Visit to DGPH hq.
My pre-conceived notion of the eternally black-clad Eurocentric designer pants designer is hard lived down. One of my goals on this Buenos Aires trip was to meet and chat with a group of my design heroes: namely DGPH, the design studio responsible for the whimsical character of Topo, a sort of magical cross between Domo and Chip and Dale.
I was actually a bit nervous to meet these guys. I greatly respect their work and totally expected some huge team of designers in a perfectly-appointed all white with mod furnishings studio with some German interns thrown in for good measure. Coming upon their simple (yes, white) Palermo building, I was pleasantly taken aback by the low key setting for their work. Three Argentines, toiling away, more than happy to take a lunchtime break to show me their space and how they go about their day creating awesomeness (in addition to doing advertising and character vinyl, the team has recently completed their first children’s playground in Buenos Aires). We had lunch, exchanged some goodies (Carter t-shirts for them, a Topo comic for me), and talked about BA and the mechanics of running a creative business. I left feeling humbled and even more inspired to keep pursuing my dreams. Diego (on the right and my main contact) was kind enough to give us a list of cool things to do around town, and his brother gave us a container of dulce de leche.
