What is ‘Gringoface’.
You may be wondering, WHAT IS A GRINGOFACE? Just like every story, there is a beginning. From eating endless amounts of GALLO PINTO to working with amazing clients in the graphic design and branding arena…
This is GRINGOFACE: ORIGINS.
March 2010 in Michigan, USA: My wife and I packed up our two dogs, as many suitcases as we were allowed to travel with, and an uncontainable amount of anxiety and excitement. We were on our way to COSTA RICA. This little Island in the Pacific Ocean was going to be… FALSE… Costa Rica is NOT an island. It is located in Central America, between Panama and Nicaragua.
I had accepted a position to transfer to Costa Rica to manage a Market Research call center. It really was an offer you couldn’t refuse… I mean.. we were going to be living in Costa Rica. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? IT WAS! A mini-vacation was just a weekend away.
Fast forward a couple of years…
I would either walk or take a taxi to travel to my office. We were fortunate enough to live in an area where everything was walking distance. Your ‘walking distance’ may be different than mine. A 20 minute walk was fine. As the years went on I opted for walking. Even in the torrential rains. PURA VIDA.
On this one particular day, I decided to take a taxi. So, I walked three blocks to the busier road and waited. Taxis in Costa Rica are red with a yellow triangle on the side. Often though, I would try to hail a red car which was not a taxi. I imagine those drivers of any random red car get waved at frequently. I have been fooled a few times by pirate taxis. After a couple of false attempts, finally a real taxi pulls over and I am on my way to work. During the quick 10 minute ride, you can get to know your driver very well. While my Spanish wasn’t perfect, I was able to understand and respond to most conversations. I couldn’t have been that bad, I mean, I survived didn’t I? Luckily though, this driver spoke a little English. As we go through the normal pleasantries that became standard in every trip: How are you, where are you going, where are you from, how long have you been here...you get it. In the middle of becoming best friends, he made the statement, “You are Norte Americano, no?" Knowing full well what he meant and why anyone would assume I was North American.
I chuckled, “Of course, what gave it away?”
And then he spoke the famous words…
Me and my creative directors.
“You are GRINGOFACE…”
As funny as it was to hear it then, it is still funny now to hear someone say “Gringoface.”
I see a glimmer of humor sparking in their eyes every time.
Gringoface has become a homage to my time in Costa Rica and shortly after that interaction I started taking a renewed interest in art and building a creative business. My first opportunity to use the name, Gringoface Designs was on the Print-On-Demand platform, Society6 GFD on S6. Then I started using P.O.D. platforms to fuel my creativity. Even though sales didn’t start right away, I kept at it. The first holiday season was successful and that pushed the motivation to continue even further. As I would be posting my work on Instagram, commissions start coming in. Then I developed my skills and dove deep into branding and logo design. That is where we are now. Although I lean into the coffee industry - I’ve been able to work with amazing clients in other industries. The Market Research industry continues to be where most of my hours are spent, but this creative journey will continue.
TLDR: GRINGOFACE is the name and DESIGNS is what I do.
