Recently we had a chance to get introduced to a promising graphic designer. We connected over Twitter and discussed over brand logos and corporate identities. The designer has done many interesting experiments with some known brand logos and designs. We decided to interview him to know more about his design style and what he thought was a good way to create a corporate identity. Here are the abstracts from the interview:
Marty: So Tell us something about yourself Alen?
Alen: My name is Alen Pajazetovic, I am from Bosnia and live in Bihac.
M: What is ArtAireal all about? The idea behind your brand.
A: ArtAireal isn’t as much as a brand as it is what drives me. An kind of arterial pulsation in my head that drives me when inspiration hits me….and it sounds cool ! 😉
It’s an alias. But I have a brand. Its Dance Ahead Style. That is my little design label for fashion and lifestyle. I won’t advertise it here, you have to Google it ! See the coloured dots. They are the name Dance Ahead Style written in Braille, the writing system used by the blind.
M: Where did your inspiration to become a designer come from? “The Inception”!
A: My best friend is production manager at Kavat the Swedish Shoe Manufacturer. One day I looked at the logo and got an idea for a new version of their logo. The original Kavat-Logo was created in 1945 by Karl-Erik Forsberg, who also created the famous Volvo-Logo. I think his Kavat-Logo is very good and still actual. There is no real need to change it. But I still had a little idea that would keep it’s minimalist design untouched. I removed the “V“ and replaced it with the triangle from the V and placed the A’s closer together. Now the logo stayed the same, but with the V as a negative space letter. The fun is, that you always see the V, even it is not there. Our brain is fantastic! It recognizes the shape and adds the missing information from our memory. And the better you know the logo the harder it is to see that there is no V. My friend later told me that he showed my logo to all other managers at a Kavat meeting. Nobody did see any difference until he explained it to them. That was my first logo. I discovered my talent and the fun process to create a logo.
M: What is your logo design process? Please elaborate.
A: Research ! That is the most important thing. What is the company’s history? Who is the founder?
What are their products now and in the past? Fundamental research can be very helpful to draw a line between logo and company.
M: Would you like to showcase any work here?
A: Thank You, yes. I’d like to present my Arab Wings Logo proposal. To simplify the explanation of my creation process and the inspiration, I like to add my creation guide. I choose symbols and shapes with Arab background to combine them, and to create the wings. I call it the Moon-Wing. The roof shape is what gives the logo a dynamic direction. Was a lucky punch too, because some logos like this almost create themselves….or I feel it that way. Hope you like it.
M: Your daily source of inspiration?
A: Can be everything, but most of the time small things. But when it hits me it’s energizing !
M: Being a designer yourself, anything you would like to tell our readers
A: Look what others do, don’t imitate them, be yourself !
M: On a lighter note, while working on a logo art project, did you ever have an ‘Andy Warhol’ moment? If so, then tell us about your experience with the brand.
A: Andy who ? O.K. Not funny…
That moment is now and it’s this interview. My first one! You know what they say about the first one…?!
M: These days, a lot is being said about humanizing a brand. Your thoughts? How can a brand be more human?
A: I think a logo or a campaign can’t compensate the lack of humanity of any company. The company has to be human from the inside. Being respectful to their own employees will bring out the best in them, and that always reflects to the outside world, through their quality products and a friendly service.
M: Anything you would like to say about creating a brand identity to a potential client who might be reading this interview?
A: Trust your logo designer! Stay away from cheap internet logo sites. You’ll get what you pay.
M: Thanks for talking to us Alen. Please let our readers know what’s the best way to reach you in case someone wants to contact you.
A: I thank you too, Marty. I’m on Twitter by the name ArtAireal @S3MPL3X or you can find my work on Behance as ArtAireal (https://www.behance.net/ArtAireal)
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Marty Huggins
