Took a tour of Salk Institute with in-house designer Maximo Escobedo. I have heard of him before and seen him a few times at many AIGA events, but have never had the chance to hear him speak. A very down to earth guy with a great story on his design ventures which led him to this position. I can see how working an in institution can be more stressful and can tell there are more people to please, lines to avoid crossing, and boundaries to be set.
Aside from those challenges Maximo explained how he deals with them, and how much effort he puts into the work he does. He also goes above and beyond what he is asked to do and keeps sketches to remind himself of those ideas. For someone who has worked for many different companies (including running own business at one point) his idea of going above the required workload is the most admirable.
We got a history of the building, the various details that went into it's creation and he mentioned that there is a strong bond between arts and science at the Salk Institute. They host charity and fundraising events that revolve around music through the year to continue funding. He also showed us the steps taken to create a quarterly publication and the trials and tribulations that he went through. One mistake can literally cause thousands of dollars, but found the best way to handle a difficult situation to help avoid it in the future.
