Dimo Trifonov is a very interesting designer, his style centers around simplistic and vivid imagery. In our interview, Dimo explains why he prefers the simple style over crowding the canvas, he also offers a great analogy as to why he prefers it this way. In addition, we also discuss the question of whether designers should be self taught or go to a specialized school, and finally we also discuss some of Dimo’s amazing art. So check this one out.
Q Welcome to Psdtuts+, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field?
Hello there. My name is Dimo Trifonov and I am currently living and working in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. I have been working in the arts for a long time. I got started in the arts when I was around 12 or 13 years old by doing graffiti, music, and traditional art. When I was 15, a friend of mine gave me Adobe Photoshop 6 and everything began to take shape. I started out doing dumb things like liquifying my friends’ photos and stuff like that and eventually this became my job.
Q From your illustrations we can see that simplicity is key for you. Why did you decide to go with this style for your art?
I choose to be short when I speak visually. The world is complicated enough, I don’t want to complicate it more. A simple shape or color can say the same thing as whole painting full of objects and colors, but it’s important how you use them. Also, I like the air, I like empty spaces they give me freedom and peace of mind. Think of it like a room full of people and you can’t even take a breath…and now think of an empty room only for you and you have all the air in it just for you …I think it’s way more comfortable. This is my design/art.
Q Are you a self taught designer or did you attend school to learn graphic design? Which route do you think is the best to take for the young designers out there?
Ha-ha, well, actually I am almost 20 years old, so I may not be the best person to give tips to the young generation, but I don’t think school is necessary. You can learn from anything and everyone without paying huge amounts of money with the hope that you may one day will become a great designer or artist.
It’s important to learn from yourself. I just finished school last year and have thought about going to a University because it is good for your CV, but that is the only reason I am considering it. Either way, you can always learn more if you have the time and money. If you are already a great designer, maybe you can focus on something else that will make your designs better maybe philosophy? Who knows?
Q Along with your simplistic illustrations you also make very amusing posters like “Good Morning” and “Important Objects“. How do you go about getting your ideas out with these posters?
Thank you. Well both ideas were born in the morning while I was having my cup of coffee. The Good Morning piece took me just 20mins of work but the idea took me just a moment. I was looking at my cup and I was reading a brief and I saw my iMac and I thought it will be nice to visualize my morning and that was easy because of just a flip of an object I visualize 3 different object. I think those series of posters are my best so far.
About the other piece, Important Things, well I just decided to capture the objects I use most and that are important to my daily life. I can live without them but it will not be comfortable to me. And well they are just soulless objects.
Q “Yesterday” is a great simplistic abstract illustration you made. Please talk about the inspiration for this piece and how you went about making it.
MTV had a contest on the Behance network, the theme was Time. So I decide to submit something. The piece visualized my yesterday, when I saw a girl with amazing green eyes look at me. All I wanted is just to hit the pause button and then rewind the same moment again and again. That’s why I made this rainbow color line, it represents the timeline and its cold colors and warm colors and the hand is trying to stop the time on the warm one while it’s melting from desire to touch the girl. I know it’s cheesy but those things don’t happen to me daily so I wanted to capture the feeling.
Q As a designer what would you say is your favorite piece of art? Classical or Modern, and why?
I don’t have a favorite piece of art. Stupid or not I don’t have one. I can’t close my self in one thing. There is so much art around us and everything is charming in its own way. However, I am more of a vintage addict. I found those 70s and 80s designs very attractive, stylish and perfect. I mean all aspects of design from graphic design to industrial design. Back in those days there were people who really understood their jobs. Today 60-70% of design in not well made which is not good for the young generation or for the clients. Good design is never trapped in time, good design is forever.
Q Please talk about your design studio Nufabric and what projects you are currently involved in or will be doing in the near future.
Studio Nufabric was an idea I started with some mates that consists of Me, Nikolay and Kaloyan. We’ve had very positive responses about our work but in Bulgaria it’s hard to make something that will not target the mass. So we decide to stop the project for now with hope we could really open a studio one day not just a web portfolio.
Q Thanks again for providing Psdtuts+ with this opportunity to interview you. Any final thoughts for our readers?
Thank you too for the interview and keep the site fresh as ever. It’s always nice to share some thoughts about design and art. It’s time to get some sleep.
Look around and do something.
Where to find Dimo on the Web
