We caught up with Alex Slobzheninov, who chats to us about working at &Walsh and Pangram Pangram Foundry as a graphic designer and a type designer. Alex shares his strategy for reaching out to agencies and how it's worked out better than expected; we discuss the growing influence of AR and VR in both design and everyday life, and he shares the advice to 'put love into your work'.
Did you have a plan for graduation and what actually happened?
Yes, it actually was a pretty thoughtful plan, but it ended up not quite the way I expected. I made a really long list of studios and agencies from all over the world, arranged them based on how happy I’d be to work for them, and started contacting from the top. Of course, the hope was to end up somewhere in the middle of the list, not the bottom. But somehow two of three of my very favorite studios replied back and I ended up working with one of them.
Give us the elevator pitch on what you do.
I’m a designer at &Walsh and part of Pangram Pangram Foundry. I specialize in type, in various ways. Usually that means projects including type design, typography, branding, motion graphics and all sorts of other fun things.
Who are your top five design crushes globally right now?
Just five! Ok, let me try to avoid obvious names here. Dirk Koy, Ludovic Balland, Conner Griffith, Zach Lieberman, Kiel Mutschelknaus.
Any passion projects/collabs you would like to share?
I’m fascinated by augmented reality! Seems like we’re at the very early stages of this new frontier of endless unexplored possibilities for graphic designers. No physics, no limits, anything can move and fly in any ways. So, as a side project I experiment with AR typography and share it on my instagram page — nothing serious, just exploring what can be done for fun.
Put more time and effort in your projects, quality over quantity.
Where do you think design is heading in the next five years and how will you adapt?
It partly depends on technologies and partly on visual culture. Cameras and screen technologies are skyrocketing these days, so motion graphics will play a bigger and bigger role. Also that allows to use rich and vibrant color palettes. I hope to see AR/VR becoming our everyday reality, but not sure how far we are yet.
Aesthetically, I think we’re heading towards more personalized human design full of irony, humor and self-awareness. Type design industry is kind of a low-key yet radical evolution. Each year brings so many new ideas and people, so it will be even more interesting to follow over the next years.
What advice would you give students graduating in 2020?
Whatever you do, do the best you can! Put more time and effort in your projects, quality over quantity. You colleagues, clients, employers will always notice if you put extra love in your work. Good job leads to more good job. Great “student” portfolios are better than average “commercial” one. So, do what you love, and love what you do.
