We caught up with the brilliant and insightful René Ramos a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

René, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Among my creative roles I also am the creative director of Procession Magazine. This is an actual printed magazine covering the latest darkwave, goth, and industrial bands operating in the world today. It also features related literature, art, and fashion. My cover-to-cover design approach opposes traditional rules. Layouts might run sideways, upside down, scatter across varying angled text columns, or any combination of these. I also shoot concert photography for local-to-me shows for the magazine. My design approach has caused quite a stir of interest among our music fans who want even more. Love this.

René, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve always been moved by various forms of art. In school I naturally excelled within creative projects without having taken art classes. I didn’t enter the creative workforce initially, but soon realized it’s where I belong. Self taught via freelancing I began as an entry-level graphic artist then later climbed the ranks up to agency creative director while working for a few different employers. During these professional years I became very interested in photography and have even contributed to a couple of leading stock photo agencies.

Along the way I began focussing on pareidolia, which is the phenomenon of seeing objects or faces where none actually exist. My first awareness of this was at age five when I saw faces within the fabric pattern of my bedroom drapery. It wasn’t until my adult years that I learned there was nothing actually wrong with me, LOL! With the encouragement of a New York pro photographer I began my Instagram account known as @thefacespotter which has been a lot of fun.

My love of music led me to begin slide post featuring my favorite artists and discoveries together with my pareidolia photography. This caught the attention of a particular music fan, and printed magazine contributing editor. She introduced me to the zine’s founder, and shortly after I began as their creative director designing the publication from cover-to-cover. This has become the most fun and creative gig I’ve ever had. It comes along with meeting, and attending the shows of so many amazing musicians. I’m right now getting ready to film my first music video for one of my online artist connections that has turned into a great friendship.

Another way my photography has been utilized creatively is within an illustrated book for children. This project came via a chance meeting with a brilliant children’s educator and book author who wanted to bring her idea to life. For her I created 3D illustrated raindrop characters that appear together in real world photographed school environments with the author herself in a starring role. This was so much fun and has gained some genuinely inspirational reviews on Amazon.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I really just wanted a platform to catalog my photography of pareidolia to share with family and friends. My followers began growing organically. I strongly believe that the key to social media is simply being human. Pay attention to follower accounts and engage with them. Caring about each other is directly responsible for the followers I have. Adding a music component to my photography account brought about some unexpected change. Some initial followers may not have shared my music tastes and seem to have gone unexpectedly quiet. On the other hand music fans and artists from around the globe have become a large part of my follower base. My advice to those currently building an audience would be to decide what you want to say upfront. Try not to deviate from those initial goals too much. Be true to your audience, and maintain a connection with them. It can be a lot of work at times but the genuine friendships that result from here will be well worth your while.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

As previously mentioned I am a huge music fan. I used to be one of those types that would record music samplers to share with friends. So promoting music artists via social media was an easy transition for me. My followers have also come to appreciate the artists I share about. I know this from my account analytics and DM conversations of interest. The music artist friendships I’ve made are another level testament of their appreciation. All of this helps build my reputation within the market, and fuels my excitement to further promote them. I really enjoy creating animated video story post promos on their behalf, and my creative work has become quite popular.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://thefacespotter.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/thefacespotter
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefacespotter
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramosdesign
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefacespotter
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thefacespotter
• Magazine: https://www.processionmagazine.com 
• Book: https://amzn.to/3B8K6sy
• Song: https://renramos.bandcamp.com/track/drift-away

Image Credits
PM_Zines3-9.jpeg: MJ Pheonix/Stephanie Stryker/Amulet, Rouge Hearts Curse, René Ramos, Mike Duther/Steve Lam, ACTORS, Then Comes Silence, Twin Tribes. PM_RR.jpeg: René Ramos. TFS_Mood.jpg: René Ramos. TFS_IndustriaSinister.jpeg: René Ramos. TFS_B-C-ingYou.jpeg: René Ramos. RR_TheBirthdayMassacre.jpeg: René Ramos. drizzleandtheletter_amazonreview.jpeg: René Ramos. PM_DarkFashen.jpeg: MJ Pheonix/Stephanie Stryker/Amulet.