We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative BOLD Branding ("BB").
Bold Branding is an agency established in 2012 in Cairo; founded by Kamal Rizk, Lead Designer, and Sarah El Kasaby, Managing Director. They strive to create better brands and identities to form unforgettable connections with lasting impact.Bold Branding is the gain of more than 18 years’ experience combined in the design and production market,serving all entities and business models in various fields.They are known for their goal-driven minimal designs, with a smart attractive element whether in the design or the production technique that always push their clients in the lead of competition.
BOLD Branding Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by BOLD Branding.
BOLD Branding Design - Mouled Bonbon Seasonal Packaging
BOLD Branding Design - Voila Cool Stuff Ice Cream Packaging
Designer Interview of BOLD Branding:
DI: 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?
BB : Since early 2000s i started following my passion in design through joining free studies in faculty of arts. I joined as many internships as i can to widen my knowledge and experience. Through practice I started forming my own taste in creating minimal artistic designs. I was highly fascinated by the designs of my older brother growing up, which by time motivated me to be a designer myself.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
BB : Me and Sarah have been colleagues long time before and we noticed the work chemistry we formed creating business successes together. In 2012 we decided to join forces and create BOLD BRANDING, specializing in branding and packaging and known for our goal-driven minimal designs that always push our clients in the lead of competition.
DI: What is "design" for you?
BB : design for me is form of expression and inspiration. It is a way of expressing self, emotion, state, product, and it is meant to inspire all who look or interact with it in a way or another.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
BB : I am most passionate about creating new identities. It is the power of creating a big project from nothing. The branding set the standards and image for brands, and it is the most powerful thing.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
BB : Voila Cool Stuff. I love this project the most as we got to introduce the ice cream packaging in a new fresh design using minimal lines and abstract shapes describing the flavors in the most playful and intriguing way. This packaging is now one of the most outstanding retail ice cream packaging in the market, and till now it has been an inspiration to many through various platforms such as pinterest.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
BB : seasonal post card special design for Chivas Regal distributer in Egypt
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
BB : my favorite material to work with is paper, and instagram is my go to platform to share my work and get inspired.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
BB : When i am back from a long trip to my favorite places.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
BB : functionality of design by presenting the right message in a different, artistic, and smart visual.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
BB : i feel determined and focused to communicate the design through a new visual
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
BB : i feel accomplished, specially when i get the intended reactions from the audience.
DI: What makes a design successful?
BB : creating a successful hidden language between the design and the audience that they connect or relate to immediately.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
BB : if the design or the idea are original, if the designer is known for this style or not, and if it represented the product, or the feelings related to the product or not
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
BB : to enhance the general taste of the society by creating enhanced designs that represents their reality, and to encourage younger talents to pursue their vision and creative work
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
BB : the design field is evolving through the AI advancement, and i see the future of design will be paved for smart designer who will know how to use the AI to their benefit, save them time and effort to create their own unique and special art.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
BB : MOOD, Como Italy, 2023
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
BB : I always get inspired by traveling to beautiful places, my creativity is fed by good music and early mornings.
DI: 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?
BB : my design style is geometric, minimal, creative. I loved this style as it is considered my escape from an all busy life loaded with news and fast paced life. Minimal art and geometric designs tend to summarize any idea beautifully without many unwanted details. My approach is always designing the bolder idea.
DI: 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?
BB : I live in Cairo, Egypt. The oldest and richest civilization known to mankind. Growing up surrounded by the magnificent Pharaonic & Ancient Egyptian culture definitely influenced my style and taste. I became fond of geometric art, minimalism, symbolism, and symmetry. I will always be grateful for my heritage which still amaze and inspire many designers around the world.
DI: How do you work with companies?
BB : As most of design agencies, we work with companies according to type of work needed either with retainer contracts or project contracts
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
BB : companies need always to be ready with their detailed brief, about their product, market, target customers, and what do they expect from the design. the more prepared and clear their brief is, the more efficient the design will be. Companies can always select a good designer by searching for his portfolio of work, see how they created previous projects, and whether their previous work is awarded, and from where.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
BB : first i study the product itself, with all it's experience, then i check competition in the market, then i start to build a philosophy of what i need to deliver through my design, then how i can implement this design in a way that will elevate the customer experience and help the product stand out and lead the competition
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
BB : a vintage fine art wall frame, a customized curtain rod that i designed, a metal chandelier that i designed and custom made, a reclaimed cranberry raw wood table, a recycled wall lamp made from old water pipes.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
BB : I wake up early, have my morning coffee in my favorite cafe listening to music. I then go to the studio and resume my design passion. After my lunch break, i head to the gym for couple of hours and then head back to the studio for any afternoon meetings. If am not meeting my friends after work, i spend a quiet evening at home with a good movie.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
BB : to keep your design genuine and don't just follow trends, timeless design always wins
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
BB : the positives is being able to transform any expression into art and design, the negatives is being easily affected by all good or bad visuals in
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
BB : simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
BB : being smart in building up the design idea and philosophy
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
BB : i use illustrator and a webos wacom in creating all my designs
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
BB : by balancing and differentiating the design projects i have in the pipeline, set clear prespective and milestones driven timeline that i follow so that i make sure not to lose track of time. if the creative design took longer time, then i will speed up working on the following phase, and so on.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
BB : according to the type of object but i believe 2 to 4 months is a good average
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
BB : how long will it take to design a project
DI: What was your most important job experience?
BB : following up with printshops gave me a great experience and a much better understanding and perspective when creating any new design. Now i think about the production first toi make sure my idea will be implemented perfectly.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
BB : Voila Desserts Shop / Dusit Thani Hotels / Egypt Gold /
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
BB : Packaging, as it is a tangible moving design that customers first see, admire, purchase, walk home with or gift someone with. Very accessible art, and easily spread.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
BB : my future plans is to expand our business market overseas. Also i am working on exploring product design and experimenting with some cool ideas
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
BB : we work as a team
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
BB : NAJ jewelry, it is a fine jewelry brand with a cool design theme and popping colors.
DI: How can people contact you?
BB : people can contact us through our website https://www.bold-branding.com instagram page https://www.instagram.com/boldbranding/ or mobile number +201022023067
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
BB : Thank you