The great thing about growing as a company is that growth necessitates a stream of talented new Creative Directors joining the Designity community.
Creative Directors like Medi; one of our newest creative forces and someone whose path to creative leadership is as inspiring as it is unique!
From a music production enthusiast to photographer to motion graphics designer and creative leader, Medi’s journey spans nearly two decades of diverse positions that give him the experience he needs to shine as a Designity Creative Director!
So, if you’re ready to hear Medi's story, then we’re ready to tell it! Today’s blog is a 1:1 interview with Toronto-based Creative Director, Medi F., so you can see his creative journey, some of his amazing work, and get to know him a little bit better!
Get ready because it’s time to meet Medi!
How did you get into design and motion graphics?
Originally, I was a photographer.
I was doing photography — this was about 20 years ago. I had a very cool kind of analog print equipment in my basement back then. So, I was really curious to know how to get better at it and then I decided the best way to do it is to go to a university.
So, I got a bachelor’s degree in photography. And then during my last year at Tehran University of Art, I just went to advertising; I got really interested in commercial photography.
After that, I got hired in an advertising firm. I was mainly advertising photography at the beginning but then I got really interested in poster designs, more graphics-related projects. Because I was seeing my photos being combined with nice typography and graphics, and I just thought “Wow, that's a different level! It's not just a photo, it's communicating a message.”
So, I became very interested in communicating. Back when I was in school, there was a major called “communication design.” And I think that’s a better term than graphic design because, as designers, all we are doing is communicating a message.
Basically, I went from photography to graphic design gradually and then, through graphic design and photography, I became interested in motion graphics. Fifteen years ago, it was something new. I found out that movement is something I really like. So, I started doing my own designs and photography and then I was doing the animation to create a whole video out of them.
So, by that time I was a video producer at that advertising agency. I got a chance to really upgrade my skills to include marketing and advertising essentials.
And then after four or five years, I got a position as an art director and then I got promoted to a creative director.
Basically, I did all the groundwork of video production, motion design, graphic design, and then as I got more experience, that led me to more directing roles within that advertising firm.
What was your first creative-related job?
My first project was actually a photography project.
It was a jewelry photo shoot. And I had no equipment back then — I was only 19 years old. Photoshop was around by then, but digital photo editing wasn't a really widely used and, I didn't have a computer anyway. So, I just used a lot of curtains and fabrics and different materials to control the reflection coming off the jewelry.
Now, I kind of laugh at the result but, back then, it was something impressive and the client was really happy. So, that gave me the chance to work with them more and get more projects.
What drew you to Designity?
Back then I had a creative director job with a company in Dublin, Ireland. It was also a remote position and I had really gotten into freelancing and having my own clients.
But I really wanted to have the ability to work with a team, because freelancing means working alone. It has some benefits, like a flexible schedule and remote positions, but at the same time, it’s just you. You have to manage everything, from client work to financing stuff.
And then Designity popped up on my Linkedin and it had all the good parts of each role; the flexibility of a freelancer with this great team and community of an agency. I applied and I’ve been here almost two months.
How has Designity been different from your experience as an art director and creative director at other agencies?
The experience has been really great.
It was challenging at first, honestly, because Designity has its own model of doing work. Getting into the new workflow was challenging for me and working with all these new tools. It's a completely new platform, and I haven't seen anything like that in other old-school agencies before. So, that was challenging.
But at the same time, working with a great community — everyone is here to help you from Creative Directors to Creatives to the internal team. They helped me really survive the early challenges. And I feel a lot more comfortable now.
What is your favorite thing about working at Designity?
The community and working with different clients and such a wide range of projects.
Other agencies usually focus on one industry, or they have limited services. But Designity has all these different services and different talents, so you get a chance to be exposed to so many different projects in different industries and I think that’s great.
What is your favorite kind of project to take on?
Always video and motion graphics.
It’s something I really love to do myself as well, so I really love to edit and create animations.
I also used to do a lot of branding work, and I would like to challenge myself a little to get on more branding projects. But video production is just home to me.
What is your most challenging kind of project?
I have no experience with coding. I can do website design in terms of managing the project and helping clients with the design side of it but, eventually, website design involves coding.
And that's something that I try to avoid.
How do you keep yourself up to date with marketing and design trends?
Social media, nowadays, is just the best tool to show you the mass market and insight into what's going on. But it's not a really good place to give you the new trends or top-notch quality work.
For those, I either go to Pinterest for design work or Dribble or Behance. These three websites are my go- to websites to stay up to date.
Also, I try to read a lot; any new books about design essentials because that's something that you don't find anywhere else. I also read articles in Medium. They have good material for designers.
Is there any insight you can give about current trends?
I see a lot of 60s trends coming up in design, and we see it in the fashion industry and TV as well.
For example, a lot of cut-out or paper type animations and very desaturated colors for that 60s vintage kind of look. But at the same time, I see a lot of very clean and minimal design, especially in applications and the Fintech industry.
So, it's kind of both. I see two main trends. One is very minimal, sleek designs that just communicate with very little, with a less-is-more concept; just one typography, one tagline.
At the same time, I see a lot of good things about vintage design and motion or posters coming into the trends.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
Music production!
Music makes me calm; it's just the best tool to unwind and relax, and it actually helps to be more creative in my Designity job as well.
Whenever I make music, the next day I'm more fresh and up to new challenges in terms of coming up with a new creative idea. So, yeah, music production when I get the chance
Anything else about you that we should know?
My first creative thing, before photography, was actually music.
I started when I was in high school and even before that, I was a musician. My background is Persian like our CEO, Shahrouz! We have an instrument called the santoor — it's like a hammer instrument played with small wooden mallets called mezrab.
So, I started with the santoor and then I learned piano and then I started composing music in high school. I was really into music, and I actually wanted to study music at the university.
But I decided I couldn't create a whole career out of it. So, music has always been a side project, but I haven't given up yet! I'm still doing music part-time.
<div class="c-blog_comp-cta cc-component-2"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-wrap"><img src="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/63695243d096983691046ac3_Potential-Creative.png" loading="lazy" alt="" class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-img"></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-right cc-dark"><div class="c-blog_comp-content"><div class="c-text-wrapper cc-mb-32"><div class="c-title-4 cc-bold"><strong>Like to work as a freelancer with consistent income?</strong></div></div><div class="c-text-wrapper"><div class="c-text-2">Designity's collaborative model is designed to give you all of the perks of being a freelancer without the income instability.<br></div></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-wrapper"><a href="http://designity.com/creatives" target="_blank" class="c-button w-button"><strong>Join Our Creative Community</strong></a></div></div></div>
Do you have any words of inspiration for aspiring creatives?
This is something that I didn't mention about myself, but I would call myself a spiritual person.
So, I really believe in the universe, energy, all these connections, and the whole universe — trees, animals, everything — I think we are very united in terms of one energy being translated to different creatures. And I believe we have a soul, so I always ask myself, “How can I communicate to my soul, and how can I know what he or she wants within me?”
And so, I found that whenever you get excited about something, it means it’s coming from your soul. Your soul doesn't think, it just feels.
For example, just imagine you wake up in the morning and you really want to go and design something, and it gives you excitement, it gives you good energy, this means this coming from your soul.
So, follow that. Follow that and then learn the tools. Don't just sit and think about what you should do, what skill it is that you’re good at, just follow your heart, basically. Because it leads you and it creates the path for you. Then while you’re on that path, you can learn skills, you can elevate your skills, don't worry about it.
Just start on something that gets you excited.
