by KARA SCHWEISS
In the seven years since Daniel Trejo graduated from UNO with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design, he’s already built an enviable career as an art director for Clark Creative Group and earned multiple advertising awards with his team. He’s even served as a UNO adjunct professor in the program he once studied.
“It’s a little strange, because I feel like I’ve been able to do a lot and there’s just so much yet to come, as well,” he said.
There’s been much to love in his career so far, he said.
“Clark has been great because of being able to have the wide range of clients, and with that, a lot of great opportunities. I just love branding. Branding is my favorite thing to do,” he said. “Every now and again, you get those projects that you really connect with or they have a unique opportunity for exploration… When it comes to branding, I really enjoy that dive-in approach, that research element, finding that deeper layer to do the project.”
Trejo, who features samples of his work on his website dannytrejodesign.com, was born in Mexico and raised in Omaha. He started his college studies in architecture at Kansas University before he transferred to his hometown school after realizing his intended field of study wasn’t the best fit.
“I wasn’t really feeling the architecture. I still love architecture, I still appreciate it… But it’s the actual working in architecture that I don’t enjoy. There are so many constraints and rules and regulations. There is so much that feels limited,” he said. “I started really liking graphic design; it’s a great avenue for that creativity.”
One appealing thing both sectors offer is what Trejo calls “interaction with design.”
“I think that’s one of the biggest things I love about design: It’s everywhere. It’s in the smallest of things, it’s in the biggest of things,” he said. “I really love when I design something and find it out in the world… When you see that stuff in the wild, it’s like the sensation of a little Christmas present, finding that little joy. It could be as small as making a little postcard, and you go to a coffee shop and find it lying there. It’s like, ‘I made that.’”
Trejo has found joy not only in his work, but also in hobbies unusual for someone who’s grown up in the era of digital media.
“I love record collecting. I’ve got a massive record collection. It very much depends on the mood; lots of jazz and then alternative, the emo pop punk is real big right now, lots of ‘70s funk and rock — it’s all over (the place). I love analog and I have all this vinyl. Over the years I’ve been building up my sound system and everything like the amplifiers and speakers,” he said, adding that he’s also discovering traditional photography.
“I love the textures and grains that happen with film photography. I love the textures that happen with the printing,” he said. “I love those tangible things.”
