There are discoveries that can change your life. For Raúl Aguila (Havana, 1983) the covers created by Paul Sahre, one of the most influential graphic designers of the last decades, were a revelation. "The first image that struck me were the covers of the novels by writer Rick Moody designed by Paul Sahre," he confesses. "I was already familiar with the great work of designers like Paul Rand, Saul Bass, Alan Fletcher, Herb Lubalin or Josef Muller Brockmann, and suddenly, the graphic simplicity and conceptual strength of Sahre's work intrigued me." The impact of his work led him to move to New York to study graphic design at the School of Visual Arts (School Visual Arts) where Sahe was a teacher.
But before going to the Big Apple to study, Raúl Aguila had already made other moves.
In the early 1990s, her parents left Cuba and emigrated to Miami.
“I have wonderful memories of when I was a child, playing in the streets of Havana and spending time with the family.
However, not having basic needs covered on the island made my parents make the decision to emigrate to the United States ”.
This is how his family settled in South Florida.
“If they had not made this decision, my life would have been very different without a doubt,” acknowledges Águila.
"I was lucky that some of my teachers worked at 'The New York Times Magazine', so I ended up falling in love with editorial design, a graphic discipline that I didn't know about," he confesses to ICON Design Águila. New york times magazine
"Since I can remember I have drawn on the back of all my textbooks," he recalls of his attraction to illustration and images. The cartoons starring Elpidio Valdés, the character created by the Cuban filmmaker and cartoonist Juan Padrón, are in a prominent place in his childhood memory. “He was obsessed with his drawings. I also really liked classic American cartoons: Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, Popeye ... ”.
In New York, Águila discovered Japanese Manga and American comics. "All of this contributed to my curiosity and later interest in graphic design." In the United States, graphic abundance is present in every corner: in advertising, on store signs, in newspapers and magazines and even on packages of breakfast cereals illustrated with pets like Tony Le Tiger. “My dream as a child was to become a cartoonist, so my first studies were in the field of illustration at the Pratt Institute in New York, but I quickly realized that I was more interested in graphic design, so I I went to the School of Visual Arts in my third year. My training was multidisciplinary, with classes in painting, sculpture, photography, screen printing, conceptual typography, editorial,
branding
and conceptual theory ”.
This cover of Neymar from the 'New York Magazine' is one of the ones designed by the Cuban.NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
"I was lucky that some of my teachers worked at
The New York Times Magazine
and I ended up falling in love with editorial design, a graphic discipline that I was not familiar with," he explains. After finishing his studies, Águila began working at
New York Magazine, a
weekly magazine founded in 1968 by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker as a rival to
The New Yorker.
“It was my first job, a dream destination that was a fundamental formative stage for me. I learned one of the keys to this job, teamwork. It was an incredible learning to work hand in hand with editors, photography teams and designers. Without the experience and the confidence that I got in
New York Magazin
, I would not be where I am today ”.
Another fundamental period in his career is his time at the
New York Times Magazine.
There he coincided with creative director Gail Bichler, the woman who has given publication a 360 degree turn in the last fifteen years, incorporating new technologies, transforming publication into a creative feast between the visual and the journalistic.
“I think she is the creative director who has influenced my career the most.
The work she does weekly with the magazine, she and her team, is amazing, each project means giving a new approach to design, photography and art direction ”.
Cover of 'Esquire' with Brad Pitt, Quentin Tarantino and Leonardo DiCaprio in which Águila participated.
After passing through the two New York weeklies, the Cuban signed his signature as creative director in
WIRED
and
Esquire magazines
.
“Each project has taught me that to be successful you must establish strong relationships with everyone involved in it.
As creative director I seek to push the boundaries of magazine design and find new and interesting ways to communicate and evoke emotions.
Both photography and typography can be used to open up new fields for design ”.
"I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to work on iconic publications, some with a story behind that commands a lot of respect," says the designer.
Variety
magazine
, an institution in the world of cinema and entertainment, announced in 2020 the signing of Raúl Aguila as the new creative director. Editor-in-chief Claudia Eller enthusiastically communicated her arrival: "It is so exciting to welcome such a talented creator into our
Variety
family
."
“
Variety
magazine
is a wonderful opportunity in my career. It is the first large large-format publication I have worked on, and the timelines to redesign it amid the pandemic have been challenging. You also have to be very careful because if you make very radical changes you can end up confusing the reader. For example, the design of
The New Yorker
is simple, classic and beautiful and the way of working on such a classic design must be done through the art direction of photography and illustration ”.
After more than a decade, Águila is aware that his style continues to evolve without losing some constants, such as the use of an organic, strong and bold typeface and the data visualization infographic. A style that, according to him, began to be defined in his days in
New York Magazin
e and
WIRED
. "Also fundamental as creative inspiration was the work of designer Chris Ashworth in the music magazine
Raygun
." The Cuban only hopes to continue pushing the limits of graphic design and redesign, one day, the logo of the Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn. If it is true that the path is made when walking, it is most likely that Raúl Águila will end up fulfilling his objective.
Last year, the magazine 'Variety' announced the signing of Raúl Aguila as the new creative director.