Alexandre Nami

For 10 years in the area, I started working in an advertising agency, where by four years I worked as an advertising copywriter, art director, until I became creative design director, when we started to win awards and recognition in the area. After some time dedicating myself to personal projects, I founded my own branding office, named Brandigno, which also has full 4 years.

I always think that I became a designer long before contact with the advertising area, since I always saw brands and identities very clearly, observing their details and elements of visual unity. When I started working in an advertising agency, I had in mind to bring that culture in, and to go deeper into the area.

We always divide the projects into 3 vital phases: immersion, study and execution. In the immersion phase, we immerse ourselves in the universe and segment to be worked, becoming part of it for a full understanding. Then we study their particularities, patterns, and relevant approaches. Only with these two clear and definite steps do we begin the execution - initially by hand - of sketches and design paths, until their scanning and finalization for presentation - and then implementation.

Each project provides different emotions, each one with its particularity and degree of challenge. The most exciting, which brings a sense of accomplishment and pride, is without doubt the end product, implemented and in use.

The music indisputably brings influences and inspirations that contribute to my ideas and creations. It aligns with your state of mind and - more than that - with the vibration and feeling that the project asks for. An example of this, which has recently inspired me in different ways, is the music group Electric Light Orchestra, which can still be current, fresh and blend sensations and styles throughout its work. Within product design, my biggest inspiration is Jonathan Ive, Apple's Chief Design Officer.

My plan for growth is to always keep an open mind. In this area, we learn that there are no fixed formulas and that work becomes much richer when untied from preconceptions. The office continues to grow, and in the future we intend to expand our operations abroad, focusing on the USA, where we already serve some clients.

My biggest advice is: stay focused. Dedicate yourself, work and use time in your favor.

Something that I consider of extreme importance for the area is constantly update. Track the trends, know how to use them and reinvent yourself day after day to always be relevant.

The day begins with a review of the activities that will follow, and a conversation with the team to align new ideas and projects in progress. In the quietest periods, I take the opportunity to read and seek external references. During the other periods, I execute projects and work with a focus on brand design and central ideas of branding, which will be explored and deployed by the team.

I do not consider the trends as a guide or map to follow. I absorb them and the filters in order to keep the ideas updated, relevant and new. They are inspirations that come from several creative areas, not only from design.

A good design is the one that meets the expectations of your consumer audience, be they aesthetic, functional or emotional. A common mistake of some designers is to project to themselves, only for their pleasure and ego. While it is important for design to have the style of its creator, it must first be thought for who it is intended - the personal trait must be something discreet, natural and consequent of the project.

Ready design is not synonymous with complete design. In fact, when you define that the project is ready to be used is when all the parts connect and it makes sense as a whole. Even so, it should always be closely monitored and updated, so that it completes over the years and usage, and never stops in one step.

Our office works with small to medium-sized clients, providing quality design to companies that do not have the condition or knowledge needed to work a good brand. One of our biggest jobs was for a real estate group that operates throughout Brazil, reorganizing its brand portfolio and categorizing its products and areas of operation. The work is still under implementation, but the growth and public response were immediate, and have been providing greater capacity to increase the performance and recognition in the segment.

A designer I admire very much is Alexandre Wollner, considered the father of modern design in Brazil, who has a style and technique that I personally base myself and consider ideal for brand building - geometry aligned with minimalism, clarity of forms and simplicity of elements.

I usually make a big trip once a year, to different places that can bring me inspirations and different cultural references. Music, as I mentioned before, also influences and enriches my creative repertoire, every time that I discover new styles and old bands that I've never heard before. In addition, cinema, arts and nature itself teach us how to work with shapes and elements with harmony and efficiency. This is reflected in everything we visually consume, touch or interact daily, in a positive and aggregating way.

The work in the office consists of several parts, ranging from the relationship with the client, the understanding of the business, to the discussion, generation and execution of ideas with the team. Our main philosophy is to reflect what we believe in our work, and never to execute it automatically or mechanically. We associate with people who think in this way and share the desire to be always up to date and evolving, and who come to the office in a multidisciplinary way.

I have always shared my passion for the animal cause, long before I joined the design professionally. With the office, I had the opportunity to act more actively, since today we dedicate annually a pro-bono branding project to an animal aid institution or NGO, helping to raise more donations and partnerships through a more involving and efficient identity.

Participation in prestigious awards such as the A' Design Award are important mainly for the public recognition of the work, which attests its quality and relevance. The benefits are reflected mainly in attracting new clients, exposure of work and personal fulfillment. It is a pleasure and great honor to be considered as the Designer of the Day.