THE world according to Dindo Bernardo would be wide, but it would also make sense—in a very eye-catching way. That’s because this 39-year-old graphic designer has taken his vibrant vision to the world via his Northern California-based design company Cerulean Prime, a firm with exactly one talented employee—Orlando “Dindo” V. Bernardo.

In a way, the smart, quick-witted Bernardo may have been destined for grand designs from the start. The eldest of three boys of the anesthesiologist Orlando C. Bernardo and dentist Lucy V. Bernardo, Dindo enjoyed doodling as a child. “During my high school years at La Salle Greenhills, my favorite elective was drafting,” he recalls.

With a degree in AB Communication from the Ateneo, Dindo worked in advertising as a copywriter for a few years. In 1997, he moved to the Bay Area to study at the Academy of Art University. “I’ve always wanted to live and work in San Francisco,” he says. “At the time, the web and Silicon Valley were the place to be. It was an exciting time and I wanted to be there and see if I could join the fun.”

Dindo started off in the Academy’s advertising program. “My typography instructor noticed that writing copy was easy for me so he suggested that I move to the graphic design program to hone my design skills,” he says. He savored his classes and was offered a job with an SF design firm Digital Deli—even before he finished school.

Armed with his MFA in Graphic Design Academy and already working, Dindo began cutting a swath through design jobs in the Bay Area, working with “everything from health sciences to semiconductors to automation to banking.”

It was an inspired idea to establish Cerulean Prime, his firm of one. “My mom was the inspiration; she is the best entrepreneur I’ve ever known,” Dindo says. “So I thought to myself, ’Do I have the guts to become as hard-working and as successful as my mom?’ Let’s see and find out! So, I did a little research about all the requirements, the registrations, etcetera, and here I am now.”

Cerulean Prime “helps small to medium-sized businesses in the creative side of their marketing communications needs. More specifically, we help them in their print and web marketing campaigns.” Among his clients are Vespa, Addison Avenue, Reviv Spa and Clothespin Cleaners.

Cerulean Prime is the distillation of Dindo’s striking, distinctive sense design sense. “I always look at each project as if it were my own business,” he says. “If I can inject a human element to the design or messaging, I do so because the human element makes it easier for the target audience to appreciate the product or service.”

Contrary to what people may think, graphic design isn’t about just making things look pretty. “A true graphic designer is a communicator,” Dindo explains. “Every piece is used to communicate or inform. A well-planned and a well-thought-out design means that whatever message is in the piece will be brought across effectively.”

To keep it up, Dindo begins work at 10 a.m. every day and keeps working “until I feel like ending. That’s the thing with me; if I have an idea, it isn’t easy for me to shut it off.”

Working in the United States is a challenge due to the presence of so many competitors in such a big field, but it can also be a blessing, with many resources available to designers. The seminars and exhibitions, the many businesses seeking graphic assistance make it a vibrant field, says Dindo. Here, he says, one can find “the recognition that creatives deserve. More and more companies realize the importance of effective design communication and branding efforts.”

While Dindo considers every one of his projects as memorable, he does have one favorite experience—working in the nascent IT firm Adept Technology. “I was their in-house designer and I had the wonderful opportunity to work on a lot of things, from designing their technical papers to launching their e-mail blast campaigns,” he said, adding that “the people at Adept were a joy to work with—everybody!”

His manager at Adept even entered Adept’s annual report, a project Dindo was heavily involved in, in the League of American Communications Professionals 2001 Annual Report Competition, earning an honorable mention for it.

Dindo, who does tend to spend most of his time working save for his hobby of putting together mixes, puts everything he has back into Cerulean Prime, dreaming of keeping the firm growing and branching out into other areas: “Part of my firm is a promotional branding arm. I had actually set that up first but because of the recession, had to put the brakes on it. Hopefully next year when the economy picks up again, I’ll reactivate my firm’s branding arm.”

Is there a particular company he’d like to design for? “Nothing comes to mind. Though if I had the opportunity to work as a graphic designer for a certain search engine company, I wouldn’t mind,” he says with a laugh. In the meantime, Cerulean Prime has become an outpost for the Filipino designer in the Bay Area, as well as Dindo’s road less traveled. “Both my brothers are based in Manila, one is a dentist and the other a doctor,” he says. “I’m the only ‘nut’ living here in San Francisco.”

It may be a big world, but Dindo Bernardo believes Filipinos, by design, bring their own visual sense to what is around them. “We are a very talented and creative people; we just need the proper training and education in the graphic arts. It really isn’t about being good in Photoshop, although of course that helps, because design applications are just tools. What is important is the education, training and nurturing of creative minds. Designers should take advantage of the web and post their work. Who knows, they could just be discovered that way.”

Here’s his website: www.ceruleanprime.com