Cross-Pollinating—An Interview with Syndrome Studio
Following is an interview with Mars Sandoval and Micah Hancock, founders of Syndrome Studio. Syndrome Studio is a boutique creative studio in DTLA focusing on motion graphics, video, animation theme park design, and whatever sparks their interests.
Anthony (Interviewing for DesignToast): I would love for you to discuss your work in relationship to your bicoastal background, and in particular Syndrome’s foothold in the Los Angeles community.
Syndrome Studio: We got our start designing flyers in the LA rave scene of the late 90’s and later moved into creating personal non-commercial artwork as part of the burgeoning gallery art scene of the early 2000’s. After a few years of creating graphics for film trailers, we established a creative studio with a focus on motion design, and for the past 20 years, we have been designing, animating, and directing projects for broadcast, film, commercials, online and beyond.
Anthony: Syndrome was generous enough to host my Freshman Motion Graphics class from Cal Poly Pomona for a field trip, so again, thank you. During that visit you talked a lot about personal expectations, and taking on projects that might be outside your wheelhouse of typical work. Universal Studios Japan, “Minions Park” comes to mind as it is such an ambitious project and far outside of the norms of work one might see from a studio that seems to specialize in Motion Graphics. You essentially designed and built an entire city. Can you talk about blurring boundaries in design, Minion Park, or other similarly unorthodox projects?
Syndrome Studio: The Minion Park project was a very fulfilling project for us and a perfect example of how personal work and experimentation pays off in the long run. For our 3D motion design and animation work, we have been using Autodesk Maya for many years. When 3D printing first became possible, we started experimenting with exporting our 3D models from Maya and printing them out. Naturally, we began creating personal pieces with what we had learned.
…we love it when personal work cross-pollinates with client projects and allows you to lean on the skills you have to go somewhere new.
We began showing 3D-printed sculptures at galleries and art shows and got a really great response from everyone. Fast forward a few years later. An engineer friend of Mars had been brought on as a project manager for the “Minion Park” attraction at the Universal Studios Japan theme park. They wanted a whole city block designed in the style of Despicable Me, much of which was to be 3D printed and installed as real buildings you can walk around in. They needed a partner who could work on the design as well as pull off the technical requirements of setting up the models for 3D printing. The project manager had remembered our 3D-printed artwork and reached out. It was not something we had ever done before, but, because of our experimenting with personal work, we were confident we could do it.
Working from the engineer’s CAD files, we did some tests and nailed it. Soon we were off, designing everything from door knobs to windows to signs to full fronts of buildings, all within the beloved Minion look. The files were then sent to Osaka, Japan for 3D printing, painting, and installation at the park. It was an incredible experience to see the designs translated from 3D into real life and so rewarding to see it filled with people with smiles on their faces. For us, we love it when personal work cross-pollinates with client projects and allows you to lean on the skills you have to go somewhere new.
Anthony: Can you talk about pre agency life a bit. What in your life lead you to being Creative Director and Co-Founder of your own studio?
Syndrome Studio: Forming our own studio was a desire we had since day one. We both had similar early backgrounds and interests — the graffiti scene, sci-fi, going to raves, and electronic music — and both got into graphic design in the early digital stages in the mid to late 90’s.
We met as teenagers at a small studio that was heavily-focused on designing rave and club flyers for events all across the US at the time. As young and hungry designers, it was an amazing experience, a ton of fun, and key to developing who we are today. There weren’t a lot of creative restrictions on rave flyers (“just make it look cool” was often the client direction) and we were free to just play, experiment, and come up with wild concepts and unusual designs. Many late nights were spent jamming on designs, learning new tools, pushing ourselves, and putting in way too much effort in order to one-up each other in a sort of self-imposed healthy competition. These early sessions motivated us to start creating personal artwork that was completely non-commercial, first as individuals and then together under the name of Syndrome.
It didn’t happen overnight and required a ton of sweat and sacrifice (and still does)…
Once we had built up a solid body of personal work, the next logical step was to show it, so we created our first art event here in Los Angeles. It was a huge success and made enough noise to get our work into other art shows and galleries around the country. At a show in NYC, we, by chance, connected with a producer from MTV. She liked our work, brought us into the network to meet the team and see how we could work together, and we left with a project for a broadcast graphics package the very next day.
It was at this point that we decided to focus Syndrome on motion design. From then on, we slowly began building up our client base, our capabilities, and our body of work until we were both able to leave our full-time day jobs and dedicate all of our time and effort to our own studio. It didn’t happen overnight and required a ton of sweat and sacrifice (and still does), but we wouldn’t trade it for the world!
Anthony: It’s hard for me to not put a heavy education spin on everything, and — if I recall correctly — you guys didn’t go the traditional high school > college > intern > claw your way up route. Can you talk about your personal professional path.
Syndrome Studio: When we first met, we both had a very basic background in design and print. Micah had just finished a graphic design degree and had been working at a tiny design studio for a few years while in school. Mars was fully self-taught and learned on-the-job by working at different print shops in LA and California. We were both just print designers when we first started out, but soon discovered the newly emerging field of motion design and went hard on learning everything we could, both on-the-job and after hours.
After a couple jobs at post-production facilities around town, Micah got a job as a motion designer at a highly-respected movie trailer house, The Ant Farm, and soon brought Mars along into the motion graphics department. We learned a TON at The Ant Farm — about design, filmmaking, editing, sound, and so many aspects of the industry. Most importantly, the owners of the company, Barbara Glazer and Mike Greenfeld, taught us so much about business, leadership, and being an entrepreneur — we cannot understate how impactful the experience was to forming our own company.
In 2002, we started Syndrome, grinding away at personal artwork and building the business at night while still working full-time jobs during the day. By the mid-2000’s, we both jumped over to Syndrome full-time and haven’t looked back since. Everything we have learned (and continue to learn) has been on-the-job and self-propelled.
Anthony: What advice would you give new designers, that you wish you had received when you started?
Syndrome Studio: Push yourself and create personal work. Today, with such a saturation of designers out there, one way to set yourself apart is to create some self-initiated personal projects. Personal projects paint a much more clear and unique picture of you, your personality, and your style than client work ever will. It speaks volumes about you and what inspires you, whereas client work is usually driven by a team of other creatives and the client’s input.
The first 5–10 seconds of a reel is a critical investment in yourself—don’t skimp on it, go hard.
This could be a full short-film style piece, but, for motion designers, the best place to start is your reel. Chances are, many of the client jobs on your reel are on other designers’ reels as well. To set yourself apart, make a really dope and compelling intro to your reel. The first 5–10 seconds of a reel is a critical investment in yourself — don’t skimp on it, go hard. If you put the extra thought and effort into a great intro, a prospective employer will see that passion, will want to learn more about you, and will want to see what you can bring to their client projects.
Anthony: Sorry for an additional education slant, but what skills should a fresh-out-of-college designer have in their pocket when they show up for an interview at Syndrome?
Syndrome Studio: Of course an eye for good design, knowledge of the programs, and how to visually execute an idea, are the required skills to get the job done and should be evident in a designer’s portfolio/reel. Outside of that, being a level-headed team player with an obvious drive to learn and a passion to create will take you far in this industry.
Anthony: Syndrome started almost 2 decades ago, how has the motion design landscape, and client expectations shifted in the past 2 decades?
Syndrome Studio: When we began our studio, motion design was new and uncharted territory in the overall landscape of design and has rapidly grown from a niche field into the mainstream.
In the beginning, most motion graphics were designed for broadcast TV and film. Now with screens ever-present, motion design permeates almost every aspect of our lives — on the web, social media, games, digital signage, interfaces, etc. There are many more canvases now and opportunities for work. The tools have greatly improved, making motion design more accessible, lowering the barrier to entry and creating more competition among designers and studios.
On the client side, the expectations have also shifted — schedules have become shorter, budgets a bit tighter, and the amount of deliverables have gone up. But on the positive side, clients are much more savvy and educated about the process and are able to understand time-saving approaches like rough animations and wireframe renders.
Anthony: 2020 is a wild year, global pandemic, political turmoil, an election year. Los Angeles is pretty much in the cross hairs in so many ways. What advice would you like to give to the creative Los Angeles community in the midst of one of the wildest years on record.
Syndrome Studio: During one of the craziest years ever since we started Syndrome, what has kept us sane is staying focused on creating good work for our clients, keeping our business side tight and prepared to weather the storm, and using any downtime as an opportunity to learn new skills or push ourselves by creating personal projects.
Anthony: Best secret spot in Los Angeles (for anything)?
Syndrome Studio: For us, it’s going to EAST Los Angeles for lunch. A lot of great Tacos spots and trucks to try out. Cinco Puntos in East LA is a must. And, for trucks, don’t sleep on Tacos y Birria La Unica!
Anthony: What do you love?
Syndrome Studio: We feel truly fortunate to love the work that we do and to still be doing it side-by-side together for the last 20 years. Being able to grow in this career together as friends/collaborators with a similar mindset has been huge for our longevity and success. One of the best things about design and the creative fields is that they provide a life-long opportunity to keep learning a whole bunch of interconnected skill sets. Whether it be 3D, photography, directing, music production or straight-up graphic design, we are always experimenting with new tools, learning new techniques and diving into new mediums. Learning and staying inspired is the key to happiness!
Anthony is a Chair of the Department of Art, Art History, and Visual Communication Design at Cal Poly Pomona; he is a Visual Communication designer focused on the non-profit sector and advocacy-based design; and he is exceptionally snobby about coffee.
