Interview: Khawar Bilal

GRAPHIC DESIGN IN THE CONTEXT OF ISLAMIC ART

"In my opinion a good logo type is the one which is clearly legible, it is complex, and should support icons. It should also be innovative, simple yet a symbol of adornment." (Khawar Bilal)

IAM: How did you start making graphic designs? Were you painting first or was graphic design your first choice?

KHAWAR BILAL: Initially, I was inclined towards working manually. I was fond of drawing pencil sketches and illustrations. Factually speaking, in my childhood I did not have the option of graphic designing. My mother tongue is Urdu and the alphabets of Urdu are originated from Arabic while Persian words also find their origin from Arabic. There is a tradition of writing same type of alphabets in different ways in the three languages. In this way, I found an opportunity to observe and understand three types of calligraphies simultaneously. I got really inspired from this and tried to do similar type of calligraphy. I started graphic designing around five years ago. Initially, I learnt to operate software from my elder brother and thus got a big platform for attaining my pursuit.

IAM: How important it is for a designer to have a wider knowledge of art and visual culture in general?

KHAWAR BILAL: The graphic designing not merely means beautifully designed layouts, proper order of elements or better usage of inspiring hues, it is also a medium of expression through which you transfer your perceptions onto the canvas and convey your thoughts to others. That’s why you must have wide base of knowledge to make your designs meaningful. Different kinds of designs have different nature from each other and they demand that their visualization is done according to their standards.

The rest of the article you can read in the magazine.