Interview with Fazaal Naufer
Mohammed Fazaal Naufer is a graphic & visual artist based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is the co-founder and Head of Design at Digibrush, a Sri Lanka boutique design agency that services clients on…
Designer Interview
21 April 2016
I started self-learning graphic software when i was 14 years old, and I used to design something from book covers to visiting cards for my fathers business every single day after school. After sometime I was designing posters and promotional materials for a local entertainment website where I found a considerable amount of recognition among the youth community. Due to the lack of degrees in my country that focuses on Graphic and Visual art, I opted for B.Sc. Computing in which I specialised in Software and Web Development which helped me learn a variety of technologies and platforms that comes in very useful as a designer and enhances the thinking process of any project. During my university days I used to design and produce graphics for the majority of the events organised by the university which lead into meeting my business partner where we went on to founding our design agency.
Digibrush is a multi-faceted and boutique agency that associates with numerous brands, both big and small. Digibrush offers a choice of services under three categories, Design and Creative Solutions, Social Media and Online Marketing and Web Solutions. Some notable brands under the Digibrush parasol include: Samsung, Huawei, Sony, CEAT, LAUGFS Gas, Singer Sri Lanka, EZY, EZY Racing, Hameedia and Emerald.
Design is something that helps us express something that words cannot do justice to; just like the famous saying "A picture is worth a 1000 words". I also strongly believe that good design does not need an explanation. If a design needs an explanation, it fails to meet its main purpose, which is to communicate.
Corporate Branding, Typography and UI.
100 Inspirational Quotes - Typography Book. This project took me about 6-8 months to complete and it was very interesting to design 100 different designs in a unique page style which also helped me learn a lot about typography, color combinations and illustrations.
Business Card for my father's company.
Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
There's is no given time. I feel creative during different times of the day.
Communication and Simplicity.
Fear and Excitement.
Definitely Thrilled, and makes me want to improve myself.
Understanding the target audience and making it less complicated.
Functionality, Communication and attention to details.
I get inspired by Animated Movies, Design Showcase Websites and Nature.
I live in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, I feel that people are yet not very open to absorbing simple and minimalistic designs. Majority of my clients always look into complicated design and colours. When something minimalistic is produced they have a feeling that its a not impressive job. But things are changing.
Practice, Practice and Practice. As a designer, we may look at something and say "Hey, that looks easy, I can do that". But you never know how complicated things are until you have done it yourself. Look at great designs and redo them, every single day. I was not the designer I was 2 years back, and I wish to be a better designer the next year. Be updated with new design trends by subscribing to design magazines online, design showcases and newsletters.
Patience, Perseverance, Accepting Rejection.
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign.
Can you do it for free?
Samsung, Huawei, Sony.
I work independently as well as with my team depending on the project.
fazaal24@gmail.com or on Twitter @fazaal24