CO-FOUNDER
BRANDS&PEOPLE, MONTERREY | MEXICO
Gerardo Ortiz is a designer, cyclist, speaker and serial entrepreneur with a fresh perspective on business and strategic design. He is co-founder of Brands&People, Novak Innovation, School of Change, Nobody and -1 Simplicity Lab. All connected as one vibrant ecosystem of creative companies, delivering transformative value through design, creativity, and smart data to organizations pioneering change in Latin America. He graduated with a BA in Graphic Design from the University of Monterrey, previously scoring international internships at the Emily Carr University of Art & Design in Vancouver and 3/4 Face studio in France. By 22, he co-founded his first company — a small studio that put the Mexican design scene onto the map, later growing into the most progressive agency in Mexico and winning affiliation with the TBWA global network. Travel and education have been instrumental in shaping his vision, leading him to study, work, and live in the U.S., Canada, France, Japan, Spain, and Germany. He has won multiple awards, worked with global clients, and spoken at TEDx. Currently, he is part of the Executive MBA program at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership. He strongly believes in empathy, beauty and simplicity.
THE FUTURE OF THE GRAPHIC DESIGN BUSINESS?
Our companies partner with people, teams, communities, movements and businesses who are leaving industrial mindsets behind, understanding that just as manufacturing typified the last two centuries, applied creativity is the defining characteristic of thriving 21st-century economies. Our clients are moving forward into new frameworks, seeking business potential and competitive advantages through design, sensorial experiences, architecture, technology, strategic foresight, innovation, communication, culture, arts, filmmaking, content, and education. The best way to predict the future is to create it.
WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?
Mexico / Now living between Mexico, San Francisco and Berlin
A DESIGN HERO?
Dieter Rams
FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA?
Instagram
FAVORITE TELEVISION BINGE WATCH?
Dark
FAVORITE PODCAST?
Futures Soup by Michael García Novak
FAVORITE BOOK?
Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard
FAVORITE MOVIE?
Alien, 1979
FAVORITE FINE ARTIST?
Dan Flavin
FAVORITE CAUSE/CHARITY?
Environment
FAVORITE FREE TIME ACTIVITY?
Cycling, Hiking, Mountains
IF YOU WERE NOT A DESIGNER?
Cyclist
