Inside the Mind of Annandaniel
26 de May de 2022
26 de May de 2022
Many dream about travelling the world and discovering new places. Some few ones have managed to make it their profession, as is the case of Anna Devís and Daniel Rueda.
Anna and Daniel are both Spanish, born in 1990, and they met in Valencia’s School of Architecture. There, they discovered they had a shared passion for buildings and creativity and, together, they started travelling and posting minimalist pictures of buildings they found attractive in their instagram profiles. Little by little, their pictures started getting more aesthetic and with creative ideas behind them. Today, they have become two of the most famous architecture instagram accounts in the world.
This ground-breaking creative duo has changed the game in a social media where filters rule by doing exactly the opposite — using no filters and going for pictures that have no post-production, where absolutely everything you see (believe it or not) is real.
They have been gradually developing a new model of architectural photography, where concept and location become one. Humour, creativity, colour, precision and geometry define their style, which they use in order to tell stories about the buildings and places the visit.
They’ve seen a constant increase in followers ever since they started and their talent is currently recognised by more than one million people in social networks. But it’s not only their followers who have fallen in love with the duo’s visual designs. Brands such as Netflix, Disney, Facebook, Pantone, CNN, Huawei, Hasselblad and many others have knocked on their door as well, asking them to become ambassadors for their brands. All of this has even got them a place among Forbes’ 30 Under 30.
One thing is clear: Anna and Daniel may be standing in front of the same building we are, but they are most certainly seeing things beyond what we can see — two windows become eyes, a staircase becomes a flag, a table becomes a skirt.
Their creativity is truly admirable, so we’ve done what we do best: asked them to have a chat so they can give us some advice on how to develop our own creativity.
Our work is the result of chance. Daniel and I are both architects and, during our time in school, we would talk to our families and friends —none of whom were architects— about how madly in love we were with the latest building we’ve studied in class or seen in a magazine. They would obviously not have the same fangirl/fanboy attitude we had!
It all started when we went on our first trips and started taking pictures of those works of architecture in a more personal way: minimalist, fun and very colourful. And, without even knowing, we started telling stories about these buildings that had never been told before — stories that could be understood by all audiences.
When we start working with a new image, whether it’s for ourselves or for a client, we start a brainstorming session. We then take the ideas that come up and put them on paper. Sketches and initial doodles evolve as the concept starts setting in and they practically end up becoming designs to scale. During this ideation stage, we decide on colours, clothing and even poses. Once everything’s planned out, the next step is to turn designs into reality.
Even if it may be hard to believe it sometimes, everything you see in our pictures is real. I mean, it was in front of the camera at the moment the picture was taken. That’s why a big part of the creative process consists of going shopping or even designing and producing our own props for the scene. Lastly, with the set ready, all we need to do is shoot and give it some final touches in the editing room. Ta-Daa!
Like everything in life, it all has it pros and cons. But we love it this way! When two creative people are on the same page, that hard bargaining gives place to new ideas that evolve and, most importantly, get better. When you work in a team, you find the courage to open doors that you wouldn’t have opened on your own.
We’ve realised that humour has helped us break many barriers. We love a good play on words, but even more so if we can do it with images. Luckily, this graphic language is capable of connecting with people of all ages and cultures. There’s nothing we like more than to see people smiling when they look at our pictures.
The greatest challenge we’ve faced is always the latest picture we shoot. Our work is in constant evolution and we are always experimenting with new concepts and materials, which also brings new problems we never previously had to face. And creativity plays a crucial role in finding solutions! Each project becomes a great adventure and we always learn something that will help us for the next one!
“Fake it ‘till you make it”. This is something we learned throughout our careers and we still live by those words. When a new project comes our way, we often think we’re not prepared to face it. It’s a natural thing. Your senses sharpen when you face a new challenge and you may even think about saying no to the proposition. But once you overcome that initial fear, you realise that you’re capable of facing all those challenges that take you out of your comfort zone and, most importantly, learning from them.
Article written in collaboration with: @anniset and @drcuerda, www.annandaniel.com