We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Vahid Mirzaei ("VM").
Vahid Mirzaei is an Iranian graphic designer known for his narrative posters and symbolic visual language. His work blends cultural motifs with modern aesthetics to address social themes. With over a decade of experience, he has gained international recognition in poster, branding, and packaging design, exploring the role of AI in visual storytelling.
Vahid Mirzaei Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Vahid Mirzaei.
Vahid Mirzaei Design - Omar Khayyam Poster
Vahid Mirzaei Design - Endangered Animal Atlas Educational Graphic Posters
Designer Interview of Vahid Mirzaei:
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?
VM : My background is rooted in visual storytelling. I was born in Eslamabad Gharb, Iran, where I developed an early fascination with symbols, language, and culture. While my formal education led me into graphic design, I never truly identified with the commercial notion of being a "designer." I always saw myself as an artist using design as a platform to exhibit humanitarian issues, provoke dialogue, and preserve cultural memory. The transition was natural—design gave me form, but my intention has always been expression, resistance, and reflection.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
VM : My background is rooted in visual storytelling. I was born in Eslamabad Gharb, Iran, where I developed an early fascination with symbols, language, and culture. While my formal education led me into graphic design, I never truly identified with the commercial notion of being a "designer." I always saw myself as an artist using design as a platform to exhibit humanitarian issues, provoke dialogue, and preserve cultural memory. The transition was natural—design gave me form, but my intention has always been expression, resistance, and reflection.
DI: What is "design" for you?
VM : Design is an ethical gesture. It’s not simply about solving problems—it’s about raising the right questions. It is the visual form of empathy, memory, protest, and poetry. For me, design is how culture speaks back.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
VM : I’m most drawn to designing poster collections and book covers that act as visual essays—like Endangered Animals or Omar Khayyam Posters. These are not projects, they are exhibitions of thought. I’m particularly passionate about works that center around cultural preservation, human rights, or endangered narratives.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
VM : Extinction Exhibition, based on my Endangered Animals series, is deeply personal. Each poster mourns a vanishing species. It was exhibited in Tehran but its purpose transcends location—it’s an artistic act of environmental remembrance. I designed it not to inform but to evoke grief and accountability.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
VM : One of my earliest commissions was a poster for an independent film. Even then, I treated it as a canvas—not a promotional tool. I focused on emotional resonance, not branding. That mindset hasn’t changed.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
VM : I often work with digital platforms, but I’m increasingly drawn to AI in visual storytelling. I’ve authored research on AI’s role in creative education. However, no technology replaces intent. The message always comes before the medium.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
VM : When I’m uncomfortable—either emotionally, ethically, or intellectually. Creativity for me is a response to tension. Art is how I process injustice, absence, or forgotten beauty.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
VM : I prioritize symbolism, emotion, and cultural layering. I want the work to carry history and provoke emotion. If it doesn’t linger, it doesn’t live.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
VM : Responsibility and vulnerability. I carry the weight of the stories I tell—whether of a vanished species or a neglected poet. Designing is never neutral for me; it's always intimate.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
VM : Relief, and sometimes grief. Because I don’t see a finished design as a triumph—it’s often a visual eulogy. When viewers connect with it, I feel less alone in that mourning.
DI: What makes a design successful?
VM : When it triggers thought long after it's seen. Success isn’t awards or likes—it’s resonance.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
VM : Its ethical stance. Is it honest? Is it necessary? Beauty without purpose is decoration. I look for moral architecture in design.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
VM : To be a witness and an advocate. We don’t just design visuals—we design narratives, perceptions, and ultimately, values. Designers must be accountable to both history and the future.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
VM : Design is expanding from service to statement. The future lies in its fusion with AI, activism, and cross-cultural storytelling. It will no longer just solve—it will speak.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
VM : My last was Extinction Exhibition in Villa Sufia Gallery, Tehran. I’m planning my next around endangered dialects and disappearing rituals, hoping to bring it to an international stage.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
VM : From absence. From forgotten voices, endangered languages, lost species, silenced poets. I read history and mythology more than design blogs. My creativity is fed by silence, not noise.
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?
VM : Minimalist yet narrative. Symbol-heavy, culturally rooted, emotionally charged. My style is not a trend—it is an archive of conscience.
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?
VM : I live in Iran, and my work is inseparable from its heritage. From Khayyam’s verses to Persian miniatures, my country’s complexity is my aesthetic DNA. But constraints—both political and infrastructural—often make creative freedom difficult.
DI: How do you work with companies?
VM : I collaborate, never serve. Whether it's a publisher or a film studio, I aim to understand their soul—not just their brand—and then reflect that through design.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
VM : Choose a designer who challenges you, not just pleases you. Look for voice, not just style. Trust the process of co-creation.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
VM : It starts with immersion. Reading, researching, sketching—then distilling. I reduce until what remains is essence. Only then do I begin the visual phase.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
VM : Morning: writing and research. Afternoon: sketching, client calls, revisions. Evening: reading Persian poetry or exploring AI-image synthesis. Late night: quiet conceptual thinking. My days are a blend of activism and aesthetics.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
VM : Be human first, designer second. Don’t chase beauty—chase meaning. Study history. Read poetry. Listen to silence. Learn to care deeply, and your work will follow.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
VM : Positives: You can influence thought without saying a word. Negatives: Society often undervalues the cultural and ethical labor embedded in visual work.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
VM : Never design what you don’t believe in. Every visual is a vote. Make yours count.