I'm a first generation Cuban American, and I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I was a design major and graduated from UCLA. Prior to working at Mattel, my design career was primarily designing collateral for home entertainment (VHS boxes, brochures, posters, point of purchase standees and some DVD) at several design studios around the Los Angeles area. At that time, one of the projects I was most proud of was when I designed and art directed the very first home video campaign for the X-Files. Later, when I started working for studios like Warner Bros. and Disney, I designed a lot of marketing press kits, ads, and other collateral that was distributed within the respective companies. However, throughout my entire career, I always designed and created logos for small companies and friends, and many of those designs were published in magazines such as PRINT or books such as the LogoLounge.
By the time I applied for a job at Mattel, I was in the entertainment design industry for 15 years. At that time, I was freelancing, and I was tired of the constant hustle for paying projects. I remember that I was definitely ready to work for a company again, and I saw the job position Mattel was offering for a packaging designer via HOW Magazines' help wanted section online. To be honest, at first, I was a little intimidated by the job description. I wasn't sure if I had all the right experience to do the job, but despite my feelings of intimidation, I was equally inspired and willing to take a chance. Until that point, I had not done anything like toy packaging, and I couldn't think of anything cooler than designing something for toys. So, I applied, but I didn't hear anything for almost month. When I did get the call from Human Resources asking me to send examples of my work, I was very excited if not a little shocked. Soon after my submitting PDFs of my portfolios, I was asked to come in and give an interview.
Initially, my interview was divided up into four separate interviews: one with the VP of boys packaging and then individually with department directors for Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and the Boys Entertainment Packaging Group. The VP made it clear to me to let him know which department felt like the best fit for me. So, when I interviewed with the director for the Boys Entertainment Packaging Group, she said if interested in her department I would be designing packaging for Batman. Like many of you, I'm a HUGE fan of Batman, and I spent most of my life reading and collecting comics in general. So, my decision was easy: I went with Batman.
I made that decision six years ago, and I've been designing packaging for Batman and his friends ever since. However, initially, since I really didn't have any packaging experience - despite the fact that my portfolio and experience was varied and extensive, many people were not entirely convinced I could do the job. Yet, in the time I've been at Mattel, I believe that I've not only proven I can design a package for a toy, but I can come up with concepts for toy packaging that no one has ever even seen before. That's a great source of pride for me, and I'm very grateful to Mattel for giving me the opportunity to prove myself and to grow and expand as a creative professional.