AN INTERVIEW WITH MYSELF

NICE TO MEET YOU, WHO ARE YOU? I cannot think of anything clever right now. Kristjan Tramberg.

STILL, PLEASE TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. I have gathered more than 15 years of experience in design. I consider myself a graphic designer. Or a designer, who practices graphic design, because otherwise I would be a drawn designer. I have graduated from the Open Academy of the Estonian Academy of Arts in the speciality of design, which was comprehensive – from interior design and flower arrangement to branding. Today, I practice more or less anything that involves designing, but creating logos and everything related to this seems to be close to my heart. Above all, though, I am a designer, not a marketer. I like looking for connections and references and bring them together in a multifaceted, but minimalist sign system. I would dare to classify myself as a conceptualist. But this is of course fashionable today. For various reasons.

I BELIEVE YOU HAVE GAINED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND WON AWARDS AS WELL? Yes.

HEADISU (English: Bon Appetit), WHAT A DELIGHTFUL NAME FOR A DESIGN COMPANY! Well, yes… I feel the same, but in actual fact, I always point out Headisu to my cooperation partners as an example of what a company’s name should not be like. Headisu may have already been born when I was at the university. I cannot remember the exact idea, but, in brief, Headisu is a boutique serving food for the soul. Bon appétit. From the perspective of the meaning of a logo that is changing in time, however, everyone can interpret it as they like. One of the potential meanings could be a very simple and naive idea – a little man with horns crossed out in bold is clearly conveying the idea “not bad”.

HOW MANY PEOPLE WORK FOR HEADISU? The whole of Estonia and a piece of the foreign world are connected to Headisu. However, to be exact, only I work for Headisu, i.e., it is fully a “one-man-show”. I would like to stress, though, that the best or even acknowledged work is always born in cooperation. Cooperation with good clients, partners, agencies and other specialists of their fields.

WHO ARE YOUR CLIENTS? “Clients” sounds very sterile… I would prefer “cooperation partners”, but, in the name of clarity, let’s stick with “clients”. My “clients” are small companies that are only beginning as well as large companies that have been in the market quite a while. There are some clients, who no very precisely what they want. There are also many clients who only have an idea or a vision, but cannot envision the final outcome. Together, we will form the idea into something more specific and visualise it. In the case of design services, the process of reaching the right outcome is as important as the result. The journey may be twisted and there are no “wrong” solutions, only solutions that need to be tested to reach the destination. On the other hand, staying in contact and communication with the client are important – if it already feels in the first stages that we are not on the same page, it is wise to not take up the journey together.

WHY ARE YOU DOING WHAT YOU’RE DOING? I like it. The more you create, the hungrier you get.

YOU ARE DIFFICULT TO INTREWIEW, YOU DON’T TALK MUCH ABOUT YOURSELF, DO YOU? No. That’s it. Have a look at my Instagram as well.