On the occasion of Svetlana Tsoneva’s invitation to be a jury member in Website of the Year 2018, we invite you to read more from the Pixel House kitchen and what are the criteria by which she will evaluate the projects.
How did Svetlana and design find each other? Tell us, please.
Design has always been a part of my life. We didn’t look for each other, I just had to work hard, be accepted in the right places and develop fully in this direction.
I have been drawing since I was very young and I thank my parents who have always supported and developed this interest of mine. I started with a drawing class at the art high school in Kazanlak – Industrial Design, and after that the path was easy – I had a clear direction and knew that this was my role, the thing that excites and inspires me.
As a natural continuation of this passion of mine, I graduated from Visual Arts at NBU.
Of course, all subjects related to design were my favorites, but at university I had the opportunity to indulge in a new challenge – Web design. Out of curiosity, I started to be interested and look for more information in this direction, to test what I had learned. At one point I was creating websites for my own pleasure and as a joke while studying, and the next moment, orders from clients for websites started.
With a lot of hustle, I gained experience and focused on three areas – brands, web design and graphic design.
I am confident that this is my path and nothing that happened was by chance. The best thing is to do what you love, what inspires you every day, and for people to pay you for it.
“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Clichés are clichés because they are proven true.
And when and how was it “born”? Pixel House?
Pixel House was born exactly 10 years ago at the beginning of the great crisis in 2008. I decided it was time to do something of my own. I was already working for various clients after hours, but it started to get difficult working all day and then until 2-3 am – the other job. The time came for me to make the decision that this could not continue in its current form.
When you don’t watch TV, it’s much easier to be brave in your decisions. Although everyone warned me that now is not the right time for such an endeavor, I was convinced that they were bombarded by the news and all this was very exaggerated, that there would be no crisis.
Well, it wasn’t exactly like that.
Despite everything, Pixel House was born during this difficult period.
Creating the company was also one of my first lessons in building a brand in its full form – from choosing a name, to a logo, mission and goals, brand message and vision. I went through many names and constantly asked my friends how they sounded, what they thought, etc. At the time, I didn’t know that I was doing research 🙂 After a long search for a suitable brand name, I finally just realized that I had a name even before I thought about starting a company. My thesis for my master’s degree in Art Management was about a space related to the presentation and promotion of digital arts and it was called Pixel House. I did my research again, but I was already convinced that there was no more appropriate name for what I wanted to build. To this day, I am still confident in this.
Do you have any secrets for more optimal and good work when you have a new assignment? What is the most important thing for things to happen well?
Communication between client and contractor is one of the foundations of a quality end result. In order to start a project and for it to be successful, we need to follow the already established work process. This way, there is no chaos in the work and we follow the steps of creation. In recent years, we have put a lot of effort into building the work process, which is valid not only for a specific project, but is the basis of a successful, working product. Every link in the process is important, but working with the client is fundamental. The client must be aware of what is happening as his main link. It is important for us to work in sync with the project sponsor and for him to have his informed role in the process. So the client is a significant part of our team. This, in addition to provoking us to develop, to see different points of view, is very energizing and constantly teaches us new things.
For the different services we offer, I would unify the following basic steps that have proven to be successful and working:
- We start with a clearly structured brief of the assignment
- We have a conversation with the client and complete the picture
- Research based on the information we have
- Creating a structure
- First prototypes
- Presentation and comments from the client
- Creating the design
- Comments from the client
- Final files
- Completing the project
I believe in this system that has been proven over the years. From experience, I can say that when we neglect some of the stages of the work process, whether because of the client or because of the project deadlines, in the end we always regret the compromise made.
My advice is: Follow your steps and do not disrupt your work processes, because this would rather lead to an unfinished and unpolished final result. Do not compromise with the quality of your work, and the stages of building a project are the basis of a job well done.
What do you expect as a jury in Website of the Year?
I expect to see projects that are at a high level. With a captivating design, an orderly structure and good UX. They should be intuitive and easy to navigate, with elegant accents and references to the interior of the site. With easy access to the main services / products / message and harmony throughout the project. Clear and clean communication of the brand and the messages it wants to communicate with its customers. To captivate you at first sight and make you want to explore the entire project and learn more about the brand.
What do you wish for the participants?
I wish them to never stop searching and developing. To be curious like children about new challenges and not be afraid to test and create. Good luck in your endeavors and the competition!
Source: https://bgweb.bg
