A DIFFERENT KIND OF STRATEGY
It’s tempting to call Segura a renaissance man, if only because there are so many ventures under the umbrella Segura, Inc. He runs a design firm, the digital type foundry T-26, an independent record label, and an online venture called 5inch that sells blank, silk screened CDs and DVDs. Then there’s his newest baby: www.cartype.com. The website allows Segura, who owns four German cars, to indulge his interest in automobiles, type, and motorcycles with extensive entries on different car models and logos.

While this may seem like an odd assortment, these businesses are all driven by a unifying factor: Segura’s creativity. He isn’t a jack-of-all-trades as much as he’s a person who has figured out how to apply his artistic talent to whatever piques his interest. Some might say it would be easier to run a more strictly defined business —a firm specializing in environmental graphics or web design—but for Segura it would be harder not to follow his creative impulses. “I’ve heard comments about Carlos not being strategic,” Rodriguez says. “Well, Carlos is an artist, and great strategy is in him, in his subconscious, as he works. His work often hits all the sweet strategic spots but it gets driven from instinct and art versus frameworks and PowerPoints.”

One of the biggest testaments to this gut-level strategy is the fact that Segura’s non-client driven projects often garner him the most attention. 5inch, for example, has appeared in glossy magazines ranging from Real Simple and Wallpaper to Wired. He also made a big splash in the design world for his type work during the ’90s. The inevitable ebb and flow of popularity, however, isn’t a driving force behind his work. “It definitely doesn’t affect what I do,” he says. “I care as much as any human cares.” When asked what other articles about him haven’t captured, Segura says his insecurity. He’s a confident and knowledgeable designer, but he still suffers from the same moments of self-doubt all creative people do—the fear of making something from scratch and wondering what’s going to happen when you put it out in the world.

GIVE AND TAKE
Like many designers, Segura struggles to find what can seem like an endangered species: good clients. His definition is someone who lets you do what you were hired to do, and he’s only run across four or five in his entire career. Too often politics, worries about job security, or a focus on short-term returns get in the way of a project’s true goals. Even though he turns down projects that don’t seem like a good fit, there are still compromises. He worked on a project, for example, where he had to use red, because it’s the favorite color of the president’s wife.

Segura compares client relationships to dating. He gets a sense of a client during a first meeting, just like you form an impression on a first date. While he works to educate his clients about design and help them make the best decisions for the target audience, he knows getting into occasional confrontations with clients is why he’s sometimes labeled as difficult or having a short fuse. “I definitely try to be diplomatic about it,” he says about disagreeing over projects. In fact, he names being more diplomatic as one of his biggest ongoing goals and describes his efforts to do so as a growth process.

Merrill sheds a little more light on the subject. While she would never describe Segura as difficult, she says he’s committed to using his knowledge to help clients avoid potential mistakes. “He’s just been doing this so long he can see things others can’t,” she says.

MAN'S BEST FRIEND
When asked if there’s anything else he wants to add to the interview, Segura’s answer is simple: “I love my dog.” Yuki is his golden lab and the office mascot. She also seems to be a symbol of the laidback creative atmosphere at the company. Rodriguez lists walking Yuki as one of her favorite memories at the firm, and in a roundabout way, the dog helped Merrill land her job. She met Segura through her sister, who met him at the park while he was walking Yuki. Be sure to look up the dog’s official staff bio at Segura’s website. It’s probably as good of a window as any into Carlos Segura.

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