Jose Maria Gonzalez-Ecija on why your roots can be the best design tool 

Every Saturday as a child, Jose Maria stood in front of supermarket shelves with his dad, comparing products and choosing one over another without quite knowing why. He calls it his first education in branding. Now an independent brand and web designer who has worked at AnalogFolk, Dyson and Paseo Studio, Jose works directly with companies and also collaborates with design studios as an external creative partner. He builds identities by listening to what a client mentions in passing, the details that turn out to be everything. To keep his work distinctive, he draws on a private archive of references that do not trend, featuring sweet wrappers from his hometown of Écija, Holy Week crests and the texture of his grandfather’s painting. In our conversation, Jose explains the Toyota technique he uses to reach a brand’s essence, how that archive is a working tool, and why he wants design to earn its place in people’s lives. TBI: How are things going? JMG: Things are going very well, and I am happy to be here. Grateful to do work that creates value: for companies looking for an authentic voice and expression, but also for people and communities, which matters just as much.