Introducing Roman Lazarev, Konstantin Novikov and Kir Khachaturov.
The D&AD New Blood Academy is the ultimate prize for young creatives. Open to application from the brightest stars at the New Blood Awards & Exhibitions from around the world, the Academy is an intensive two-week industry crash-course designed to springboard new talent into industry jobs and placements.
In this series of interviews, we're going to present some of the ones to watch from last summer's New Blood Academy, supported by WPP. This time it's the turn of designers Roman Lazarev, Konstantin Novikov and Kir Khachaturov.
Course: Interactive Design and New Media
University: British Higher School of Art and Design (Moscow, Russia)
Achievements: D&AD New Blood 2014 Yellow Pencils: British Council (Create an exhibition identity to go), DCM (Show the emotion of film)
Tell us about yourselves...
Designers Roman Lazarev, Konstantin Novikov and Kir Khachaturov
Roman Lazarev is a multidisciplinary Moscow-based creative, grounded in editorial and graphic design. He has experience in designing periodicals and corporate annual reports, but he's especially passionate about creating identity systems.
Konstantin Novikov was a marketing manager, but realised his true calling as a motion designer and digital creator.
Kir Khachaturov is an infographic designer and media artist from Moscow. With about five years' experience in data visualization, he's worked for Russian news agencies, periodicals and on TV. He's particularly interested an interactive and light installations.
What are the inspirations behind your work?
We're inspired by everything: organic forms, or new knowledge from a completely different field of interest. There are a lot of inspiring things in everyday life that we just don't notice because we get used to them, but we try to look at them with from a fresh perspective.
That's why we believe that one of the most important personal qualities for a designer is being observant. Intense research on the object of your work is really important for inspiration as well - just find something you like about it and the process will flow smoothly.
What have been your career highlights to date?
Our work in general brings us satisfaction, but if we have to be specific, the brightest moment of the last few years has been winning the New Blood Yellow Pencil and participating in New Blood Academy 2014.
These were two absolutely amazing weeks full of interesting acquaintances, perspective-changing talks and intense group work with extremely talented guys.
What's the biggest lesson you learned from this summer?
We realised that we've got the power to create things that make people's life better. We also realised that anything in your life can change in a single moment, in a way that you can't even imagine.
What’s next for you?
More inspirational projects that develop us as professionals here in Moscow, and we will try to create something on international level. We have all the opportunities for that now.
And we'll aim for the White Pencil award next year...
The three designers talk us through their recent projects...
01. Barb
This project was based on the question "What kind of cologne would we definitely buy?" We wanted to create one which stood out among others on the market full of trendy and glossy cologne brands, and one which would reflect man’s personality, savage power and courage. We looked around and found the solution right at our feet...
02. E.O.N. | Evolutive Organic iNterface
In 2027 E.O.N.'s biotechnology will integrate with your body to make your life more perfect than ever before. It is an interface that breaks your expectations and leads you far beyond your boundaries.
03. Fashion Motograph. D&AD New Blood 2014
We were asked to create a bilingual identity for the British Council fashion film exhibition. The main idea of the identity was to convey the dynamics and magic of film with static imagery.
Inspired by a well-known optical effect (known as "motograph" or "scanimation") and experimental works by photographer Erwin Blumenfeld, we created a special font and developed a system reflecting the high-fashion and moving image nature of the exhibition. It serves as a reminder of the pioneering role that Great Britain played in the development of fashion film.
