Andrea Pinter has been working as an independent logo and brand identity designer for the past 5 years from the most northern point of Subotica, Serbia. She focuses on logo and brand development, as well as packaging and corporate identity design. Throughout her career, she also helped various companies with other marketing materials such as banner ads, posters, brochures and similar.
Designer Interview With Andrea Pinter @91andreapinter #designerinterview #logodesign #thelogocreative
https://t.co/lfJYVAbuuy pic.twitter.com/55OUyFkodI— The Logo Creative™ (@thelogocreative) April 3, 2019
Andrea has a Management Bachelor degree, however, during her studies, She was working on freelance projects as well. When she finally graduated, she decided to continue doing what she is most passionate about – design! and made the decision to put her management career on hold. Andrea describes herself as a creative person, who admires all kinds of art.
When she is not sat at her desk designing on her computer, she enjoys spending time outdoors and traveling to new places, meeting new cultures because when she is in a new place it helps her to feel free and the new environments help her to be more creative and productive. She is an outdoor type of person who loves nature, as well as contrary big cities like New York and Singapore (her favorite cities), creativity is everywhere around us, with lots of inspiration. So she is always searching for new sources of inspiration as she explains this helps her to charge her batteries, in order to achieve the best visual results for her creative projects.
The Logo Creative – Hi Andrea thanks for taking the time to take part in our designer interviews
Andrea Pinter – Thanks for having me Andrew, I’m honored you thought of me.
The Logo Creative – What was the turning point in your life when you decided to become a designer and how did you proceed?
Andrea Pinter – I don’t think there is a big turning point in my life. As a child, I always loved drawings, customized covers for my school books, I also was involved in various school projects etc… But I never thought I will become a designer. When I was 17-18 years old my boyfriend (today husband) began learning design and one day he asked me “Why don’t you try it? I’m sure you will be a great designer…” I loved the idea, but at the same time, I knew that after finishing high school I have to continue my studies. Anyway, I gave it a try and started learning Photoshop and Illustrator. While I was at the university I also worked part-time on 99Designs which was a great way for me to learn, and get some experience on how the projects and client communication are going.
When I finished my studies, I started to live together with my husband, he works as a web and mobile app designer so sometimes I got a logo design project for his clients which made me very happy. I started to enjoy working directly with clients, and I felt progress in my career. We were working and traveling together, and since then we’ve visited 23 countries. Over a couple of years, I’ve been working on various client and personal projects but I am also trying to constantly learn something new and improve my skills.
The Logo Creative – What does your day consist of?
Andrea Pinter – My days vary, I wake up around 7am-8am, first I drink my coffee and check emails, Dribbble, Behance, and other social media profiles. I skip that part if I have client work, because it has a priority of course. When I am busy I start my day with my small sticky notes as reminders. I know that it may sound a bit old fashioned, but it’s the best way for me to organize tasks. At the evenings I am trying to be active, and spend time outdoors.
The Logo Creative – What was the first logo you ever designed?
Andrea Pinter – I won a contest on 99designs, it was a kangaroo silhouette for an Australian company. That was my first paid design project.
The Logo Creative – What is your favourite Logo you have designed?
Andrea Pinter – I don’t have a favourite one, but if I really had to pick one it would be definitely my “Ananas” logo, I’ve received very positive feedback on that project, which gave me a lot of exposure, and it was featured in many articles, collections, and even books. The full case study can be found on my Behance profile.
The Logo Creative – What is your favourite Logo of all time?
Andrea Pinter – Well, I really admire the simplicity of Nike, but at the same time it’s so powerful and brings such a value to the brand. The shape is very unique and easy to remember, and it perfectly matches with strong but very short “Nike” lettering. I also love: WWF, NBC, UPS
The Logo Creative – Can you describe or give us an overview of your logo design process?
Andrea Pinter –
When I receive an inquire from the client, first I send a creative brief to be filled out. Once everything is clear I start thinking about the project and collecting some inspirational, reference materials. After that I start sketching in my mini notebook, usually they are just very rough sketches and I need to turn them into a real drawings, so, I redo them on an A4 block.
The next step is to take a photo and import the sketches into Illustrator where I start working on digital vector mockups. I prefer to use only black & white colours, and after I am satisfied with the results I experiment with some colour palettes, and create a small presentation with various mock-ups and colour schemes for my clients. I usually create 3 different concepts to choose from, and after the chosen direction I work on the changes until the client is 100% satisfied.
The Logo Creative – In your opinion regarding Logo Design pricing do you prefer working on a fixed rate or customer budget and can you explain why?
Andrea Pinter – For logo design work I have a standard fixed price, but for other branding and packaging projects I need to discuss further the requirements in order to be able to estimate the price.
The Logo Creative – How long does it take to complete the average logo design project from start to finish?
Andrea Pinter – It’s never the same but an ideal project is completed within 2 weeks. I need one day for discovery and mood boards. Day or two for sketching, two days for digital versions and a mock-up presentation. I send the first mock-ups within 5 working days. After that, it’s on the client, it really depends on how many changes are required. Once the client is satisfied, I need 1 more day to prepare all final deliverables, and I also create a mini brand guide which includes all information about colors, typography, proper usage, clear space, etc.
The Logo Creative – Are you a MAC or PC User and is there a reason for your choice?
Andrea Pinter – I am a PC user, but next year I plan to buy a new laptop and I am almost sure that I will switch to Macbook, mainly because the iOS system is more reliable in my opinion. However, I’ll keep my 27” Dell monitor.
The Logo Creative – Which software do you use frequently?
Andrea Pinter – I am using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
The Logo Creative – What is your favourite style of logo design? And why?
Andrea Pinter – I prefer minimalistic, geometric and smart logos. Negative space, line art also fascinate me. I think the ideal logo must be perfectly balanced and the overall design should look very clean and professional. There’s a huge difference between simple/professional, and simple/boring. It’s all about the small details like letter spacing, angles, roundness… If everything matches and aligns perfectly, then the perfection is achieved.
The Logo Creative – What is your daily inspiration when you design?
Andrea Pinter – For me, the inspiration is everywhere, when I am traveling I love taking pictures of a nice logo, illustration, banner or a product packaging in the market, even if it’s just a nice flower in the garden, it can be an inspiration for a colour palette of my next project. Also, I am using Pinterest, Behance, Dribbble to find inspiration, and I am following my favourite designers on social media profiles.
The Logo Creative – In your opinion what’s the best and worst part of your job being a designer?
Andrea Pinter –Probably, the best part is freedom in creativity, flexibility… working from home with my husband. I really love the feeling when I create something that I am very proud of, and the client is happy with it at the same time. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
The worst part is that we are actually working as self-employed people, and there are no working hours… I find it very difficult to limit my time spent in front of the computer.
The Logo Creative – Who is the most inspiring person to you and why?
Andrea Pinter – It’s a tough question. Because every person in my life inspire me in some way, but as a designer, I admire the best artist from the past. They have made something really special, a timeless, memorable beauty.
The Logo Creative – Who is your favourite Graphic Designer and why?
Andrea Pinter – I don’t have a favourite one, there are many designers who’s work inspire me, but I can’t name just one: Paul Rand, Rob Janoff, Lindon Leader, Michael Bierut. I think their creative work inspired the world and designers for years to come.
The Logo Creative – What’s your favourite design quote?
Andrea Pinter – “Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” – Leo Burnett
The Logo Creative – In less than 10 words what is graphic design?
Andrea Pinter – Creative process of visual communication.
The Logo Creative – What steps did you take to start your graphic design business? Did you have to make any sacrifices on your journey?
Andrea Pinter – Probably the hardest part is showcasing my work and get noticed. I made a profile on Behance, Dribbble, and Instagram. Soon I figured out it’s very challenging to find your spot among the other creative and talented designers. I’ve had good and bad days, sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated, and focused but I know that hard work always pays off and that gives me the strength to keep pushing forward.
The Logo Creative – Do you have any regrets? Is there anything you would have changed early on in your career?
Andrea Pinter – Absolutely! I used to be satisfied with my simple projects before, I was afraid to step out of my comfort zone, and learn new skills in order to become a better designer. I am a perfectionist and I use to give up easily because I was not satisfied with the results. But now, I realize that I can’t be good at something if I don’t spend a fair amount of time practicing it. Don’t stop until you are proud of is my new motto!
The Logo Creative – If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self?
Andrea Pinter – “Allow yourself to be a beginner. No one starts off being excellent.”
The Logo Creative – What’s the most important piece of advice you have received as a designer that’s helped you?
Andrea Pinter – I got a lot of advice from my husband and parents, but the last one I remember is to be patient.
The Logo Creative – What would be your advice for new Logo and Graphic Designers?
Andrea Pinter – Don’t give up, it’s not a shame if you are not the best designer from the beginning of your career. Read. Learn. Practice. Repeat.
learn more about Andrea Pinter | Behance | Dribbble