Interview: Elena Savitskaya

I haven't posted an interview in a while. For this one, I'd like to introduce you to a very good Russian female designer from London. Since the interview with Rik Oostenbroek and JamesTu you know that we love to feature young and talented artists (especially when they are female).

Elena Savitskaya is a 22 year-old designer from London. She studied marketing management and graphic design, and became a graphic designer for an oil company prior to working for an online marketing agency. She just quit her job to concentrate 100 percent on freelancing.

1. First of all we would like to thank you for taking the time to provide abduzeedo.com with this interview. Please tell us more about your art and design background and what made you become an artist and designer?

I want to thank you for asking me to do an interview. I come from marketing management background, but designing and drawing has always been a hobby of mine. And at some point in my life, i had to pick a profession at a very though time for my family, and i was facing a choice of becoming a waitress (well, who would want a 17 year old marketing manager?) or developing my hobby into something much more than a hobby. And then it became my obsession. I had to push myself very hard to develop my skills to a professional level. And i consider that to be the biggest achievement in my life so far. My marketing background comes in very handy in my profession, i don't really see design as just creating a "pretty" picture, as most of us do. Im approaching my work based what sort of financial benefits it could bring to my clients. Basically, i design to help my clients sell their services. In a return, i get a lot of positive feedback from clients and they keep coming back, which keeps me happy and gives me sense of achievement. Im also trying my best to be unique and develop my own techniques and styles, when it comes to projects. Im still in a way of developing my own style i think, but i will certainly get there.

2. Your work is pretty unique and full of creativity. Where does your inspiration come from?

Im a very easily excited person. Anything brings inspiration to my life, biggest one is probably my partner, my family, everything around me, big cities, new places, travel, nature, and adventure. Even tiny things i find on antiques markets get me fascinated. Best designers in the industry also have a huge influence on me. I always try to push myself to try to become one of the "best out there". Reference books and magazines also inspire me a lot. I read a lot, i probably spend 50% of my day reading.

3. Could you describe for us your typical 'start to finish' workflow when working on a design?

Well i always start by asking my client a lot of questions. Things like their target audience, their idea behind the project, what they'd like to see and typical "brainstorming" process. I try to gather as much marketing information as possible, when needed i would do a competitor research too. If it's web-design project i would also offer them a marketing analysis of existing website so that i can suggest if it's better to improve their old website or start from a scratch, and give them a bit of better understanding of web. Then it's down to sketches. Once im done sketching and structuring a project out, i scan it in and start developing it. I would also take few breaks now and then to enjoy my odd cup of coffee and reconsider what i've done so far. It's a good way of noticing your own mistakes and evaluating the project.

4. What are your tools of the trade, both hardware and software?

Well i use Adobe Suite CS2, i've never really wanted an upgrade so far, since im very comfortable with this edition, i might be a bit of a comfort freak, i also have to work in Corel Draw sometimes, as some clients have certain software requirements. Hardware wise i've got the following set-up. And yes, it's a PC. :)
Intel Core2 Quad 2.40 GHz and 4 Gig RAM.
My video card: XFX nVIDIA® GeForce 9800GTX+ 512MB DDR3 Over Clocked Edition
1 TB hard drive + 700Gig External Hard drive for back ups.
22' Samsung Screen does a great job so far.

5. What, for you personally are the pros and cons of being a designer?

The biggest "pro" of my personality that help a lot in my work is that I'm a perfectionist. I'd push myself to the limit just to get things perfect. It gives me a huge boost while working. So i guess i can call myself a very self-motivated person because of it. Im also very dedicated to my job, i would even spend most of my time off reading design/marketing related magazines or articles. My biggest problem is the love for my sofa. It just constantly appears in front of my eyes and i cant help myself but get a tiny break on it every now and then. :)

6. How does your job as an artist and designer influence your life? Do you feel that you see things around you differently for example?

Now this is one of the weirdest things about me. I would stop on my way to somewhere even thou i'd be late just to stare at some video advert on the public transport or a beautifully designed poster. Im also totally immune to any marketing moves out there and, surprise-surprise, for this reason i don't have a TV. I just prefer not to watch it, since all the marketing moves out there on air are all same old tricks. And when something new happens, it would end up on YouTube anyway, if it's really something remarkable.

7. What are your coming projects?

Well, right now i've just came back to being freelance and I'm in a process of starting from a scratch again and seeing if i can pull it off. Im currently working for a Concert Factory, they are planning some amazing concerts in the UK and I'm hoping i will get to work on the advertising side of it. Im also continuously working on creating flyers for various clubs in London, as well as few strictly corporate brochures.

8. What are your favourite 5 websites, and why?

First one has to be Google. Nothing can beat it. You have a question - they've got an answer. Simple as that.
Second place would probably go to Wikipedia. Since I'm a very curious person, if i'd want to know about something, I'd probably go to wiki and read a whole article about the thing. I love having a bit of a deeper insight on things.
Third one would probably be facebook, to whom im grateful for being able to find all my long lost friends and keep in touch with them.
Fourth one has to be BBC news website, for giving me a tiny bit of connection with civilization every time i need it :)
And the fifth place goes to Smashingmagazine, for being probably one of the most insightful resources out there and having a very wide view on design industry.

9. Once again , thank you very much for the interview. As a final word, do you have any tips for upcoming artists and designers?

The biggest lesson in life that i learned so far being a graphic designer is probably the one i'd like to share: Push yourself to the limit, be driven by what you do, love your job, never be satisfied with level of your skills and always feed your brain with new ideas and inspiration.
Thank you very much once again for asking me to do the interview and keeping up the standard of your great resource. All the best, Elena

For more visit her website or her DeviantAccount