French architect and painter Le Corbusier or Corbu and Corb for short, said, and I paraphrase, the same principles that apply to the design of a chair apply to the design of aircraft. Over the years, I’ve come to understand and embrace this particular way of thinking. The other thought I identify with is that an architect is a generalist, meaning that we know a little about many things, rather than possess in-depth knowledge on any particular subject. There are, however, individuals who are specialists in a particular building type or knowledge area. At some point in my career I had to make a choice—Generalist or Specialist?

In the thirty five years since I started my training as an architect, I’ve made necessary migrations to related areas of involvement in the design industry. The first was graphic design, then interiors, and furniture and product design. I discovered fine art photography as a student and somewhere along the line, I took up writing. The result is a career of  great richness, texture and complexity. It sounds like I’m describing a wine, but it’s fitting.

When I founded Studio Santalla, Inc. in 2001, we offered services in architecture, interior design and graphic design. A few years later, as suggested by a web designer, we dropped the graphics from our offering, but the reality is we didn’t stop producing graphic art. When working on projects for clients, we designed furniture for them. The day I realized my photographs were “that” good,  I started selling them. I’ve been referred to as a Renaissance Man, a jack of all trades, multi-talented and met with resentment from design professionals who think I’m infringing upon their turf. I just think of myself as pursuing my interests while eschewing labels and taboos.

My journey has landed me in a place where I have clarity, and have embarked on what is generally known as “brand expansion” by creating new divisions to Studio Santalla. This is a snapshot of our current offering:

Graphic-SS

www.graphic-ss.com

Graphic-SS provides professional services in the areas of brand identity, marketing campaigns and  environmental graphics

Ernesto Santalla Photography

www.ernestosantallaphotography.com

Highlights from 30 years producing images in three categories; black and white-all taken with a film camera; color and photo-collage. This website includes e-commerce.

Ernesto Santalla Home

I am working on the introduction of several furniture lines and textiles. Stay tuned for more as this is in various stages of development.

Part of the offering will be furniture we’ve designed previously that is already in our portfolio.

https://www.ernestosantalla.com/portfolio/item/products/

Here’s an image of one of our pieces:

This image was on the cover of Home & Design magazine.

I tell clients that part of what makes Studio Santalla unique is we can provide solutions to a wide range of items ranging from technical issues to fine details. Does that mean we’re qualified to design research laboratories? No. Do I know the finer details of specifying gimp? No. Can I provide an excellent product within the realms of our design expertise? You can bet on it.

Thanks for reading. Comments appreciated.

Ernesto Santalla