Interview with Vadim Smirnov / OKC.Media

Vadim Smirnov / OKC.Media ("VS/O") interviewed on Thursday, 19 April.

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

VS/O : I am a creative director and an owner of the creative agency OKC.Media. For seventeen years I worked for global brands like Gillette, Ariston, Candy, Luxottica, Jacob Delafon, and DAB, as well as a lot of local Russian brands.

How did you become a designer?

VS/O : Graduated as a nuclear physicist, I started freelance web design just for fun in 1997. I used to manage an internet solution department starting in 2001. After I had experience as a designer, full-stack developer and art director I started my agency in 2008 mostly focused on creative direction and management.You know, sometimes I missed an internet free of tons of overrated information. But as a professional, I am happy that the internet became the new medium. I always admire the fact that we do things that engage millions of users.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

VS/O : Any design is about function with a grain of something unseen before, I believe. Every project starts with understanding user needs. For me there are two key points:— To find the simplest, most minimal solution, no matter whether we are working on a promotional website or an e-commerce platform or just key visuals for a campaign.— Human-first approach. Not mobile first or any specific technology first. The users of a digital product are not abstract entities. They are your friends and relatives.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

VS/O : I love that stage when from nothing comes something that works and that has never existed before.

What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?

VS/O : I think its accepting challenges. We often solve problems which don’t yet have defined approaches to solve them. My first significant work was the thing that now called a B2B e-commerce platform, and it was only 1997, so nobody used this term. In 2002 our company and Rambler (one of the major (at that time) Russian search engines) launched online video streaming for a live event. In 2004 we used responsive design for Candy Hoover group, a time when the latest and greatest was the fixed layout. Our websites were already determining user’s connection speed and screen resolution to deliver affordable content.Basically, there are three things that always work well: intuition based on experience, hard work, and learning every day. Things change very fast, and you need an intuition to feel which way the wind blows to stay on the cutting edge.

What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?

VS/O : I dream that our design helps make people happier. Even if it’s necessary to redesign the Universe to accomplish this.

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

VS/O : Practice and learn every day. Study the rules, then break them. Keep a problem in mind you are working on: every element should work in design. Remember that Nature has performed A/B tests for millions of years. Keep a sense of wonder about the world around you, try to find inspiration outside your computer.

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

VS/O : It is important to strike a balance between being understandable, useful and exciting. Paraphrasing the Debussy quote “Design is the space between the elements”.

How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?

VS/O : Like any designer, I watch tons of visual information every day: award-winning designs, Behance, Pinterest, Dribbble. To navigate through this endless flow, I prefer to use analytics, scientific research, and intuition. I learn from my clients, professionals in their field. They often point out unique approaches that are useful not only in their respective fields. I am always looking for timeless solutions and try to incorporate modern aspects.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

VS/O : If it impresses or helps people, I believe it works.

How do you decide if your design is ready?

VS/O : I just feel it. It’s pure intuition.

What is your biggest design work?

VS/O : I believe my biggest design work is the next one.

Who is your favourite designer?

VS/O : It's difficult to choose just one or two favorite designers.I love the old Soviet design school like Vladimir Arsentiev, maker of logo Olimpiada 80, and Iraida Fomina with her packaging design. I love the Japanese and Italian design schools as well. There are some agencies, big and small, whose work I always watch, for example, Lundrgren+Lindqvist, Hellomonday, and Huge. The term ‘designer’ has a wide meaning for me as a physicist. For instance, Paul Dirac was a designer with his relativistic equation for the wave function.

Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?

VS/O : All new ideas come when you are taking a break. I try to keep my eyes fresh, travel a lot, and get connected with different cultures. For me, there are two places in the world where I feel always recharged: Barcelona and Essaouira.

Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?

VS/O : There are people behind each piece of work. The best projects we’ve done happen when both the client’s side and our side work like one team. That’s our culture — human first.

What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?

VS/O : We take part in charity projects run by a foundation helping children to fight cancer. I understand we cannot help every kid ourselves, but we are able to engage a lot of people in this activity.

What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?

VS/O : I am thankful for A’ Design Award for their work. Because any competition forces you to stay in motion and develops designers. Its a big deal which inspires better design.

Vadim Smirnov / OKC.Media Profile