Eugene Arutyunov
The Complex Designer
This book is about work culture and professionalism
It addresses designers, but can also be practical for editors, developers and for all who are involved in creative work. As well as for managers who pay for it.
The book lives on this site and is sold for money. It can be read on your phone.
Who’s here
I’m Eugene Arutyunov, art director at Intuition Design Team. Some know me from projects (we created the Dodo Pizza brand book, the magazine Delo Modulbank and many other things), some have read my blog, the channel “This is beautiful, and this is not”, seen a lecture at Art. Lebedev Studio or at BDSL. And some don’t know me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I've written a book.
The book is for experienced designers and other creative fellows. It doesn’t contain anything on basics of composition, typography or color; there are no tasks. It’s about the culture of thinking, communication and leadership.
It’s a human-oriented book. Any problem is primarily observed from the individual’s perspective: “what I want, what I benefit from and what I consider essential”. Put the mask on yourself, on your child and only after that — on anyone who is in an ass-is-on-fire-situation.
The ball of design
I imagine design as a sphere. Some things are on the surface, some are deep inside.
Everybody’s got their badges on the surface, it's UI/UX, product, junior, middle. They take courses on 4d-AI-generative-bigdata-corporate-identity, they learn trends and life hacks.
Everything’s clear here. This is the kingdom of certainty, simple answers and standards. Cargo cult is highly appreciated: “let’s just do what they do, that’s it”. There’s cutthroat competition here, you need to push through it. And do not dare to complicate: the work will get stuck.
It’s silent down in the depth. There are few people, a lot of trust and cooperation. There are no borders between jobs and positions. There are good questions asked, regularities, truth, congruence and emergence searched for (as well as those who can define these words). There is a lot to read and to share; the quality of ideas is valued.
There is uncertainty in the depth, and that’s OK: it’s fine to not know something, it’s all right to make mistakes. The simple is not overcomplicated, but the complicated is not oversimplified.
My book is about depth. I do not call for laying low once and forever, nobody needs ideas without realization, everybody doesn’t care about big heads who cannot just do it. But you can search for treasures at the depth, non-obvious questions and elegant solutions; your attitude towards all kinds of problems. And you can emerge on the surface and look for inspiration, resources and tools, to do it all.
Or maybe there is no depth, and there is no sphere. Maybe the design is as flat as the Earth. The truth is that the reality is chaotic, inconsistent, and the book’s text, of course, may be both chaotic and inconsistent, but everyone would win if it was just distinct. You have to find the way through! So it’s up to everybody to see the ball or not.
One-time payment, not a subscription. Before paying, you can enter a promo code. For example, you can type the word “скидка” and get a discount simply because you carefully read this text. Or enter “2000!” and “5000!” to become a VIP reader (the book itself won’t change, but it’ll make everyone feel really good).