Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I'm Diego Gonzalez, husband, father of 6 children, and when I have time I design software which is my greatest passion. I’m from Colombia, my friends call me “El Flaco” and I have been working at Globant since 2020 as a visual designer.
Tell us about your journey to becoming a visual storyteller.
Since I was a child, I have always been close to computers and marveled at seeing their images on the screen. On the other hand, I always liked to draw and animate. I was always looking for any excuse to try to create characters and give them movement and I learned to do analog animation.
When graphics generation software started to come out, I would spend days on end, trying to learn how to use it and design anything on it. Step by step the two worlds came together.
At the age of 18 I got my first job at CONVERSE doing 3D renderings for their stores in Latin America. By the time I was 21 years old I founded, together with my brother, our own software design and development company in which I worked for 10 years. Then I joined Globant, a giant company where I have had the opportunity to become the leader of the motion domain.
Why is creating your own animation so mind-blowing?
I really don't know. I don't know what it is about it that attracts me so much.
I do know that I can spend hours in front of the screen, watching the animation loops and thinking about every detail, going back and forth, rendering, tweaking and rechecking. Without realizing it, hours go by that feel like minutes.
Maybe the illusion of creating something that seems to come to life has to do with something deep inside us and fills us with awe just by participating in some small part of the creation.
How has the LottieFiles platform helped for your own portfolio development?
It was the perfect excuse to take the software I was using the most (Figma) and in a very simple and even organic way start creating animations. The popularity of Lottie has undoubtedly allowed me to work with teams that advocate its use because of how much it simplifies the whole process.
What is your primary source of inspiration, and what is your creative process in creating these awesome, fun designs? How would you describe your style?
I love watching movies and animated series, in whatever format they may be: 2D, 3D, stop-motion, analog, digital. And if I see something interesting, I try to replicate it, just to see what it feels like to animate that character.
Now, when I create my own material, I first explore the graphic style, while I define the story I want to tell well, then I define the characters and scenarios. I like to start on paper always, and when the idea takes shape, I move to the computer.
I consider my style cheerful and fun; I like it to feel hand-made even if it's digital. I try to use very simple elements, eliminating the unnecessary.
How is using Lottie beneficial to your daily work?
Using Lottie in my day-to-day work is an opportunity to stay connected with my inner child, enjoying how a technology that simplified the whole process now allows me to bring simple animations to many users around the world.
Tell us something you wished you knew before embarking into the world of motion.
Experiencing the process of creating frame-by-frame animations in analog form is something I see as integral to my journey, and I appreciate it because it's made me value every advantage that software provides today. Perhaps I would have told my hesitant 16-year-old self not to choose economics as an elective in school, but rather to trust that I could indeed make a living from animation and drawing later on.
Do you have any advice for the motion community?
Set aside a daily time of no more than 10 minutes, before starting the day, to learn something new that excites you and do it constantly until it becomes a habit, it may sound very small but the impact on the results is enormous.
