At the Gingersauce online brand book maker, our mission is to educate designers and not only, on the importance of visual presentation and company branding. In line with it, we have decided to start a series of interviews with talented designers we personally follow, to see what their thoughts are on the topic: what tips and tricks they can share, what lifehacks they learned pursuing a career in design, what they would change if they could go back in time.
Are you a designer and have something to share? Hit us up at [email protected] and maybe you’ll be a hero of the next interview 🙂
‘This is what design is all about — ‘solving problems beautifully’, which I love.’
Ah, the creative minds…must be talent, right? It’s so easy to overlook the human behind a designer, the hard work that was put in, the experience achieved along the way.
Today we have the pleasure of talking with an incredibly skilled freelance branding designer — Nayab Fatima. Graphic Designs, Animations, Branding & UI/UX — this is just a shortlist of the expertise she acquired during her 6 years of working in the design sphere. Based in Islamabad, Pakistan, Nayab did her Bachelors in design and then polished her skills working for numerous fascinating projects, and with a myriad of international clients.
Today, she is a founder of the evergrowing agency specializing in design — Peeky Pixel, and a creator of a nifty hover clock prototype. Dare we say, a super cool person too?
Today, we have an incredible chance of seeing Nayab taking the Gingersauce mic to share her story and priceless knowledge she earned over the years of hard work.
A Path For Creativity
Every designer has their own reason for choosing their occupation. Extremely visionary since childhood, and a problem-solver as an adult, Nayab just picked what came naturally.
How did you become a designer and why?
As a child, I was always fascinated by colors and as an adult, I am always into solving problems. So I guess this is what design is all about ‘solving problems beautifully’, which I love.
Nayab understood that a regular office job is not for her: design turned out to be a perfect match, combining everything she enjoyed.
What do you like the most about being a designer?
It’s satisfying to reach out to different user-bases and design something specifically for them. Plus you get to play with colors and you are not stuck in some boring job ?
Creativity and inspiration are a must on a job like that. Every person has their own tools, and hacks to get their creative juices flowing — for Nayab it’s what someone would consider the simplest things.
What are the 3 tools that you’re always using in design?
My go-to designer tools are:
– Pen and paper;
– Music;
– Hot cup of tea;
Can’t do anything without them 🙂
At Gingersauce, we have been pointing out the great importance of visual presentation for quite some time already. As a designer with years of experience, Nayab is on the same page as us!
How do you think the presentation of visuals influences the communication with a client and their attitude to design results?
I always say “it’s all about presentation”. No matter how much effort you have put into your design if you cannot communicate the intended message through it then it’s useless.
…with that said, there are some ways to communicate your message to the client. For all junior designers reading this, that’s the part where Nayab shares her secrets.
How do you personally present visuals to your clients? What are your success secrets?
The route I choose depends on the type of design work I did. In the case of illustrations and general graphic design, I provide different scenarios for the use of that graphic, for example, website, social media campaign, etc. In terms of UI design, I provide user stories to the client. It’s mostly in the form of a presentation. It greatly enhances communication and shortens the gap between you and your client.
So, what not to do when presenting your work to a client?
How designers should definitely not present their designs? What top 3 mistakes can you highlight regarding the communication with clients?
In terms of presentation try not to provide the design work as it is. Go for different case scenarios for that design. Try to choose a presentation medium where clients can directly comment and provide you with feedback. For communication mistakes
1. Try not to over-promise your client
2. Don’t just rely on one meeting and pretend you understand everything
3. And lastly, be nice and respect your clients’ ideas.
Looking back at our past selves, there are always some things we wish we could do differently. Nayab’s advice to her past-self is a simple one — yet we all should take note!
What advice would you give to your beginner-self?
Don’t be hesitant to give share your ideas in public and drink more water ?
Last but not least, we’re collecting phrases that designers hate hearing from their clients, like “Love that, just a few edits”, what’s your most “favorite” one?
‘Can you add more flair in it’ and ‘jazz it up’ ?
..so, what’s your least favorite phrase your client told you? Let us know on our socials, and remember: we’re all in this together!
How can Gingersauce help you present your visuals?
Gingersauce is a brand book builder, that combines automation and creativity. It’s a professional tool – meaning, it won’t do a half-baked job, leaving you with a mediocre result. Gingersauce will help you gather all your visuals, and make a professional presentation that will impress your client. You can download a generated brand book right away – it will look promising even with no customization. Or, you can play around with it to get even more epic guidelines!
The Gingersauce team is extremely thankful to Nayab for joining the interview! We hope the Peeky Pixel agency keeps growing, and more people have a chance to get acquainted with Nayab’s work. Make sure you check out her portfolio — the ideas behind her visuals are striking:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peekypixel/
Dribble: https://dribbble.com/nayabfatima
