Admind Branding & Communications

Admind strives to be for brands what the magic lamp containing a genie was for Aladdin. The only difference is that the wish fulfilment knows no limit. As end-to-end branding service provider, the agency is ready to fill any gap that a brand might be missing. Their forge is home to around 140 experts from more than 15 countries who are obsessed with building memorable brands, crafting strategies and creating magnificent designs. As an international branding powerhouse with top-tier creative talents drawn from around the world, they don’t just build brands and give them a unique character through tailored branding, strategy and design services. They also work with innovators and industry leaders who invest in the power of their brands and the influence they have to change our society for the better.

Admind Branding & Communications in an Interview with Red Dot

Red Dot: Why did you become a designer?
Admind Branding & Communications: Maria Isabel Reyes: I think I always wanted to create. It was a need that resulted from my inability as a child to fully express myself (verbally and socially). This constraint led me to find a way to speak through colour, form, movement and to build a visual relationship with the world around me, which I explored in my free time. My father, on the other hand, was obsessed with productivity and with everything having a very rational and functional purpose. So even though I was keen to go into arts after graduating, I felt that I had also inherited some of this need for order, patterns and structure – and that design was probably a better fit for how my brain works.

What does design mean to you?
Maria Isabel Reyes: If there is one thing that you will hear me say at every meeting, it is that design is a process – never an outcome. It is the creative process of sourcing an idea that helps us progress as humans, as teams, and the thoughtful use of tools and resources to carry it out

To what extent do you think new technologies are changing design?
Maria Isabel Reyes: If design is the process of bringing an idea to fruition, then technology as a tool is the vehicle through which that idea moves and transforms. Every shift impacts EVERYTHING. From the channels and media we design for these days, to the fact that it is getting increasingly more difficult to capture someone’s attention, to the specific medium and the way we communicate as teams to shape that idea.

How would you define good communication design?
Maria Isabel Reyes: For me, it boils down to three words: clarity, connection and grace.

What makes your work unique?
Maria Isabel Reyes: Every project is different and unique in its requirements. Still, what matters most is the quality of the energy that you put into it and the way you create the best possible environment in which people and ideas to flourish. The way how to lead a team will always differ from person to person. I see my role as creative director as the holding vessel that cooks up these ideas. My main job is to keep the fire burning and make sure we are cooking for a big appetite. I avoid over-identifying with an outcome or an idea. For me, authenticity comes from letting people surprise you, from creating the space for everyone in the team to throw their best shots and celebrating each other’s uniqueness.