PixWork Graphic Designer- Interview with TemplateMonster Author

Hello! My name is Abdur Razzak, and I'm an award-winning communication designer from a small and peaceful city in Bangladesh. I've been in the IT industry for over 17 years. For the last ten years, I have been operating mainly in leading roles. My recent successful project as an executive design director was in a large tech company specializing in communication and business branding. Today I am trying to expand my experience in multiple areas and build a passionate team that will provide an innovative and excellent customer service.

I have experience in working independently and with other professionals. Last ten years, I've been working with a small team. I'm responsible for group projects as well as independent ones. There are eight young, talented and dedicated players in my current company. Part of my leadership role is to set a goal for my team. Today, our purpose is to follow modern design trends, which are popular among our customers. Different team players manage various design departments, such as printing, branding, presentation, web, and graphics.

I have been interested in design and colors since my childhood. Afterward, it became a passion. With the help of digital innovation, I can express my creativity. I decided that my hobby can bring me good money, that is why I've chosen the design industry. This job brings me lots of joy and one day I want to become a famous designer. I believe that graphic design is all about the balance of layout and possibilities. As a designer, I have to create simple and understandable products based on the user's behavior analysis. I like to design beautiful layouts and find solutions my clients are looking for. 

Well. You are correct saying that here we create multiple types of products. Any successful design agency must have various skills to satisfy their clients' demands. We do all kinds of web projects. Through our packages, we attract the visitors' attention and convey the necessary information. Personally, my favorite ones are presentations, web UI, and social media content. There is a lot of demand and areas to explore in these three types of services. 

My favorite part is improving my skills through various platforms and getting a good piece of advice from other global professionals. Innovation is another thing I like about my job. It's the most effective and exciting way to blend my ideas to make someone's dreams come true. The design work involves a lot of collaboration too. In the beginning, it was quite challenging for me to work with others because I generally prefer to work alone. But now, I do appreciate the help of my teammates. We believe that the work we produced together was of a higher quality than anyone of us could have done alone.

Great question! It is essential to keep your knowledge up to date and to follow the latest design trends. The web experience is changing day by day. You have to work hard to make your product even more eye-catching, responsive, modern, and user friendly. Customers have higher expectations than before. We have to follow design trends to satisfy their needs and exceed their expectations. The key is to get specific. Once you know who you're targeting, you need to decide what kind of experience you want your customers to have with your company. Should they feel inspired? Relaxed? Motivated? We have to make sure those feelings or emotions are communicated through the products we make. 

We target people who are mainly looking for a modern and innovative design layout for their business branding. These people want to impress their customers, and we are here to help them to do it. Web developers, printing media agencies, design agencies, and different professionals are regularly using our modern and customizable design products. We want to make products maximum user-friendly and easily customizable to fit our customer's needs.

The majority of our designs are created from scratch. The time we spend to complete one project depends on the type and the complexity of the design layout. The average timeframe is 1-2 days for print/social media or branding and around 10-45 days for presentation or web layout. I strictly follow deadlines and appreciate quality. In our company, we manage both.

We are more than happy to deal with the TemplateMonster platform. First of all, I want to thank TemplateMonster for helping PixWork to get a high number of sales. Secondly, I believe that the website did a fantastic job of promoting our projects. They still attract the customer's eyes and fulfil their demand. In addition to TemplateMonster, we do advertise our items outside of the platform. We use social media networks and other digital marketing like emailing, to promote our website. If you are interested in our company, please find us on Facebook, Twitter, Dribbble and Behance. 

TemplateMonster has a lot of influence in the digital marketing field. I have been monitoring them for six years. Some time ago, the website did not have many graphic tools or web software. When I noticed that TemplateMonster had added graphics in 2015, I didn't want to miss this excellent opportunity to get extra experience and applied as a vendor. Now, I'm a passionate TemplateMonster contributor. I love this global designers community and would like to recommend the platform to other creative professionals for both selling and buying.

I do like to share some practical tips for beginners because I believe that skilled designers ought to help out beginners. To reach a higher level of efficiency, any beginner should follow these simple pieces of advice:

• Practice makes perfect: the best and only way to become a master in any field is to practice. There are multiple sources online you can use to upgrade your skills. Day by day, master your skills, and you will get to the next level.
• Good things take time, so be patient: nothing good comes easily. You might face plenty of challenges that will force you to quit. But try to stay positive. Believe in yourself, and with time, you will see the desirable results.
• Follow expert designers and design trends: Subscribe for Twitter, Facebook or blogs of designers whose work impresses you. Watch what they share. Professionals are usually distributors of quality information. Compare your work with them, but don't copy. Try to stay original. Browse through other designers' portfolios and learn something new from their expertise. Visit their websites to get ideas and enhance your creativity. Besides, this way you will get yourself acquainted with all the latest design trends.
• Co-operate and connect with other designers. Do not be shy to ask questions and visit resources that specialize in design. I'm sure you'll be amazed by the power of the information you find. It will help you spot mistakes in time and correct them before sending the portfolio to an employer or client.
• Implement fresh knowledge as soon as possible. When you learn something new, for example, how to use the Blend tool, start using it and master it. It will add to your skills. Don't stop learning. The world is changing very quickly, and if you want to win the competition, you need to learn new things continually. Follow trends and study design theory to understand fundamental things. It will help you find meaning in what you are doing. Good design doesn't start on your computer but in your head. Fill it with quality knowledge.
• Enjoy what you do and believe in yourself. Once you start a project, free your mind and switch on your creativity. Always say to yourself, "I can do it." Stay optimistic. Design is difficult. Frustration and irritation will haunt you if you are pessimistic. Be an optimist and reach your goals.
• Create your portfolio before having the opportunity. Every platform or client would like to see what you are capable of before offering you a job. So, create a portfolio you can present to prospective clients at any time. A designer's portfolio is not just a collection of your work. It's a way to demonstrate to the stakeholder how you can solve their problem and why you should be chosen. A good portfolio will help you find new clients or improve the relationship with the existing ones. There are many details you should know when creating a catalog for your projects: how to comply with the rights, in what context to present the design, how to select and describe projects. Try to build a memorable and robust portfolio to achieve your goals. If you're building a portfolio to find clients, showcase real solutions. The customer is looking for examples in the designer's works that are similar to what he needs. Don't forget to add the portfolio link to your resume.
• Research before you start designing. Active listening is the first thing a designer should learn. It is easy to solve the problems of people who are close in spirit and interests. But more often, you have to deal with new content you are not expert in. Try to study, read and research as many sources as possible before you begin a project. That is how you will achieve premium quality results. 
• Choose the right fonts and limit them. Clarity and readability are highly crucial for layout. Make sure not to restrict your designs to one font. Try to experiment with different styles of fonts and stick to unique ones. Use easy to read fonts for simple and effective graphic design.
• Make sure colors are bright with white space and consistent images. To capture your viewer's attention, you can use a color pop technique, mostly when you have limited text. High contrasting palette colors work well in this case. Here are some things that need to be clarified regarding the colors. 
• White space is valuable in trendy graphic designs. It expresses simplicity, and the best example is Apple. If you want to emphasize text on a big canvas, you should select a high-quality typeface first. After you can centralize your text and leave the rest of the canvas be white.
• Ensure that the quality of images remains consistent throughout your layout. The quality, framing, style, proportions, and lighting of those elements should stay permanent. At the same time, the graphics, diagrams, images, and illustrations that you use will add a perfect meaning to your project.
• Design a project with proper alignment of text and elements: Alignment is fundamental for a professional product. To keep the design balanced, you must align your text and elements. Use right, middle, center or left alignment.
• Last but not least, you should think outside the box. Creative people think originally. Don't use the typical and default elements as well as icons, symbols, typeface, and color schemes. Research and sketch to find new and original details for your project.