or when you do a post online, if there's a mistake, you go back and you can fix it and all that kind of stuff. But once you print, you're done. Yeah, as you and I have had many exchanges about this through your process of massaging the magazine into an accurate document.

So talk to me why did you Embark on the magazine? What's your goal for the magazine?

Carlos Segura [38:26]

Why the magazine? Everything started in June of last year. I texted a friend and I said, we should do a design magazine. And they said they were working on something. They're in, they're in a graduate program and they were working on like another publication for that. I've always wanted to create a publication, like ever since, like for as long as I can remember. I never knew what it would be about. But I knew that I always wanted to publish something that was printed.

In Chicago, a lot of the programming that we create is always in response to the things that we don't see happening. So for example, Chicago design podcasts, that doesn't exist. Let's create one. A Chicago design music program, that doesn't exist. Let's create it. A magazine. Why doesn't it exist? There's magazines for just about everything else. There's architecture magazines, there's food, hospitality, but there's nothing that's graphic design.

As far as, I mean, there has been, and there's creative magazines in Chicago, but nothing exclusively about just graphic design. So it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Christian Solorzano [39:46]

Is everybody in the magazine From Chicago? And are you going to maintain the magazine a representative of Chicago?

Carlos Segura [39:54]

Yes, that's the plan, because I feel like the moment that we open it up to the entire country or the entire world, all of a sudden you now get placed beside all these other publications that have been around for a longer time, that have bigger teams, and I rather I like the challenge of having it be just here.

Christian Solorzano [40:19]

I think that's a good call personally, even though, there's the argument that you could say, well, Chicago people want to see other resources, but there are other things for that.

Don't get distracted by that. I feel like, the other important factor that I know you feel, but you haven't spoken I feel like Chicago— I don't know how to phrase this, and this may be incorrect, but we have a— not a problem, but a— it's almost like an uphill battle for us to pat ourselves on the back? And there's a lot of hidden treasures in Chicago, a lot of talented people, a lot of ideas.

We're kind of like a Midwestern attitude where we just keep it within and we don't really talk about it too much. And I think your club and your magazine and all the things that you're doing is bringing it to the surface and revealing, yeah, how magical all that stuff is.

Carlos Segura [41:19]

Yeah, exactly that. And that's kind of what I was mentioning earlier about, it's like humanizing and like making the designers appear approachable because they are approachable.

Christian Solorzano [41:30]

Well, not just the ones that have set the tone. Yeah, but I feel like you're giving an opportunity to up-and-coming talent. At least that's the venue that you are putting on the street is an open door for up-and-coming talent, in a way, much like how we did with T26 when we started back in '93, I think it was.

Carlos Segura [41:52]

Yeah, that, that's, to me, that's a very important very important thing is that there's a representation of generation, because I think sometimes when we talk about topics like representation, like diversity, like inclusion, we look at those things through a very narrow framework. And for me, true diversity, true inclusion, True representation is about creating a space where people can coexist regardless of their opinions, their thoughts, their beliefs, their age, generation, all that kind of stuff. And I think that to me, that's really important.

And I really want to like stress that because that's just part of— that's just ingrained into our DNA is we don't want this to be a cool kids club or cater to one specific audience. No, this is about everyone. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. Like I was mentioning at the beginning of the conversation, a lot of this stuff, it's not about— it's not about me. It's about a reflection of the community.

Christian Solorzano [43:16]

It's—

Carlos Segura [43:17]

This publication is a sort of mirror.

Christian Solorzano [43:20]

So I'm I know, not all, but a lot of the history of Chicago with regard to advertising and all that kind of stuff. And I'm just curious what you think our industry, how does it compete with other parts of the nation or even the world? I mean, what place do you feel Chicago has with its level of creativity at this moment?

Carlos Segura [43:42]

I think our attention to craft is really important. Or something that just really stands out to me. And when I say craft, I'm talking about the very small details. I think our reputation for great typography and from what I've seen, like the design firms that I really look up to, their clients are never the big names like the McDonald's or the Nikes or like any of that kind of stuff, which Frankly, I don't care about.

I'm not, I don't get like starry eyes when I see on someone's website, worked with Google or Nike or McDonald's or Target, like any of those big names. I don't care about any of that stuff. For me, it's the dedication to working and helping elevate the brands of art institutions, museums, sectors that are probably not very sexy, like insurance, or, you get what I'm trying to say.

And I think that's what really stands out to me is the care for the things that perhaps get overlooked by many people. It's not the big names. It's not the— I mean, sure, we have Google in Chicago and there's McDonald's and all those other tech firms. But I find, I don't know, for some reason I find that kind of design work the least inspiring, in my opinion.

Christian Solorzano [45:21]

So do you think the output of Chicago is comparable to other markets? Better, worse, same, room for improvement?

Carlos Segura [45:29]

I think it's, I mean, I think it's up there with all the other great design that's happening all over the, all over the world. But going back to your point, I don't think we do a good enough job Amplifying that stuff.

Christian Solorzano [45:42]

Yeah, I completely agree. There's so much great work out there. There are many examples of amazing work that I see. If I hadn't seen it in an awards show, or really just an awards show, I wouldn't have seen it at all.

Carlos Segura [45:58]

I think what I would like to see more of is, and maybe it is happening, but I just haven't been aware of it yet, but I really want to see Chicago's design language and commitment to craft impact and shape the culture of design all throughout other major cities. I want people to copy us or to just be inspired or amazed by us or to get jealous of us?

I want I want there to be that friendly competition of, oh snap, like Segura's branding for this client is really cool. I'm going to try to do something better? I like that.

Christian Solorzano [46:49]

Every single thing that you're doing is contributing to that. And it's just, I mean, it's gotta be a good feeling. It is.

Carlos Segura [46:57]

It is a good feeling. Yeah, of course it's a good feeling. And it's, and it's a good feeling to to— and I've had conversations with people from other cities that sometimes reach out and they're like, hey, what you're doing is really inspiring. We had someone from Korea reach out last week and they were— and it was funny because they posted a story on their Instagram, but it was all in Korean, so I had to translate it.

And what they were saying to their design community was, how can we create a community like the one that's happening in Chicago?

Christian Solorzano [47:35]

Oh my God, that's amazing, because my next question was going to be, what are the world markets that you're a fan of? And I personally find that South Korea and Barcelona and Thailand. And, a lot of stuff in From Germany is just incredible. And it's interesting that South Korea would reach out to you about that because I feel like they do a great job at promoting their level of creativity, not just in design but in every other aspect. I mean, have you been to South Korea?

Carlos Segura [48:14]

I have not, no. I would like to.

Christian Solorzano [48:15]

Yeah, I've been there 3, 4 times, but it's just spectacular.

Carlos Segura [48:19]

I love South Korean design. I love Japanese design. I love Mexico.

Christian Solorzano [48:26]

Yeah, Mexico is another market that's—

Carlos Segura [48:29]

They're crazy. They're so good. I went to— I was in Mexico a few weeks ago and I went to go get a tattoo. And the tattoo artist, we were talking about— he was asking me where I'm from and I'm like, oh, I'm from Chicago. And I gave him one of our club stickers. And then he started talking about how he's a graphic designer and he studied typography At a university in Mexico. And then he pointed me to his library in the tattoo shop.

And he was just like this brainiac typography enthusiast person. And we just had this great conversation about typography. And then I was looking through a lot of his artwork, a lot of the tattoos that he's done. Columbia is also like a very strong with graphic design as well. I have a, I have a friend that lives there and they put together a lot of, a lot of stuff regarding like hand lettering.

Yeah, there's a, there's a lot of really cool stuff happening all over that I'm really inspired by.

Christian Solorzano [49:29]

I spend a lot of hours a day learning and exposing myself to other things just to, be aware of what's going on, good and bad. It just sometimes can be quite overwhelming though. You have to be careful because my problem is that I'm always comparing my singular output to global output, and of course, I'm you're never gonna win like that. Yeah, I'm not even sure it's a good idea to be comparing anyway.

Yeah, and I don't compare it in any sense to value what I do because I think what I do is what I do, and you can like it or not like it, but that's okay. Yeah, but it's mine. But it does get to you, because I mean, if you're the type of person that I believe you are and I am, you're always curious and you always want to improve yourself. And that challenge is it just can eat you up if you're not careful.

Carlos Segura [50:21]

What I— so I do compare, but maybe I do it slightly different and it's something that I can't control. So don't even say like, don't compare yourself, Christian, because I'm not going to listen to you. But what I do sometimes is when I'm making something, in my mind, I imagine what people that I look up to, and some of them I don't even know, some of them don't even exist anymore. And I'm just what would they think about this? Would they do it like this?

Would they do it differently? And that helps me sometimes, Dial things up a little bit, like just fine-tune things. It's like this block of text, what would so-and-so say about it? It's like, oh, they would. And it's just a fictional voice in my head. Well, they would say adjust the leading. I'm like, all right, let me do that. And then it's like, it works.

Christian Solorzano [51:24]

Actually, I think, I think that's a good idea. I'm not going to knock on that. No, that's not comparative. That's more using a fictitious teacher. Or not a fictitious teacher.

Carlos Segura [51:36]

A— Yeah. So I do, I do a lot of that. All that, like when I was working on this magazine, the amount of invisible people that were in the room with me, just like—

Christian Solorzano [51:48]

That's amazing.

Carlos Segura [51:50]

Like art directing.

Christian Solorzano [51:51]

Well, this is a great segue to my next question, which I suspect I know the answer to since you just said what you said. But do you think the past matters?

Carlos Segura [52:00]

I think the past matters a lot. I'm a big advocate of history, the past, and I think there's a lot of great teachings and things that we could be inspired by from the past. Sure, the past wasn't all great, but the present isn't great either, and the future probably won't be great either.

Christian Solorzano [52:27]

So you know why? Because humans are involved.

Carlos Segura [52:29]

Because humans are involved. Exactly. But yeah, of course I think it matters. I think we should, we should embrace the past and find ways to learn from it and choose what things we could pick and pull from and have those things benefit us. And I think you could be inspired by both good things and bad things. The good things help you continue to create good things. And then the bad things could help you to not do those things.

So yes, I don't think we should— I'm not of like the frame of mind of let's ignore the past, let's cancel it or get rid of it. I'm all for let's look at it in the face and talk about it.

Christian Solorzano [53:13]

So speaking of influence, who influenced you the most other than your parents? Well, in this, in your case, your mom. It doesn't have to be one person. It could be several people or an event or a timeframe or whatever.

Carlos Segura [53:25]

It's honestly all— it all goes back to rock and roll music, musicians. Yeah, those are the people that I feel— and this is going to sound really strange, but I feel like I was raised by the artists that I looked up to growing up because they showed me that there is— that there is this other way of living life that didn't have to conform to the standard 1, 2, 3 step process.

Christian Solorzano [53:55]

Give me, give me a couple of artists' names.

Carlos Segura [53:58]

The big— the biggest impression on me was Alice Cooper. And Alice Cooper, that he's— he probably encapsulates a lot of what the other influences also include. And it was this like rebellious attitude, this pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo. Disrupting, but at the same time being a Christian. And he doesn't drink, like he doesn't— like he just like has a very clean way of living. But at the same time, he's— the persona that he projects is like entirely like a villain. And I love that.

I love people that have that tension of yeah, just people with that kind of tension or friction in their lives.

Christian Solorzano [54:47]

Yeah. I mean, you just threw me a curve, so I'm trying to process.

Carlos Segura [54:51]

What were you expecting? Like my—

Christian Solorzano [54:53]

Well, not Alice Cooper. What are a few things that you absolutely must do to succeed, in your opinion?

Carlos Segura [55:02]

That I'm— that I— that me, I should do to succeed, in my opinion?

Christian Solorzano [55:07]

No, not you. Anybody.

Carlos Segura [55:08]

Anyone?

Christian Solorzano [55:11]

They don't have to be a guarantee to success, but you have to at least make an attempt.

Carlos Segura [55:15]

I think it's just show up. Just show up to your life.

Christian Solorzano [55:23]

And such a simple thing, isn't it?

Carlos Segura [55:24]

Yeah, it's such a simple thing. Just show up. And then the other, the other thing would be to— and this is something that I don't Talk about often because I never— I don't like telling people what to do, but I'll do it here a little bit since you asked me. But I think having a— like living a life that is regenerative in the sense of making choices that lead to well-being. So exercise, like sleeping on time, like really boring stuff, like eating.

Christian Solorzano [56:09]

Basics.

Carlos Segura [56:09]

Yeah, the basics. And I feel like if you, if you check off the basics, everything else gets a little bit easier or a little bit more manageable to do. Because I mean, try being creative when you've had terrible sleep and you're hungry. You're— I don't know, your shoulder hurts. It's very difficult. You get pissed off. And it happens to me sometimes.

Christian Solorzano [56:41]

I mean, it happens to all of us. Yeah, all of us. I mean, it's just such— I find the most interesting thing that I find about all of what you said is that it's just so basic. And, but so easily forgotten or dismissed.

Carlos Segura [56:59]

And if you go to, and if you go back in time to like any teachings, it's always, it just all, everything just always points back to just show up. Like there's, and I think sometimes people want like some kind of course or like program or book that's going to solve all your problems or like give you life's answers, but at the end of the day, it's just show up.

And I think that's what, that's what I think I've seen all the people that I look up to do. And it's just, they showed up. I think it's little moments like that where it's like you show up and then one thing happens, then before you know it, you're like overwhelmed and you're like, what did I wish for?

Christian Solorzano [57:43]

Yeah. So speaking of doing things, what are some things that you like doing alone? Despite that, we all know you're a loner. But generally speaking, what are some personal things that you just are in heaven when you're doing it by yourself?

Carlos Segura [57:57]

I like watching TV. I try it. I always say that, every New Year's, my resolution is always to watch more TV.

Christian Solorzano [58:06]

That's awesome. I'm a big fan too. I don't understand people who dismiss it.

Carlos Segura [58:12]

Because there's great things. I mean, there's so much great— there's a lot of great programming.

Christian Solorzano [58:16]

So I mean, the interesting thing is that, you and I and everybody in our industry spends our lifetimes creating content. But many of us dismiss the content when we're seeing other people create it. Exactly. Which is what, I just find that extremely interesting.

Carlos Segura [58:32]

Yeah. So watching TV, I love collecting music, like albums. That's a big guilty pleasure of mine because it's expensive and I probably shouldn't be doing it as much, but I do enjoy the just holding a record in my hand. I like to cook. I like— I talked about martial arts. I like to meditate. I'm also like a meditation instructor, which I don't think I've mentioned.

Christian Solorzano [59:05]

Unbelievable.

Carlos Segura [59:07]

But that's a big, that's a big part of, a big part of me.

Christian Solorzano [59:12]

So what's your measure of success?

Carlos Segura [59:14]

For what?

Christian Solorzano [59:14]

For—

Carlos Segura [59:15]

In what? In regards to what?

Christian Solorzano [59:16]

Well, let's go big scope. Let's like, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Carlos Segura [59:20]

What I want to be when I grow up? Well, the funny thing is I don't want to— I don't want to grow up.

Christian Solorzano [59:25]

You don't want to grow up? Good answer.

Carlos Segura [59:27]

Yeah, but measure for success I don't know. I don't think about— it's funny because I don't really think about success, and I don't— what I find really Rewarding is when people reach out. To me, that's a measure of success. When someone personally calls or sends me a nice email, that is a measure of success. When I know that the things that I'm helping put together are having an impact on someone else's life, that's— to me, that's success.

Christian Solorzano [60:04]

In many ways, I'm like you also with— I never really calculated. What is my measure of success? I was just saying, I just want to be happy. I just want to be— Just do what I like and everything falls in place, man. When you do what you like, when you, as you pointed out, show up and do the best you can and shit works out. Yeah, it's pretty simple.

Carlos Segura [60:29]

And if it doesn't work out, it'll work out.

Christian Solorzano [60:32]

That's okay too. Yeah, because I mean, when you trip, you just got to get up. So what's the first and last thing you do every day?

Carlos Segura [60:38]

The first thing I do is meditate. The last thing that I do is watch terrible YouTube videos.

Christian Solorzano [60:49]

Oh, me too.

Carlos Segura [60:52]

Like stupid stuff, like pranks or like nothing of value other than it makes me laugh.

Christian Solorzano [60:59]

Well, that's valuable. Do you, do you wish you could do anything else if you weren't doing what you're doing? What would be your secondary career choice?

Carlos Segura [61:08]

The secondary thing that I would probably want to do is to be an MMA fighter, like a mixed martial artist. But I feel like I, it's too late for that.

Christian Solorzano [61:19]

Oh my God. I would pay money to go see you do that. Hard-earned money.

Carlos Segura [61:23]

I train, I train with people that that's what they do. It's a big, it's a big commitment. That has to be your life.

Christian Solorzano [61:29]

Amazing. Is the client always right?

Carlos Segura [61:32]

No.

Christian Solorzano [61:32]

Good answer. I have one more question and I'm just gonna ask it, but I don't want an answer because I don't want to get into it. AI, should we? Do not answer. I'll answer it.

Carlos Segura [61:45]

I think we should. I think it's a great thing for our industry.

Christian Solorzano [61:47]

Oh my God, how could you say such a thing?

Carlos Segura [61:50]

I think it's just another tool. It's just another tool. I was talking with a, I was talking with a photographer yesterday. And he was saying that he doesn't feel threatened by AI at all. He sees clients hiring AI or like using AI to do the work that he does, but he's like, at the end of the day, like the clients that truly matter and that are committed to great work are going to continue to hire people to produce their work.

So I'm not, I don't feel threatened by it one bit.

Christian Solorzano [62:21]

We'll just have to leave it at that then.

Carlos Segura [62:24]

I know you, I know you're a big fan of it.

Christian Solorzano [62:26]

So don't spread the rumors like that.

Carlos Segura [62:30]

I caught you the other day.

Christian Solorzano [62:32]

You were on your computer. I thought you were a truthful person, Christian. I've learned something new about you today. Well, this has been a great conversation. Thank you for Letting me ask you some questions.

Carlos Segura [62:51]

Yeah, thank you. Thank you for doing this.

Christian Solorzano [62:54]

It wasn't too hard, was it?

Carlos Segura [62:56]

The beginning was a little bit hard for me. Yes. Probably not for you.

Christian Solorzano [63:01]

It's just like jumping into a cold pool.

Carlos Segura [63:05]

And I never, I never do that.

Christian Solorzano [63:08]

It only hurts when you get in. Well, wonderful. I wish you so much luck with this, man. I think what you're doing is just absolutely spectacular. It was absolutely needed in Chicago. There's great organizations in Chicago, the STA. I worked with them a couple years ago to brand them, and it was just so much fun working with Frank and some of the other folks that were there.

But I really think that, there's room for, the other thing that I think that you're doing that is just great is I feel like you're really more touching on the younger portion of our industry, the up-and-coming, the new talent, the just the unexposed, if you will. Like there's a lot of people know me and Rick and all that kind of stuff from maybe not even a lot because we're older now and the younger generation is moving on, which is fine and normal.

But I think not only are you giving a voice to the young, but you're also introducing them to the likes of me and Rick and other.

Carlos Segura [64:12]

I mean, I think it's important. Like I was saying, it's important to look, to look at the present, look at the future, look at the past. I think it's all, it's all important. And I also want, and I also just want to give a big shout out to my collaborator and good friend Cheryl, who co-leads a lot of this stuff with me. She's been like a lot of the programming that you see us do in person.

And online, a lot of it is me collaborating with her. And she's been— she's just been a great person to work with for the past few years now. So it's not— I don't want to get all the credit for all this stuff because there's a great— there's a great team behind all this stuff as well.

Christian Solorzano [64:55]

Yeah, no, I know there is a great team. And I— the goal of this interview wasn't to isolate you as the sole creator, although obviously you were Instrumental in making it happen. Yeah, it's just a conversation between you and me, and I know that not nothing that we do, any of us, me, you, is a singular output.

So there's plenty of people that are around us that don't get the credit they deserve, that help us do what we do. So yeah, agreed. Wonderful. Well, with that, we will part. Thank you, Christian. It's been an honor. Thanks a lot.

Carlos Segura [65:37]

As usual, thank you so much for listening until the end. And if you haven't done so, please pick up a copy of the Chicago Graphic Design Club's latest publication, Faculty, which you can grab at our website by visiting www.chicagographicdesign.club. Thank you, and we'll talk soon.

Christian Solorzano [65:59]

Goodbye.