The American Graphic Design Awards is a four-decade-old competition and a flagship annual publication of the magazine Graphic Design USA. Design studios, marketing firms, and advertising agencies from throughout the U.S. are represented in the contest from among thousands of considerations. Winners appear in the annual print publication as well as the online version. Over a dozen categories are represented with creative projects ranging from print collateral to branding solutions to digital design. The “Latinos in the U.S. are…” infographic won a place in the category of self-promotion.

Infographics are effective tools for communicating information in a visually relevant and understandable manner. As people consume more and more data in a media driven world, designers and design-centric communication methods will continue to be called upon to make information memorable and accessible. I designed the infographic “Latinos in the U.S. are…” to help promote the 2010 Census results that were related to Latino population growth and influence. Over the past year, I have been appreciative of the many followers who have found value in the infographic by sharing it with their professional associates and friends alike.

Download the infographic here. Feel free to print it out as a resource for your office or workspace, save it as a screen-saver for your computer or mobile background, or share it with your friends via social media.

To view the submission on the Graphic Design USA awards website, go to: http://www.gdusa.com/contests/agda12/types/se.php?x=SA1809

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro

Earlier this year I was intrigued by an article on the NBC Latino website. In an opinion piece by Raul A. Reyes, a question was tackled that I’m sure many of us of Latin American heritage have heard before. If you do not speak Spanish, are you less Latino? Reyes brought up San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro who became well known on the heels of his Democratic National Convention speech. Apparently Castro is not fluent in Spanish and his lack of fluency implies, by some, that his Hispanic heritage may not be perceived as authentic.

According to the article, Castro’s mother shared that speaking Spanish was discouraged when she was growing up. Presumably, as a result, the language was not passed down to her son. Like Castro, my own mother also felt discouraged from speaking Spanish as a child. My own fluency in Spanish (I consider myself fluent in conversational Spanish) came after a personal hiatus I took in 2005 when I lived in Mexico and, for a short time, in Puerto Rico. Regardless, should language be considered such a determining factor of cultural connectedness?

There are a great many cultural idiosyncrasies that define us as Latinos, aside from language. Culture is an interesting phenomenon and can be complex to understand. As a professional that works within Hispanic marketing, I encourage clients to understand the cultural nuances and preferences involved in delivering value to diverse audiences. That being said, language is certainly important within many Latino communities. At times a person’s fluency in Spanish can affect his or her perception by others. As coined by Florida State University marketing professor Felipe Korzenny, words are not simply empty vessels; they come loaded with meanings and attitudes related to culture.

Ultimately, culture will trump language at delivering the most value. I cannot deny, however, my own personal experiences with language and culture. Learning Spanish has opened doors for me that would not have been available otherwise. On the other hand, relating to individuals based on culture has contributed more to my own perception of hispanidad than Spanish ever has. I believe language and culture are very much intertwined.

In conclusion, I give this simple piece of advice: while language may get you to the door, it is cultural competence that will help you get invited in.

Here is what the Pew Hispanic Center report states:

The largest wave of immigration in history from a single country to the United States has come to a standstill. After four decades that brought 12 million current immigrants—more than half of who came illegally—the net migration flow from Mexico to the U.S. has stopped and may have reversed. The standstill appears to result from the weakened U.S. job market, heightened border enforcement, a rise in deportations, the growing dangers associated with illegal border crossings, and changing economic and demographic conditions in Mexico.

It is unknown if this immigration standstill is permanent or temporary, according to some reports. Regardless, since it is immigrants that from Mexico have fueled Latino growth in the U.S. for the past few decades, can it also be assumed that future Latino growth will come to an end? Not necessarily.

It is important to acknowledge that future growth for U.S. Latino communities will not come from immigration but from those Latinos who are native born. This younger generation has already asserted their power in numbers within states in the southwest and California. For example, according to U.S. Census, Latinos under 18 in California are now the majority at 51%. Considering that Caucasian populations have been decreasing, it doesn’t’ take a mathematician to predict the demographic shift that will occur over the next 20 to 30 years as younger Latinos begin to come of age. The immigration standstill may slow this growth, but I believe we can continue to expect continued growth for Hispanics within U.S. borders.

With the dominance of younger and presumably more acculturated Latinos combined with a drop in Latin American immigrants from Mexico, can we also expect a cultural shift within Hispanic populations over the next decades? Additionally, as this younger, more diverse, and acculturated Latino population steps up, can we also assume they will be English dominant? Will the sum of this mean we can also expect marketing efforts to steer away from traditional Spanish language media? Some experts have already begun to speculate.

Jose Villa, a principal at the multicultural ad agency Sensis, made the following speculations in a recent blog post:

• U.S. born Hispanics will continue to grow as a percentage of the overall Hispanic population – further driving the importance of this more acculturated segment

• A relative decline in the percentage of Hispanics that are of Mexican descent – further diversifying the already diverse U.S. Hispanic population (this assumes sustained net immigration from other Latin American countries)

• Potential downward revisions for Hispanic populations estimates issued by the U.S. Census for 2020 and 2030 – it may take a lot longer to see Hispanics making up 25% of the U.S. population

• A decline in Mexican net immigration could lead to more mixed race marriages in the future – and a continued growth in the rapidly growing “2 or more” race segment in 10-20 years.

In closing, I need to emphasize the importance of an empathic understanding for Hispanic marketing efforts. We will need to pay close attention to this “moving target” in order to deliver value with our brands. There is no one-size-fits-all solution when marketing to Latinos. This will continue to be true regardless of immigration or population changes.

A short time after the LATISM conference, a new white paper from Advertising Age arrived in the mail entitled, “Always On Women”. The publication featured surveys and insights about how women use technology in today’s society. Although the profiles showcased in the publication spanned across age and levels of usage, there were also a few commonalities. One is buying power. It is reported that women spend roughly $5 trillion annually and control about 80% of purchasing decisions within their hoseholds. Additionally, women online also share in engagement, especially with mobile devices. According to Nielsen data, women converse 28% more and use text messages 14% more than their male counterparts. These statistics indicate that women are a very lucrative market for advertisers of online and mobile media.

Unfortunately, not everyone shares in the idea of female ascendancy. Another publication that arrived in the mail a few days later, Fast Company magazine revealed in a 2011 Gallup poll that 54% of men between the ages of 18 and 49 prefer to father a boy. Additionally, the preference of “no preference” beat that of fathering a girl by 26% to 19%. This data inspired the magazine to consult a handful of ad agencies to “rebrand” baby girls for a mock campaign against gender bias. One particular entry from LatinWorks targets U.S. Hispanic Women and promotes superior female traits such as longer life spans and the embodiments of loyalty and compassion. Who knows, maybe this creative work will expand beyond the expectations and give birth to a greater sense of gender preference.

In particular, Latina bloggers and their work have already excelled beyond expectations, especially with brands savvy in multi-cultural markets. In a recent interview on the New Latina website, public relations expert Midy Aponte explains how the recent rise in Latina bloggers quickly caught the attention of marketers within a few short years.

“What started out as good-natured conversations between Latina bloggers, soon caught the attention of large brands, like General Mills’ Que Rica Vida and Kmart’s Latina Smart campaigns. Online collectives and groups started forming like Latina Bloggers Connect, Latina Mom Bloggers and Latina Lifestyle Bloggers. Bloggers started expanding their own platforms by writing for each other and are now being identified for their writing by online forces like AOL Latino’s Tu Voz En Tu Vida. It is no wonder brands and companies have been paying attention and engaging with these powerful voices.”

Turning back to the LATISM conference, it should be noted that the whole phenomenon began with one simple tweet – one strong Latina’s call to arms for others to join her in a social media conversation. A catchy hashtag and a few years later, the LATISM conference came to attract over 500 attendees at Chicago’s Navy Pier. In one particular session, social media expert Ted Rubin made the statement that women are better suited as leaders because they connect, engage, and empathize much better than men. Considering these are also the qualities that have made Latinas successful in social media, I am very apt to believe him. Here are some considerations for marketers and brands on why they should follow Latinas in the blogosphere and social media:

• Like the “general” Hispanic community, Latinas are not all a monolithic group. Behavior patterns of technology use can vary depending on age, levels of acculturation, and social groupings.

• Popular Latina bloggers are often highly regarded peers within their social spheres. Their opinions and recommendations are valued and have the potential to propel brand credibility.

• Be aware of cross-cultural pollination. Latina influence can also grow across cultural boundaries and into the mainstream online world. Consider the insights of non-Latinas too.

He further explained the suggestion didn’t reflect his personal feelings, but rather it was based on his extensive experience as a marketing professional in Mexico and his awareness of what the country’s populace would or would not accept in advertising. I realized I was a guest within a culture different from what I was accustomed to and went along with his suggestion, but was disturbed by it. Suffice to say, from a purely business perspective, the agency’s director was correct. Based on the overwhelming majority of advertising I saw in Mexico at the time, marketers certainly did prefer featuring light-completed faces to those with darker tones. However, at the risk of “airing out dirty laundry” about our Latino nationalities, shouldn’t we as professionals seek to battle discriminatory attitudes that we may find in our communities both here in the U.S. and within our countries of origin?

Juan Daniel Castro, a very good friend and talented Grand Rapids, Michigan based linguist, once pointed out to me that it is imperative for multi-lingual professionals to promote gender equality through language. In Spanish, adjectives will end in either the masculine “o” or feminine “a” and can be interchanged depending on the related noun. However, when writing in a general context where no masculine or feminine preference has been defined, most Spanish users will write the masculine “o” in default. When Juan Daniel produces his Spanish, he will often opt to use the gender inclusive “o/a” at the end of adjectives. He believes the exclusion of female readers, be it intentional or unintentional, should not be tolerated and crafts his professional services based on these values.

The issue race in Latin America was recently featured in a PBS series by esteemed Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The series, Black in Latin America, explored the African influence in a handful of Latin and South American countries including the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Brazil, Peru, and Mexico where African heritage is mostly hidden. Professor Gates certainly did his research and sought to unveil some of the little known cultural idiosyncrasies that exist in African Latin America along with individuals that advocate bringing them out of the shadows. In the histories of these nations, most went through a period of “whitening” where African cultures were discouraged from mainstream society in favor of a more Euro-centric preference. While these nations are still in the process of recognizing the accomplishments and influence of their African communities, Gates paints an optimistic picture of a Latin American future that confidently showcases all the colors of its multi-ethnic backgrounds.

Although I have predominantly used examples of race and gender in this post, there are certainly other areas within our Latino communities that fall victim to discrimination as well. So, in closing, I would like to propose a manifesto with other multi-cultural professionals–especially marketers–and ask what we can do to advance our Latino communities beyond the attitudes of the past. Although we often must answer to client, market, and business demands, we are also influential professionals and can make a point of standing firm on discriminatory attitudes based race, ethnicity, orientation, and gender. Yes, Latinos are the most diverse and largest minority in the U.S., but that shouldn’t exclude us from accepting this responsibility. With regard to my original story about the agency director in Mexico, I still wonder if I should have further sustained my convictions against discrimination. Regardless, it was a learning experience and one that has formed stronger beliefs within myself to this day. Please join me.