MycroBurst Designer Spotlight – Sergem’s Interview

Sergem is one of MycroBurst.com’s top graphic designers, winning more than 50 design contests in less than a year. I interviewed Sergem about his logo designs and his inspiration, and to get to know him a little better. He even created a caricature of himself so I could put a “face” with his name.

Q. How did you get into graphic design?

My brother loves to collect colorful posters, music albums and other creatively designed graphic art pieces. Growing up in that environment ignited my passion for graphic design. When I first started my career, much of my design work mainly involved publications and sales-related materials. One day I saw some beautiful logo designs and it inspired me to pursue logo design myself. A friend told me about MycroBurst.com and I thought it would be a great way to try out my logo design skills.

Believe it or not, I got involved in logo designing only after I joined Mycroburst.com about seven months ago. And I never thought that this type of design work would allow me to have such a vast avenue for creative expression.

Q. You’ve won 55 design contests. Where do you get your inspiration and ideas for your logo designs?

It could be soft or loud music or any ambient sound that for some reason could stimulate my mind. Sometimes a pattern, structure, a visual cue in my surroundings or a word from a person or reading material inspires me. The bottom line is that I always try to connect whatever imagery is generated from my experiences to what must be communicated in the logo.

Q. What do you like most about the logo design process?

I must say it’s the challenge of translating an identity into a single, compact and powerful graphic mark. It has to send a message to the audience. And on top of this is the larger goal of establishing an effective branding for a product, company or services.

Q. What do you like best about working with MycroBurst.com?

MycroBurst.com is a creative venue with a lot of integrity, and a place with a wide variety of talent from whom I continue to learn. Also, the community of designers here is friendlier compared to other crowdsourcing sites.

Q. Which logo was your favorite to design and why?

I like most of the work I’ve done, regardless of whether I win or not. But if I have to choose one, it would have to be the logo I created for CREDO, a computer repair company with a different and noble mission.

(To read more about Credo’s mission, click here.)

It is my favorite logo for many reasons. First and foremost, it was my first win and therefore it will always be special to me. Secondly, I created this logo without much intervention from the client, so I feel that most of the creative input came from me. I believe it achieved its objective in a simple yet substantial way and I also like the abstract symbolism of the logo.

Q. List 3 things that designers should try to do with their designs:

As clichéd as it sounds, I think that originality should be one of the most important considerations for any designer when creating logos. Always strive to design something different.

However unique your logo might be, if it doesn’t make sense or connect to the company then it fails to serve its purpose. Therefore designers should carefully read the design brief and communicate thoroughly with the client.

And finally, excellent art direction is crucial to the realization of everything that the logo design aims to achieve. It’s a very simple case of form supporting the substance.

Thank you Sergem, and good luck with future contests!

(If you have won 20 or more MycroBurst.com contests, and would like to be featured in a future Designer Spotlight, please contact me at adina@gurucorporation.com)