Portuguese illustrator Tiago Galo started his work through collaborations with small fanzines and exhibitions while studying architecture at the Universidade Tècnica de Lisboa. In 2014 he got his degree in Art Direction at Edit Creative School in Lisbon, and after some years engaging with architecture, he finally went back to his first love, illustration. He currently works as a freelance designer and illustrator in Lisbon.
He greatly enjoys working for editorial briefs, to allow himself to get in other people’s mind, as he says, and to interpret their ideas in his own way.
Talking of the work created for the Hollywood Reporter, the Financial Times and the Canadian Business Magazine, he says: “Usually I never get more than a few days to work on an editorial illustration, so it’s about balancing the time with my expectations. You really have to have a lot of self-discipline, which is something I’ve learned over the years.”
As his first job was as an architect, his style remains graphic and neat, leaving the spotlights to the chosen colors and textures. He truly believes that the right color palette will finally accomplish all the work, to give that magical final touch to any piece that could initially seem a disaster. “I give special importance when it comes to choosing the right shades, as they play a big part in the visual stimulus you need to create that initial impact,” explains Tiago.
About the subjects he goes for, we may find often abstract concepts, but the simple and clear style allows him to push boundaries between the real and the unreal. He definitely likes to recreate parallel realities through his illustrations and gets inspirations from the everyday life’s scenes, trying to get an odd extract and personal reinterpretation of it.
His aim is to create a personal aesthetic, and each artwork seems like a piece of a puzzle to complete the bizarre and surreal world by which we are surrounded.
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