The interview took place via email. 2021 Toronto
Q: What is the reason for the name of your studio?
A: As a solo designer, I use my last name as my studio name.
Q: How many employees? (full time and freelance)
A: I am the only full-time person. I count my wife, Mina and two sons, Genco and Jon. We are all graphic designers.
Q: Others?
A: We work in partnership with copywriters, printers and programmers as needed, according to the project’s nature.
Q: Describe your clientele?
A: Various fields, big or small, private and public, domestic and overseas for graphic design. I recently finished a branding project for a gift shop. We have a lot of small businesses and start-ups that come to us for a complete branding solution.
Q: Do you specialize? or generalize?
A: I’d say our work covers all design-related fields, although most of our projects fall into the sectors of brand/corporate identity and print design. I specialize because that is what people are asking of me, but I love doing it all.
Q: Are you primarily print or virtual? or both?
A: Most projects are brand identity and online systems that require print, web, environmental, and social media applications.
Q: Describe your aesthetic, stylistic (even philosophic) approach to design.
A: We strive to create simplistic beauty. We try to avoid getting locked into a specific design style or relying on a company look instead of focusing on the problem and how we can best solve it visually. Both form and function are balanced at the core of everything we produce, and our aesthetic varies widely depending on the project. The design is about understanding your problem so well because the solution comes from the problem.
Q: How did you attract clients in your early days?
A: In the early days, I was fortunate a buzz when I started, and this resulted in clients coming to us by word of mouth. I also won many awards while still a student, which made my name known and helped me find new clients.
Q: What is the most challenging part of having a studio?
A: The priceless sensation of always being free: free to create, free to make mistakes; free to try out and present new solutions. I’m responsible for my success and failures.
Q: How much freedom do you allow individual designers?
A: I listen to everyone’s opinion. But I develop the concept and design by myself.
Q: Could your studio get along without you for any period of time?
A: No. When I’m on holiday, the studio is closed.
Q: Do you have a long-term plan for sustainability or growth?
A: No, I am flexible when it comes to the future.
Q: Describe the most satisfying project of the past year.
A: Doing work for Kaya Ogruce (Death in Venice Gelato Co.) was pretty awesome and inspiring.
