Sergei Didyk

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Sergei Didyk ("SD") for their original perspective and innovative approach to design as well as their creative lifestyle, we are very pleased to share our interview with our distinguished readers.

DL: Could you please tell us a bit about your design background and education?

SD : In 1983 I got a masters degree of graphic arts in Art Academy in Tallinn, Estonia. Ever since then, already 35 years I am dealing with photography and graphic design.

DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?

SD : Photography and design are the only things I've learned to do very well. I like to do things that come out well. That's why making design brings me joy. And that's the main motivation!

DL: Did you choose to become a designer, or you were forced to become one?

SD : First, my mother decided I should become an artist and did a lot for that to happen. Then I realized myself that I want to be a creative person - a designer and a photographer.

DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?

SD : First of all, I am interested in the design in photography and photography in design. Not just an ordinary fine art photography, but its applied form - a photography as a graphic element in design.

DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?

SD : Just do every day your favourite thing - do design. Learn how to convince clients that you are right. Work hard and win yourself authority. Some day this authority will allow you to be yourself.

DL: What distinguishes between a good designer and a great designer?

SD : Talent and confidence. But mere luck also plays role. ))

DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?

SD : Great design makes you believe it. It needs no arguments. You see it, you touch it and you realize that nothing could be done better than that.

DL: Who are some other design masters and legends you get inspired from?

SD : David Lewis, Flaminio Bertoni, Robert Opron and Helmut Newton.

DL: What are your favorite designs by other designers, why do you like them?

SD : Citroen DS by Flaminio Bertoni. This car's design is just perfect! I was so in love with this car that I could do nothing but buy it. Already 20 years it takes me anywhere I want.

DL: What is your greatest design, which aspects of that design makes you think it is great?

SD : It's a poster “Corset” created in close co-operation with Bates agency for Courvoisier VSOP Cognac. With the help of limited means we managed to create a distinguishable visual image that perfectly illustrates the slogan - Full bodied taste. Enjoy slowly.

DL: If you hadn’t become a designer, what would you have done?

SD : I had two dreams when I was a child. The first one was to become a SOVTRANSAVTO lorry driver and drive beyond Soviet borders. The second one was to become an astronaut. Now it's kind of difficult to guess which one of the two dreams could be realized. But probably, to become a lorry driver…

DL: Who helped you to reach these heights, who was your biggest supporter?

SD : During all stages of my career my irreplaceable assistant has been my wife Rita Didyk. She functions as a stylist, advisor and my main critic.

DL: Which design projects gave you the most satisfaction, why?

SD : The biggest satisfaction I received was from the project when we had to build 100 sq. meter pool for radio-controlled boat model competition. This huge pool had been placed on the main square in Tallinn and stayed there for some time. It was a large-scale project for me. Usually I only take photos and do graphic design.

DL: How long does it take you to finalize a design project?

SD : My projects are usually short-term and have deadlines. After deadlines you cannot change anything. That's why the final stage comes fast and it is really the final of the project.

DL: When you have a new design project, where do you start?

SD : Almost every project starts with small pencil sketches that help me to imagine the final result. With drawing by hand it is easier for me to contemplate the technology of the future shooting, calculate the props and the budget.

DL: Do you think design sets the trends or trends set the designs?

SD : It is a question about the chicken and the egg. )) Undoubtedly, successful design specimens bring the new consumer possibilities that people couldn't even imagine yesterday. The new demands, in their turn, expect designers to perform on even higher level, which in its turn widens again the possibilities. That's how, half-a-step at a time design and trend (demands) change the world.

DL: What is the role of technology when you design?

SD : For sure the development of technologies accelerates and simplifies the work of designer and photographer by increasing its effectiveness. However, then one must learn new technologies all life long.

DL: What kind of design software and equipment do you use in your work?

SD : In graphic design I use a standard set of programs: Aperture, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop & Illustrator. In photography in addition to the digital camera I've got a quite traditional equipment - SINAR, BRONCOLOR and a photo studio.

DL: When you see a new great design or product what comes into your mind?

SD : The first thought that comes to my mind – why nobody thought it out before? It is so simple!

DL: Who is your ideal design partner? Do you believe in co-design?

SD : I don't know whether ideal, but all I've done I have done in cooperation with my wife and stylist Rita Didyk. That's why I just cannot deny co-design.

DL: Which people you interacted had the most influence on your design?

SD : There is one man who influenced my convictions and beliefs several times during my career. This is a graphic artist Slava Semerikov. First, in my young age he taught me how to draw and later we did several projects together.

DL: Irrelative of time and space, who you would want to meet, talk and discuss with?

SD : I'd like to talk to Flaminio Bertoni about his masterpiece Citroen DS and to Robert Opron about the design concept of Citroen CX. Because I own two of these cars for more than 20 years.

DL: How do you feel about all the awards and recognition you had, is it hard to be famous?

SD : I treat awards with gratitude and they don't influence my innate modesty. I am not that famous to face difficulties in everyday life.

DL: What is your favorite color, place, food, season, thing and brand?

SD : Orange, Estonia, roasted duck with apples, winter, iPhone, Bang & Olufsen.

DL: Please tell us a little memoir, a funny thing you had experienced as a designer?

SD : Maybe you have heard that there was censorship in the USSR and the censoring organization was named „The committee for protection of the state secrets in print“. All advertising editions, catalogues, flyers and posters were supposed to pass this censorship control and get a permission to be printed. I received a task to create an advertising poster for women underwear factory. All attempts to use photography were turned down by censorship as a pornography. I had to think of an alternative to demonstrate the beauty of the piquant production. And I got an idea to draw with watercolours a figure of entirely naked lady and over the painted image to glue specially sewn flat lace bra and panties. This picture was taken to the Committee for a control. They returned it only a month later with a strict ban to use it as a poster. Judging by the fingerprints it was clear that the officials were especially interested in the details under the panties. Apparently, that's where the state secret was hidden. )) And the underwear factory was left without an advertising poster.

DL: When you were a little child, was it obvious that you would become a great designer?

SD : As a child I used to watch and read different encyclopediae and reference-books, books about physics, outer space and relativity theory. I also liked to draw cars and I could name any car model. But it was difficult to expect a successful designer career in the USSR, there was hardly such a profession then. A chance to become a big designer appeared only after Perestroika, but then I was not a child anymore.