Public Alliance is one of San Antonio’s most successful and creative ad agencies, but in an industry as competitive as ours, what sets us apart and keeps us ahead of the pack? In many ways, it’s the art department that helps make our most creative ideas come to life and our best strategies have so much impact.
Like everyone on our team, our artists and graphic designers are committed to providing clients with unique work that stirs emotions and spikes curiosity. It takes a bold client to want to do something different, so our clients come to us when they want to stand out rather than blend in, and our team of artists work to build a relationship of trust so that we can achieve their ambitions.
Our entire team takes pride in our work, but our artists stop at nothing to make sure they get it exactly right. This means identifying the client’s goal and any challenges and then offering up the right solution. Our creative approach is a process, and it begins by listening to what the client considers success and working towards that goal, from the ground up. This ensures we achieve the best possible outcome for the client and the project.
“We can’t just take a graphic designer’s approach to our clients; it’ll only result in a ‘band-aid’-type solution,” said Josh Castillo, Public Alliance’s Art Director. “As creatives, we have a responsibility to our clients and ourselves to identify issues and provide the best possible solutions. At times it may not even be a design problem but rather a brand constancy or awareness issue.”
Josh is no stranger to this process. Being in the creative industry in the San Antonio and Austin region for almost 20 years, and with extensive experience in visual storytelling, video production, animation, and graphic design, Josh is able to meet our clients’ needs and tell their stories for them in a way that is original and compelling.
Good design takes an investment of time and collaboration, so our artists devote themselves fully to it and involve our clients in the process. It’s important to know the client and this means doing the appropriate amount of research, or “discovery,” on the preferences, opinions, and style of each individual client, their organization, and the specific project at hand.
“The questions we ask in interviews, what you can learn about the client that is available to the public, and even the casual conversations you have with the client beyond ‘work stuff’ all play a part in understanding what the client needs to effectively help them,” said Castillo. “It’s important that we understand their place in the market by researching what’s out there, who is doing well, who is doing bad, who their competition is, and looking at what already exists in the graphic design and creative world related to them.”
