Live From L.A.: Lucas Aragon!

By Robert Graham

The Television Academy recognized Viola Davis as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as criminal defense professor / attorney Annalise Keating in ABC Studio’s How to Get Away with Murder at the 67th Emmy Awards. Viewers recognize ABC television shows for the their inclusiveness and complexity, which serve as creative mirrors for the social, cultural, ethical and demographic transitions unfolding in the early 21st century of the United States of America and the larger world. Nashville, Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, Blackish and many more fall under the ABC Television brand.

ABC Design Director Lucas Aragón (BS 95) sits at the forefront of television’s thematic, technical and existential maturation. “I get to manage 20 creative professionals every day who believe in the ABC brand,” says Lucas. Lucas oversees the development and deployment of primetime advertisements for ABC television shows, such as How to Get Away with Murder and Scandal.

Eastern New Mexico University Department of Art professor Greg Erf invited Lucas to campus during the spring of 2014 for a talk targeted towards aspiring ENMU creative professionals. Not only did Lucas discuss, but also showed students how he managed the creative process for two projects. First, Lucas discussed his team’s use of the color red as a focal point around which to design advertisements for How to Get Away with Murder. Second, Lucas explained how his team built their advertisements around a photo shoot featuring Scandal lead actress Kerry Washington.

Lucas Aragón at ENMU in the 90’s

Including a four-year stint as the senior art director for Washington D.C.’s National Geographic Channel, Lucas has also served as the Vice President of Design for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and Lifetime Networks. Prior to the National Geographic Channel, Lucas worked on the news side of television at Washington D.C.’s WRC-TV, Boston’s WHDH-TV, Orlando’s WESH-TV and Dallas-Fort Worth’s KDFW-TV.

The Texas State Historical Association says Fort Worth is ‘where the west begins’; the broader DFW metroplex is where Lucas launched his career as well. “The art department scheduled a trip for students to tour studios in Dallas. One of the studios was the CBS affiliate, and while I was there, I reached out and asked if they had any internships. I got internship offers in Amarillo and the DFW area. I selected the opportunity in DFW with it being the bigger market, ranked in the top five of US markets,” says Lucas.

As an intern, KDFW-TV assigned Lucas the tasks of creating graphics for live newscasts as well as the company’s promotional materials. In less than a year, KDFW-TV upgraded Lucas’s summer internship to a full-time position. “Internships are a great way to get your foot in the door in any industry but especially entertainment,” says Lucas.

Over the years, Lucas has stayed in contact with ENMU art professor Greg Erf. “Greg Erf was an important mentor for me and was someone who encouraged me to pursue the goals that I had identified as wanting to pursue, something I appreciate even more now as someone who mentors others,” says Lucas. While working at National Geographic Channel, Lucas provided

Matthew Guastaferro (BS 02) with an internship and eventually hired him in a full-time capacity. After that, Matthew went on to work for America’s Most Wanted as well as the Cable News Network (CNN). He now owns his own company in Washington, DC called Hugo Creative.

CNN debuted at 6 p.m. EST on June 1, 1980 and transformed television as the first company to provide 24-hour coverage. 36 years later, “the platform in which people consume content is one of the biggest changes to consider. And looking ahead, how we market content regardless of platform will become more important,” says Lucas.

Live from Los Angeles – Lucas Aragón!