Alex Slobzheninov
Alex Slobzheninov
A spotlight on Alex with 8 questions and our favourite pieces.
Alex is a type, graphic and motion designer from Russia, currently based in Prague, Czech Republic. He is part of Pangram Pangram Foundry, previously worked at &Walsh studio.
Do you remember the moment you knew you wanted to become a designer?
In my little hometown in the middle of Russia, no one even heard of the word “design”. Even though as a child I really liked creating games and stuff more than actually playing, after school I went to study informatics because that’s how adult life was supposed to be. Only then I accidentally learned that there were people who make a living by being creative. Imagine how many kids there are who never find that out!
Did you go to design school? Do you think it was necessary to get to where you are today?
Yes, I got a chance to move to Europe to study graphic design at university. It helped to get started for sure, but I believe the way universities are organized in general is a bit outdated. They put students together, but teach them separately. Learning working in a team could have been the biggest advantage compared to self-education on the internet, but unfortunately that opportunity is rarely used.
Who is your favorite designer right now?
What is your all time favorite font?
It changes all the time. People release so many great typefaces every month, it’s really a shame some still use old boring fonts. Recursive by Arrow Type, Signifier by Klim, Swear by OHno, Boogy Brut by Bureau Brut & Boogy Paper, Theodor by Rüdiger — just to name a few recent outstanding releases!
What is your method of getting out of a designers block?
I think “creative block” is often just a lack of planning. If you don’t know what to do or feel stuck, chances are you don’t know where you are going. So, setting clear goals really helps! Perhaps, if you start with your biggest dream, then break it down to smaller goals a few times, your to do list will be filled quite enough to forget about any blocks for the next few years.
Can you describe your ideal working environment?
There are many people who prefer going to office, some even dress properly at home during quarantine because it keeps them organized. But in my case, I’ve never worked from a real office and have never differentiated between working and non-working “modes”. I can literally wake up and start doing stuff. So, my workplace is just a laptop. Tried even narrowing it down to just a phone but that didn’t work at all.
Some of our Favorites
What advice would you have given yourself 3 years ago?
I’d say just focus on things that matter and don’t waste your time on stupid stuff. Invest in better and faster tools and learn coding.
What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career so far? How did you overcome it?
I wish I knew how to overcome it! What seems to be helpful so far is treating learning as real ongoing projects with a schedule and a deadline, and not compromising that time for any incoming client requests.
