Antonio Alarcon Roman never fails to amaze us. He wowed us when he was a student in Foundation and dazzled in the Digital Design program. Since graduation, he made Design Edge Canada’s list of the Top 10 Notable Designers under the Age of 35 and is currently creating award winning work at Tribal DDB Vancouver. Oh, and did we mention he designed Oomph?!

With so many awards on his trophy shelf, what’s his latest accomplishment? No less than being featured in the current Applied Arts Magazine (November/December issue) as the 2011 Young Blood Interactive Winner! This is a tremendous achievement as the Young Blood Interactive competition is one of the most prestigious forms of recognition for a young designer in our industry.

We caught up with Antonio right after his big win…

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Please tell us about the latest, cool projects you worked on at Tribal DDB over the last year?

I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with some pretty cool and exciting brands, such as McDonalds and Intel. But here are some of my favorite projects I’ve worked on this year:

• ‘Wintercope’ (Canadian Tourism Commission): which basically works as a quirky, interactive quiz that gives you a Canadian winter personality badge and a perfect match to a Canadian destination that best suits you.
• ‘Royally Curious’ (Canadian Tourism Commission): an interactive, location-based collection of photos of Canada and its people as the Royal couple toured the country.
• I’ve also started to get involved in the mobile/app world which is very exciting. Some examples include the DDB Canada mobile site and the soon-to-launch Vancouver Convention Centre mobile site.
• Also, one of my favorite projects so far is a brand new project for the BC Government. But that’s all I’m allowed to say for now. Just keep your eyes open for it over the next couple of months!…

Can you give us some insight into the Tribal DDB creative process?

Our creative process changes all the time and depends on what project you’re working on. Sometimes, teams consist of up to 10 people or sometimes just myself! But regardless of the size of the team, they all start with a brief. Then what follows is my favorite part — the brainstorm. It’s always fun throwing ideas back and forth, mixing the good bits from one with the other to come up with a new angle to tackle the client’s needs. There’s always laughter, excitement and even headaches once in a while. We work like a sport’s team; we all have our strengths and, with those, we support each other all the way through.

You have such a diverse cross-section of skills — from print design to interactive to motion — are you starting to specialize in any particular area?

I can certainly say that my skills in interactive design are more developed than others, like that of one arm of a tennis player! But again, I find that motion is still relevant in my work and a great accessory, if not a necessary companion, to interactive design. Just think of the iPhone, for example. A great tool that uses subtle bounces, screen wipes and flips to help us understand it better. That’s where I find my skillset for motion has developed, rather than for pure animation purposes. And really, knowledge in all those areas always comes in handy when you least expect it.

What are your long-term career goals and design aspirations?

Right now, I’m at a point where I just want to keep putting my hands on bigger projects and building on my experience and credibility. After a few years, I look forward to opening my own studio in an exotic location, far away from the cold and rain. I mean, who doesn’t want that, right?

You’re racking up recognition left, right and centre? What award are you gunning for next?

Thanks! And now that you mention it, there is one award I have my eyes on for next year — the shiny Cannes’ Young Lion Award.

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Thanks Antonio for chatting with us. And, congratulations again!

For more about Antonio’s latest success, head over to VFS.com.