#WinningWednesday: Every Artist Was First an Amateur

“Will you walk into my parlour?” said the Spider to the Fly,
‘Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I’ve a many curious things to shew when you are there.” – Mary Howitt

This poem is perhaps as fitting as the story of my life and design career. Muhammad Tariq is my name, but I go by the pseudo name of “StarDesigns” on ZillionDesigns.com.

If you could ever step into the “parlor” of my creative mind you will find elements like cartoons, paintings, sketches, logos, insects, nature’s patterns, and designs by artists and designers buzzing all around me. It’s a pretty sight, if you could imagine the kaleidoscope these things present. It’s a lullaby for times when I want to hide from the real world, and an energy boost when I am down. It’s the basis which helps me reach new heights of inspiration every day.

It’s hard to believe this awkward dreamer as a super designer. But where did I begin and how did I reach here? Ralph Waldo Emerson has perhaps summed it up aptly for me in this quote: “Every artist was first an amateur.” That was exactly how I was. Uncouth, goofy, and immature with the only aspiration to sketch cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse, Goofey or Tweety Bird. Snuffed by my grandmother, and ignored by other elders in the family, the designer in me went into hibernation at an early age. Painting, drawing, and sketching were a “waste of time”, until I was forced to unshoulder some of the financial burden for the family.

I started as humble helper at printing press company when I was in 9th grade, with the basic knowledge of Freehand and some help from the wedding card composer who was my colleague at the time (now my good pal). From there on, it was easy to learn designing wedding cards, then jumping onto logo designing and now all forms of graphic designs. Of course, it was not an easy jump, but my ex-boss’ unfair temperament, a lot of hard work, failure after failure in wining projects, self-learning tactics, and most importantly the support I got from the ZillionDesign family of designers and staff have made it all easier.

And after a couple of months, I won my first project! The feeling of success is unexplainable. I don’t know about other designers but this feeling continues after every contest I win, because each project poses a different set of challenges – how to create, what to include in design elements, characters to be used, fonts to be determined and tools to be used which will work best to create the ideas I’ve got for my clients. And at the end of the day, when a project holder announces my name on the platform, it’s music to my ears, and a visual treat for them. Wouldn’t you agree?

I have to admit, I am proud of the designs I’ve designed because I know I’ve put in my 110% to create the design based on the briefs’ specifications. I make a point to follow the 3 main components that are important for directing me:

1. Describe what the design is about.
2. What kind of design they are looking for.
3. Do they have suggestions or ideas of their own.

However, if these directions are not there, I don’t give up. Based on my knowledge and experience, I then offer the project holder my own ideas and surprisingly they love it. That’s why I would advise fellow designers to:

• a. Be polite even in the worse of situations and be in control of your thoughts processes.
• b. Learn from your failure.
• c. Do not copy. Instead, try to visualize the kind of design that will suit the particular business industry.
• d. Last, but not least – do not lose hope!

And that my friend is my story.