Getting to know Bob Calvano…
Bob has been providing thought leadership and design solutions for over 20 years. With a mind that never stops thinking about the creative process, he is always open to exploring new mediums and possibilities - which has recently led him to providing environmental design solutions around the world.
Calvano, a wanna-be rockstar, is currently the Director of Merck's Global Creative Studios, a full service in-house agency, and provides creative leadership and business solutions on a global scale. The award winning team's portfolio includes environmental, interactive and print design, as well as video production, photography, illustration, webcasting, web development and finger painting if necessary.
Prior to joining Merck, Bob was an Interaction Design Director at R/GA, and held various positions such as UX Design Director and Interactive Art Director at Oxygen Media. In these roles he fine-tuned his talent for creating engaging brand experiences, as well as intuitive and elegant interfaces while making complex information easier to understand and navigate. He worked with diverse teams creating consumer-based software, interactive experiences, websites, print and television content.
Bob has won numerous awards for his work in advertising and design and has recently been recognized internationally. He has been published in periodicals such as Advertising Age, Graphic Design USA and HOW Magazine, and has been
featured on the AIGA website.
Bob holds a BA in Fine Art and received an Executive Education for Creative Leaders at Harvard Business School. He has spoken at events such as the AIGA Pivot Design Conference and lectured at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
A short interview…
Interview by Laura Herbert
Q: What's your date of birth?
A: September 25, 1969*
*Author’s note: This makes Bob a Libra--so if you're into that sort of thing, it’s kind of impressive. After all, astrologers regard it as the most desirable of zodiacal types because it represents the zenith of the year.
Q: As a kid, what was your original career plan?
A: I wanted to be a rock star--but a drummer of course, not some pretty boy front man.
Q: And your first job was…?
A: Working for a landscaper, cutting grass and doing all the crappy work. And then some more (and more) of that crappy work. It was great for keeping in shape, but my allergies nearly killed me.
Q: When did you first know that you were a designer?
A: This goes way back, but it wasn’t about being a designer--it was about being an artist. When I was in grammar school, in around the third grade, I realized I really loved art class and it showed in my work. As the years went by, I would catch myself making sculptures out of kneaded erasers in class, and endlessly drawing pictures in my notebook.
In art class, if we had to draw a shoe, I was the only kid who would actually take my shoe off, put it on my desk and draw it. It just made sense to me. Little did I realize that I was on my way to a Fine Art major… after all, I was equally interested in football and making out with girls.
I realized I wanted to be an artist the day I was willing to tell my father that I wanted to pursue a fine art major. My dad is an IBM business type of guy and I knew this would freak him out. It was either a fine art major or a performing art major (my rock star dream was hanging on). So fine art major it was, and I found myself embracing life as an art student - it was great. The funny thing was that none of the classes taught me how to go out and make money. That’s when I became a designer. I focused on advertising design and page layout and got my first job as a graphic artist for Panasonic.
Q: Okay, so what’s your favorite thing about design?
A: Easy. My favorite thing about design is that design is a communication tool. I love the freedom design offers to communicate messages, and how effective it can be when done well and with purpose. There are traditional design rules that we all learn in school, but I love that those rules can be broken.
Q: Interesting. What’s the grossest food you've ever eaten?
A: Does smoking a dried-out frog leg count? If not, I’ll go with “live goldfish”—and a lot of them, at that. Like, one after another.
Q: Snazzy. So, aside from that, any other career highlights you’d like to share?
A: Well, things have been going really well lately. I'm currently working on expanding my team globally - we are going to "pilot" a creative team in Shanghai, China. It's a great opportunity and an incredible challenge that I really look forward to. Aside from that, I’m really proud of my work ethic. I work hard and hold very high standards for all of the work that I do. I’m proud that I value precision--consistently paying close attention to the details of my work, right down to the pixel. It’s non-negotiable—a necessity.
I’m also extremely proud of the awards and recognition my team is getting lately. 2011 was a really good year for us, the icing on the cake was getting international recognition. It's critical for an In-House team to be able to keep up with the external agencies, so the awards do a lot of work for us in the validation area. I'm lucky to be working with a very talented team - we are constantly creating value with each and every project we work on.
Q: What about your non-career life? What are you proud of about your non-work life? Any favorite projects?
A: I’m proud of the fact that I just celebrated my thirteen year wedding anniversary. I have a wonderful, beautiful and supportive wife who also happens to be a great mother. I’m proud that I am the father of an incredible little boy, who challenges me on a daily basis, and a daughter who has me wrapped around her finger. I’m also proud to be the son of the greatest parents in the world (in my eyes, anyway).
As for individual projects and accomplishments, let me think… Well, for starter’s, I built a monster jeep. Not like “Big Foot” big, but BIG. And I certainly consider the time I owned my own business one of my favorite projects—wow! What a learning experience. There’s also my house—we’ve redone just about everything in it, but somehow the project goes on (and at the risk of bragging, the faux finish paint job I did in our dining room is flawless). I'm also finding a lot of satisfaction in the volunteer work my wife and I are doing for Liquid Church.
Oh, and there's the digital paintings I've been working on - they've stirred up a lot of passion in me. Hmmm… does my career count as a project? I’ve been working on it for a long time now, so it better be one of my favorite projects. Y’know what? Maybe not everything I do is necessarily “my favorite,” but I’m exceptionally lucky in that I really love my life and what I do--even the shitty projects have their good points.
Q: Awwww… You’re such a nice boy. And a helluva designer! Last Question: Do you have any hidden talents we’d never know about you from just perusing your resume?
A: Well, aside from playing ice hockey and the drums, I can paint a faux finish better than most highly-paid professional painters.
