Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Roman Vynogradnyi (RV) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Roman Vynogradnyi by clicking here.
RV: Since my childhood, I was a creative kid, and after growing up, I realized that I want to build my life and career around art and design field. I studied at the Kiev Institute of Advertising at the Faculty of Graphic Design and at the same time began to work at the advertising agency and it turned in my profession and things I've been doing for 11 years.
RV: I started my career at one of the biggest agencies in Ukraine and later worked at several respected advertising agencies which work with world-famous clients and grow up to Art direction position. After a while, I was very interested in technology and innovations that I can bring through the design vision so I continued my development as a UI/UX designer, but at the same time, I continue to work on the brand identity.
RV: I enjoy creating meaningful and impactful products that inspire and make life more enjoyable. Design should be simple but memorable, give emotion, solve the problem. It's not just a beautiful picture, it's a feeling, experience.
RV: My passion has always been to create a brand identity, but recently it is also the development of websites and mobile app.
RV: As I mentioned earlier, already during my studies I started working as a designer. I got an internship in one of the biggest at that time advertising agencies in Ukraine. And the first project I worked on was a very well known company (whose name I can not mention by reason od NDA). It was an incredible experience!
RV: This is very dependent on the assigned task as all technology is constantly changing. Just with the help of this or that product, you can make your task faster, but the result depends only on your vision.
RV: I am inspired by people, their ideas. Just imagine that 5 or 10 years ago we had no idea how technology will change the world now. Right now, my goal is to be part of this, create something meaningful and solve the problems.
RV: I spend a lot of time in a research phase, generating ideas, understanding the problem and solving it. A lot of time for detailed drawing, and visualization. All processes are important, it's a puzzle that needs to be assembled.
RV: Realization of the project and my idea and feeling when you satisfied someone's need, this is the greatest blessing for me. I'm proud and feel gratitude for being able to contribute to the industry and someone's life of course.
RV: Many facts affect design including marketing, strategy, idea, and quality of visualization. The most successful design is the one that helps people, meets their requirements and solves the problems they faced. A design that brings a new positive experience and emotions. And the most important - the design must be simple and understandable for everyone.
RV: I am a visualizer by nature, I'm paying attention the visual appearance first, and then I go deep into certain details and functions.
RV: The design will always be a part of our life, it is constantly evolving, moving with great speed as well as technology.
RV: In October 2017, my work was at the exhibition dedicated to UKRAINIAN CREATIVE WEEK 2017. This event brings together three leading national contests: Ukrainian Design: The Very Best Of, KAKADU Awards and ADC*UA Awards in order to promote the development of the Ukrainian advertising and communications market and reward its most desirable representatives. I also got the award from Ukrainian Design: The Very Best Of which I am very proud of because our country (Ukraine, where I come from) has many talents, and being among them is an honor for me.
RV: You have to constantly monitor and learn new trends and even create your own. Observing the work of other designers and learning popular design platforms and magazines is my every-day ritual. Also, my works are published in the popular blogs and magazines about design and I'm glad that I can inspire others.
RV: It always depends on the assigned task and project, client's wishes, from the project to the project, it can crucially vary. Even if the design is not in my style, I try to do the best quality and perform the main functions. In general, I like simple, clean, understandable and user-friendly design with high attention to detail.
RV: Now I live in San Francisco, one of the most innovative cities in the world so I get inspiration from the environment, technology and the people that surround me. Every day I get a new experience, through which I develop as a designer and grow as a human being. Some of the best and most talented people of the world have gathered here and to receive knowledge from them and to share my own it is a great honor.
RV: Communication is the key to success, I try to get into the spirit of the company and its culture, understand these standard processes, their users, and their needs.
RV: Many companies do not pay attention to the technical level of the designer due to what the visual part of the product and the function may not be implemented in the right way. Communication is very important, but besides this, real knowledge and experience are more important, so that designer not only talked about tasks but also implemented them and solve real problems.
RV: Processes can be very different depending on whether it's working on a brand identity or developing a new mobile application for example. If we talk about product design, there are a lot of stages. First of all, I spend a lot of time within the research phase to understand who the users are and what they are looking for, how current process is working and how to improve it.Interview with stakeholders is a very powerful tool that will help you to understand the business goals and give you a lot of information about product or brand you will be working on. Research phase also includes competitive analysis, user interview, and identify user goals. The next stage is directly working on the wireframing, prototyping and visual design part. Then we move to testing and check if everything works well.
RV: Pencil, notebook, iMac, good music, coffee.
RV: Researching - spend time learning new design trend, analyze how other designers work. You can try to make a prototype of some of the already existing product - you will learn how those or other processes work in real life. Develop yourself in many creative areas - from music to photography, it will help you in your work, you will see it. Develop yourself in different design fields, both Product Design and Branding, for example, it will help you to grow up as a professional. And after you fill you are ready to move forward - develop your own unique style.
RV: Pros. It will never be boring. Interesting work that constantly gives you new knowledge and you study new areas and field of activity.Cons. This is a stressful job that has its difficulties, for example, constant deadlines. At the same time, this is a creative work that must always meet the highest level of performance at the same time understand the needs of marketing and functionality for customers.
RV: Do every project the best possible quality with feeling like it's your own project in which you invested all your money.
RV: Erudition, open mindless, fast learning.
RV: Pen and paper, Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe XD, InVision.
RV: In advance I plan all processes on priorities and parts, allocate them the certain time.
RV: Very depends on project and task, from one week to a couple of years.
RV: :) How long will it take? How much will it cost?
RV: Each project gives some new experience and knowledge, sometimes more, sometimes less, but all steps of development are very important.
RV: For me, every process is very important, with its own challenges. Research phase gives me experience and knowledge in business, and work on a visual design, for example, help me to reveal myself as a creative person.
RV: My goals continue to grow, get more experience with new companies and projects.
RV: I have a different experience, including of being the only one designer in a team and do design on my own, to work in the design team and hold the position of art director.
RV: Thanks for your time, see you soon!
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