Meet Damien Castaneda of Badass Poster Design in Whittier

Today we’d like to introduce you to Damien Castaneda.

Damien, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I come from a long line of blue-collar artists. I inherited my eye from my father who was a photographer, and his father who was a painter. I considered fine art for a while but soon discovered I didn’t have the desire to suffer, so I settled on graphic design as a compromise. Attending the Academy of Art College in San Francisco was like boot camp. I was the youngest of all my classmates, many of whom were 3 of 4 career choices ahead of me, and were already better designers than I will ever be.

Although I had good teachers, I learned more about design from my peers, and I often considered suing my alma mater because my 4-year graphic design diploma that I spent tens of thousands of dollars on looks like it was designed by a distracted potato. It actually has a gold sticker on it. But it’s awfulness underlines a real truth about design school which is that it doesn’t matter. The portfolio is the real credential. I was offered a job on my first interview and ended up staying and working in the Bay Area for 20 years.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The most difficult challenge has been the economy. With the recession came budget cuts, hiring freezes, staff cuts, and company buy-outs. For me, the downturn in the economy translated into working faster. I’m like a machine now. I can’t even watch some designers work anymore because their slowness is painful. The economy also forced me to become more resourceful. Where once I’d direct a photoshoot, now I’m using the same press images everyone else is using, and there’s nothing worse than mistaking someone else’s work for yours because you weren’t creative enough to do something different. But the most long-term impact the economy has had for me is it’s forced me to take fewer risks. Over time the feeling like you’re repeating yourself starts to creep in and you have to do something else to balance that out. For me, that’s what Badass Poster Design is, a place to take risks, a place where both the client and the artist are equally excited about the work. I don’t use skulls anymore, I don’t use Copperplate anymore. Some things are just too easy.

Badass Poster Design – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Badass Poster Design is most closely associated with the group Swamphammer, and to this day I’m still impressed by the work we did on the Laudanum album, in particular the Dead N Gone video. But it’s essentially comprehensive promotional design for musicians in the form of posters, album artwork, logos, merchandise, video direction, and editing, etc. The work evolved out of a personal need to promote my own bands, then a friend wanted a poster and over time it grew from there. Working directly with a dedicated and talented musician on their project, many of whom already have a very developed visual sense, is like joining their band for a while. You want it to succeed, and for all the guys to look at it and go “fuck yeah”, for their fans to look at it and go “fuck yeah”. It’s one of those challenges that I think many designers can’t relate to.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Comments, shares, and likes. If someone connected with it long enough to drop a “cool flyer” comment, that’s a win to me.

Pricing:

• $200 for a logo
• $200 for a poster
• $200 for album art
• $200 for video editing (1-minute)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.damiencastaneda.com
• Phone: (626) 826-3443
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/castaneda_damien/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/badassposterdesign/
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damiencastaneda/

Image Credit:
Design by Damien Castaneda, Photo of Damien Castaneda by Sam Madnick

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