Daniel Oliva

Visual communication, graphic design & brand strategy.

bio

  • bio

Hi! I am Daniel Oliva, visual designer and graphic artist born and raised in Madrid, Spain.

My attraction to visual communication definitely began at the age of 3: my parents often narrate how compelled I was to watching the TV ads, how I would recognize the logos on the badges of cars walking down the street, and how I spent the whole of the day drawing. Through the years, I have reached the conclusion that my motive is to imprint a unique personality into all of my creations - I thrive upon coming up with visual concepts that harmonize my projects, providing them with an identity, a soul: colours, shapes, a tone of voice, values and traits.

Therefore, I went on to study Advertising and PR, focused on mastering strategic communication: identifying how to transmit ideas creatively, with the goal of engaging with the community and carry a helpful message through these crafted personalities. Later on, I complemented my studies with deeper knowledge about image theory, drawing technique and art history thanks to my degree in Graphic Arts. I clearly identify within me a dedication for branding and identity, and I am also keen on the universe of motion graphics and 3D, space branding and signaling.

artwork

dowi

Dowi is my own personal music project.

I developed concept artwork for the indie pop album Defrost (2021), translating the breakup themes into the element of urban oasis: the park as a place to heal and reconnect with one’s self amidst the draining metropolitan life.

I also designed the website dowidowidowi.com as a platform to obtain further information, following the album's aesthetics.

Dowi portraits shot by Aniek Sealtiel, Sandra Rodas and Nina Lizura.
Art direction, web dev, layout, textures, landscape photography and script font by me.

    brand

    • spanish gov

    • spanish gov

    spanish government

    Degree thesis in Graphic Design & Print.

    A refreshed visual identity for the Spanish Government is proposed under two objectives: first, regain the people's trust in the institutions after the covid-19 crisis, and second, harmonize the communications of the country's first (and certainly not last) coalition cabinet.

    A logotype system for all departments - loosely based on the national coat of arms and key institutional identities from the 1980s-, as well as a cohesive grid system for both print and web media, were constructed.

    The complete guideline manual was sent to the Prime Minister's office, and submited to the 2022 LAUS Awards in Barcelona.

    Institutional photos belong to the Government of Spain and are used for illustrative and educational purposes.

      juguetoría unodiez

      Design for the 2022 Juguetoría exhibition at the National Museum of Decorative Arts. The identity adds up to previous concepts of the Juguetoría creative lab of toys and gaming, based on the concept of scale as a relationship between what is real and what is imaginary.

      Identity, poster design, high-res vinyl prints, and cards production by me.
      Project photos belong to their respective authors.

        • ccinfo

        ccinfo

        Identity for the Faculty of Media Studies at Complutense University of Madrid.

        For the Faculty's 50th anniversary, the academic community was invited to create a new logotype concept. This was the faculty where I completed my studies, so the project felt close to home.

        I proposed an identity which honors the iconic faculty building itself by picturing its 5 floors with its 5 distinctive colors. I also proposed a new naming (CCInfo, as the students call it). The objective was positioning the faculty as the center of talent and culture in Madrid for both national and international prospective students.

        Mockup pictures are taken from the Faculty's archive.

          mëtró

          Fictional metro network.

          Starting as a technical drawing school project about one-point perspective, I designed several stations and grouped them on a map.

          With time, I kept extending the lines and realized about the need for an optimized grid system. I also created a brand with subsequent rebrandings that gave meaning to the steps taken, and 3D renders of some of the stations.

            artwork

            • teatro cin5o

            teatro cin5o

            Since 2015, I have designed artwork as well as printed and digital communications for the independent Madrid theater company Teatro Cin5o (formerly La Teatra).

            All photographs by me, except bed portraits by Juan Jiménez Estepa.

              academic

              • academic

              Projects developed during my academic training between 2016 and 2021.

              1. Branding for Cuenta3, an online art dissemination platform. The platform is merely a "frame" for the projects shown in it. The frames have different shapes and are grouped in "structures" to emphasize on the community spirit.

              2. Illustration for the yearly contest of the Yorokobu magazine cover, worked on with Belén Orellana.

              3. Campaign for Vanilla Coke, rebranded as a mixer for alcoholic drinks. The concept of mix is represented through characters that mix different urban tribe characteristics. Photographed and edited by me.

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