INTRODUCING: Shahin Haghjou

THIS WEEK IN OUR “INTRODUCING” SERIES, WE AGAIN LOOK ABROAD AND CHECK OUT ANOTHER CREATIVE TALENT AND MEMBER OF THE   THE PALACE ‘ALUMNI’. SHAHIN HAGHJOU IS A SWEDE, BORN IN IRAN, AND CURRENTLY BASED IN BARCELONA WHERE IS LESS THAN A SEMESTER SHORT OF A DEGREE IN GRAPHIC DESIGN AT THE EUROPEAN DESIGN INSTITUE, IED. 

To say that he’s a “natural” might seem like a cheesy way of describing a person’s talent, but for someone that is yet to complete his degree Shahin has a lot to be proud of. The first time I met him a couple of years ago, he already had several stunning freelance projects as a designer under his belt. He was also commissioned by IED to do some of their ad and print campaigns, already during his 3rd semester. Shahin has also worked with us on a couple of impressive projects, most recently the Hebe Media branding, including the logo and graphics for the website and prints!

Since then he’s developed his skills towards motion design and print, with some of the most notable freelance projects being; Jamon Barcelona for the legendary San Francisco skateboard label For The City, FTC, and more recently; video and motion project Vamos a la Playa together with the Catalan videographer and photographer Hector Ferreño. (They are also rumored to be launching their own studio soon, but don’t tell anyone!) 

At the moment he’s at the Barcelonian super star studio Vasava, following the foot steps of last weeks “Introducing” Albin Holmqvist. 

I had the pleasure to catch up with Shahin, so I asked him about a couple of questions on creativity and the future of graphic design and art direction. Here’s what he had to say. 

What is your ideal environment to be creative?

My ideal environment would be my balcony, normally when I'm stuck with something or if I have run out of ideas I'll go sit there for 15 min or so, and nine out of ten times the ideas come. The good thing about my balcony is that it's facing a wall, so there's no distractions. I'm very easily distracted, so it might as well work with a pair of those sleeping glasses you get on the airplane, haven't tried it yet but might just work!  

The second best would be anywhere where there's likeminded people that you can share your ideas with, the space itself doesn't really matter, it could be at the local bar or in the park, as long as you're with the right people the creativity will flow. 

What is important for an aspiring art director/graphic designer today? 

I think it's really important to try to get work constantly and not to be picky. Yes, some jobs might be boring as hell, but you'll always learn new things. Try to work for or with people that have experience and do not expect to learn everything just by signing up for an expensive design school. You might learn a lot from going to school, but you'll always learn more from real life situations. Keep your steam up and work hard, cause as we all know by now, if you snooze you lose! And finally, never think you already know everything, not even if you have been working all your life. 

 Why is the future in motion graphics? 

I honestly don't know how to answer this question, I love motion graphics and think there's many opportunities within it, but I don't think you should limit yourself to just one specific thing. Cudos too those who can earn a living from drawing the same thing over and over again. Either you have the skills to do that, or you try to broaden yourself which in the long run I think is more satisfactory. 

Check out some of Shahin’s recent work here: www.shahinhaghjou.com, some of his little less current here: The Boo Hoo Boy, and even older, but still cool, here: The Equally Foolish. 

We wish Shahin all the best, and we strongly recommend keeping an eye out for whatever he’s up to next! 

Introducing: Albin Holmqvist

In the latest of our 'introducing' series, we look internationally, to a creative who we have known for quite some time now. We got to know Albin Holmqvist in Barcelona, in fact he helped create our Barcelona Creative Space: The Palace. Since then Albin has gone on to do some amazing things, including being featured recently on Fast Company.

Albin is a true all-round designer and artist that has been plying his trade at one of Spain’s most famous design studios, Vasava. Just to give you a snapshot of a few of the clients he has worked with there - street wear label 55DSL, NIKE, MÖET, Jay-Z’s ROCAWEAR, fashion giants MANGO and plenty more that you can find on the Vasava website. We will never forget Albin coming over to The Palace and debuting Adam Tensta's Back Before You Know It video that he had worked on while still studying... we were all blown away!

You just can’t limit an artist to their 9-5 though, and thats why Albin has been keeping himself busy with photography, painting, typography and a couple of really great freelance projects. If you’re a reader of Fastcompany.com it is quite likely that you have seen the much loved EF Language commercials that Albin played an integral part in with his amazing typography. 

Obviously you should watch them for yourself, but if you still need some further convincing about how brilliant they are, then take Fastcompany’s design and film writer John Pavlus’s word for it. This is what he said, and you just have to love it. 

“Commissioned by language-teaching company EF, these magical promos use kinetic typography to capture the pure beauty of speaking mother tongues in Paris, London, Beijing, and Barcelona. Take the video for Paris, for example. Jean-Luc Godard famously said that all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun, but after watching this and literally tearing up at the end, I propose an amendment: all you need is a girl and a font.” 

Read the full article here: 

We asked Albin what he considered the most important conditions for creativity to flourish:

"To be able to be creative in todays environment you HAVE to have a Nespresso machine. To key element to this contraption is the purple capsule! Intensity 9. Arpeggio! I mean how is one able to think clearly on some crappy Intensity 3 capsule with almond flavor? Get outta here.

The second most important part is people. If you surround yourself with people who has something to say, then you're golden. It doesn't matter if they are typegeeks or make pottery. Good energy is key. I think that is the problem today, as many freelancing creatives shut themselves into their bedroom with their fancy laptops. Social media will never replace real human interaction."

Obviously the role of 'Art Director' is changing and elevolving in the current climate and we asked Albin what he thought was important in the role moving forward:

"As an Art Director today, having a network of talented people will definitely make your life easier. To meet with people and being able to level with them is very important. All the most interesting projects I've been working on comes from real life encounters! But don't get me wrong, the technological revolution is the key to moving forward, but it's important not to let that fact take over the creative process."

One of Albin's photographs taken in CopenhagenAlbin's work for Swedish brand: Happy People

We suggest you keep an eye out for what Albin might be up to next. There are already plans being made for more typography work, art direction and “everything” - which is how Albin himself likes to describe what he does for a living. We think Albin in heading for great things and as one of the originals from 'The Palace' we wish him every success in the world!