| THE AWARD |
| CATEGORIES |
| REGISTRATION |
| SUBMIT YOUR WORK |
| ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS |
| TERMS & CONDITIONS |
| PUBLICATIONS |
| DATES & FEES |
| METHODOLOGY |
| CONTACT |
| WINNERS |
| PRESS ROOM |
| GET INVOLVED |
| DESIGN PRIZE |
| DESIGN STORE |
| THE AWARD | JURY | CATEGORIES | REGISTRATION | PRESS | WINNERS | PUBLICATIONS | ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS |
Interview with Ahmed Alejandro López Martínez |
Home > Designer Interviews > Ahmed Alejandro López Martínez |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Ahmed Alejandro López Martínez (AALM) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Ahmed Alejandro López Martínez by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
AALM: have always lived surrounded by design and visual arts because in my mother's life, I have grown up seeing how to express ideas through painting and abstraction. I have not always wanted to be a designer, I used to be a medical student, but I became enthusiastic about art and design after a vacation in Germany visiting the Bauhaus.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
AALM: I work independently as a freelance, I have fixed clients to whom I design magazines and corporate yearbooks fundamentally and punctual editing and corporate identity work.
FS: What is "design" for you?
AALM: It is everything for me, the way of life and a great passion.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
AALM: I love editorial design above all else.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
AALM: Of the works that I have done my favorite design is a collection of Kamasutras designed for an independent publisher of Spanish illustrators.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
AALM: An art catalog for an exhibition on Latin American photography held at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
AALM: Working on Macintosh using Adobe Creative Cloud.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
AALM: At night in silence, without receiving phone calls and total peace of mind.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
AALM: In the proportion and harmony between image and typography.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
AALM: When I start anxiety to face a new project, but when I spend a few days I have a lot of fun designing and I am passionate about it.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
AALM: Happiness and passion
FS: What makes a design successful?
AALM: Hard work, information about the project and much, much imagination
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
AALM: I always think that behind a bad design there is also a bad client, not just a designer with little talent.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
AALM: Select certified materials and processes with the care of nature, recycle in your workplace, offer digital alternatives to paper.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
AALM: We evolved towards personalization, the use of recycled and novel materials as well as the union of physical and virtual design.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
AALM: The last one in the National Library of Spain and the next one I hope it is in the A Design Award and Competition
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
AALM: I have references of the artistic avant-garde of the 20th century and electronic art, I am very interested in the design made in the UK and Holland.
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
AALM: I make clean designs, with great care in typography and with evocative images that allow readers to have an approximate idea of what they want to communicate.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
AALM: I live in Madrid, Spain, its cultural heritage does not affect my designs because in Spain design has not had a great boom until the mid-twentieth century as it was not an industrialized society. Pros: customers are open to innovation and against lack of budget since the design is still not understood by many companies as an added value.
FS: How do you work with companies?
AALM: With many companies, I have been working regularly for more than 10 years and others for smaller, mostly digital projects.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
AALM: The fundamental is to look for a designer who has experience in similar projects, responsiveness and above all creativity.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
AALM: My design process is very standard, I receive a briefing from the clients, then I schedule a meeting and I have graphic proposals that we discuss and then I start designing.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
AALM: iMac, a Bauhaus-style table lamp, the iPhone, Alessi juicer, Fornasetti plate.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
AALM: I get up at 11 am, walk with my dog a good time, lunch and I start working until 2 in the morning, between half I attend meetings and design, I work about 12 hours a day.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
AALM: Have a passion for work, have fun in a fun way and not accept design commissions that you do not feel comfortable with.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
AALM: Positive: it is a very enriching job, you are learning all the time, I react with very different people, Negative: projects with little time and budget.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
AALM: I never accept projects with unpleasant clients.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
AALM: Great visual culture, restlessness for the new, social skills
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
AALM: Complete Adobe Suite, iMac, internet, pen and notebook.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
AALM: I work a lot, sometimes I find it impossible to manage my time, I do it depending on the projects I'm designing.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
AALM: A magazine of 100 pages in 15 days.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
AALM: The price that I will charge for the design.
FS: What was your most important job experience?
AALM: I have had many but every project is important.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
AALM: National College of Opticians of Spain, GN Hearing A / S, Círculo de Bellas Artes of Madrid, Ministry of Health of Spain, World Press Photo (Spain).
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
AALM: Editorial design, because I love typography and books.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
AALM: I would like to develop design a collection of books and a large exhibition.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
AALM: I work individually and for more complex projects I collaborate with other friendly designers.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
AALM: Yes, I am designing a new issue of a journal about audiology in Spain this month.
FS: How can people contact you?
AALM: Through this website: https://alejandrolopez.eu/contacto/
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
AALM: I am very happy to have won an award in A Design Award & Competition this year.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
Press Members: Register and login to request a custom interview with Ahmed Alejandro López Martínez.
| SOCIAL |
| + Add to Likes / Favorites | Send to My Email | Comment | Testimonials |
