A media veteran who crafted an impressive career in design

This week we meet Robin Ramos, a creative director for Charter Spectrum, based out of the media behemoth’s office in Times Square.

Who: Robin Ramos, Creative Director at Kernel, the in-house Agency for Spectrum Reach.

Why: Ramos is an expert in media production and design, having spent the best part of three decades working for DC Comics, NBC Universal, Time Warner and Charter Communications.

Media consolidation: When Charter purchased the former Time Warner Cable, Ramos says staff were nervous. “It's interesting in that a smaller company (Charter) bought a larger company (Time Warner Cable),” he says. “That said, everybody just wants to have their product promoted in the best light, and that's the same, no matter where you go.”

Creative challenges: After graduating School of Visual Art in the late 1980s, Ramos envisioned he would end up working in advertising. “I love the creative process,” he says. “But having a career in advertising is probably one of the most difficult careers in the creative business, by virtue of just the craziest deadlines, the amount of work you have to do, the hours you put in.”

Ramos shared his story about rising through the ranks of media in New York City and how he hopes to give back to the next generation of creative talent.

My parents were second generation: their parents left Puerto Rico in 1910. They went to school and saw what education can do. When I was born, they moved from Manhattan up into Rockland County, about 30 miles north to expose us to what they thought the ideal childhood should be. Once I knew I wasn't going to play second base for the Yankees, I decided to go to art school - to the bemusement of my dad - who wanted me to go to Wharton and pursue a career in finance.

Growing up, there was something about the arts I always loved. I was a precocious kid. At The School of Visual Art here in Manhattan, I realized there was a lot of people like me. I kind of found myself. I grew up 30 miles away, so for one, I came back into Manhattan and went to the museums, clubs, galleries. But I also realized there's a lot of kids far more talented than I am in certain aspects. I found that a huge challenge. I had to be better and think differently. It's kind of been a god-send. Because here we are 40 years later, and I still really like what I do for a living.

I came to learn typography working at a signage company after college. I was designing for hospitals and hotels in the metropolitan area. I studied type design with Fred Bacon at SVA – sign painting was his craft. He could do 12-point type Times Roman with a stroke of a brush. I was astounded by that. It gave me so much more of an appreciation for type, and type design. Like, how close do you put letters? What do those shapes start to look like? That's something I pick up on anywhere I go now.

As an artist, this business is very tricky. When you're working for a company, your work, although it's yours - you've created it - at the end of the day, it really doesn’t belong to you. It's not something that you take home and you put up on your refrigerator for mom and dad to look at and say, "Oh, that's wonderful." It's the client’s and the company’s. So you need thick skin to realize people are going to maybe want changes that, in your mind, will hurt your design or weaken it. You can't be too emotionally attached. Or let it hurt your feelings as a designer.

But… it's tough, you're opening up your heart to the world. You have to be able to take some criticism. If you're an artist, regardless of what you do, whether it be dancer, musician, or fine artist, you always have to be ready to cope with an element of rejection. You have to somehow endure, and get past that. Because, it's a subjective life. This is one of the greatest lessons to learn in this career. I may love a color but you're like, "Well, that color is awful." It’s just a difference of opinion.

I joined Time Warner in 2010. I knew would end up wearing a lot of hats. They had a marketing department, but they really didn't have a solid creative services department, at the time, and they really desperately needed one. So I sold them on what creative services should be like for them. And I think that's what really moved the needle. They hired me as a creative services manager. I was okay with that. It still allowed me to design and manage. Because I saw so much opportunity, I helped direct what they should do and how to roll out the department.

We live, when it comes to media, in more of an à la carte world. People want to consume it where they want to consume it, how they want to consume it. The best media companies have to challenge themselves to be relevant. I'll do this for as long as it still keeps me in the game. I still wake up excited to do great work. Good creative is good creative, regardless of where it resides.

Young artists can be really talented, but also unemployable. When I say unemployable, that means selfish, and not compassionate. I'm sure there’s some people that are really, really talented that will get jobs just by virtue of them being talented. To me, they're like a sky rocket: they're cool for an amount of time, but they're going to burn themselves out, one way or another. We look for somebody we know wants to work hard, and shows some talent. I can always take somebody's talent, and show them how to expand on it, and how to make them work better and work faster. But as a designer, without heart and compassion, you can't do your job.

I participate in the School of Visual Arts portfolio review every year. One of the things I think educators could possibly do better is really prepare the student, not just to go out and show their portfolio and what they can do, but also how to become more comfortable in their own skin. And how to really just have a normal, professional conversation. A lot aren't prepared for that.

I have a really diverse variety of clients. I work with Fortune 500 companies, but I also work with small businesses. When I work with those smaller companies, I really strive try to give them as much energy as I would give those bigger name clients. The truth is, you can't put a dollar value on an idea. I can't say, "I’m going to give you my $5 idea versus my $50,000 idea."

You can always work harder. But, inevitably, you're going to have to learn to work smarter. Being smarter means you really have to identify what the end goal is, what it is you're selling, and how to best position that product, regardless of what it is. How you can tell your story quickly, and make it memorable?

One consideration I have is giving back and helping foster new talent. I work hard to mentor my staff, I want to share my experience with them and help empower the next generation of talent reach their potential. At this point in my career, that’s important to me.