Why design matters: Nadja Haldimann on beauty, identity and visual language
Nadja Haldimann speaks four languages fluently: Swiss German, German, English, and Design. Design, for her, is “a unique visual language” that she’s created over 20 years of growing up with the spare, precise aesthetics of her native Switzerland, followed by design school in Vienna and San Francisco, and capped more recently by eight years as a product designer at Microsoft. She quit that job earlier this month to launch her own design career in Seattle.
When we hired her to design the Biznik logo, we thought we were hiring someone to create something beautiful that would identify and promote this business networking group. But we discovered right away that we’d hired someone with far more talent than that. Because Nadja isn’t just a designer - she is a true branding expert. For her, ideas flow from a passion for understanding, and before she puts pen to paper, she wants to know everything. And in the process of learning all about our business, something funny happened–we learned a lot about our business.
It was a process that I didn’t want to end. But when it did, we knew we’d received a lot more than we paid for. And, she created a logo that not only is beautiful, but also a stunning visual metaphor that says “this is what Biznik is all about.” But let’s hear directly from her on the subject, shall we?
Q: How did you end up here in Seattle?
I was born and raised in Basel, Switzerland and moved to Vienna, Austria when I was 20 years old to attend fashion design school. A year later I decided I wanted a broader education in design so I moved to San Francisco where I studied graphic design at the California College of the Arts. The year I graduated was an interesting year, packed with new emerging technologies and a wider use of the internet which allowed me to jump from traditional print design to software and web design. This opened up new opportunities for me and I moved to Seattle where I started my 8 year career as a User Interface Designer at Microsoft.
Q: What did you do at Microsoft?
For the first few years I was a product designer in charge of designing a number of different features for Microsoft Money and Microsoft Office. In 1999 I moved to the Office group where I was responsible for the look and feel, the brand and the functionality of the Office suite of applications. I worked on office XP, Office 2003 and Office 12. I had a team of 5 designers working for me and together we helped design the new command model for Office 12 which will ship later this year. About a year ago I moved to the Real Time Communication group where I was responsible for the look and feel and the branding of Live Meeting and Communicator, two new Office family applications that allow users to collaborate remotely.
One of the most memorable projects I worked on while a designer at Microsoft was the Center for Information Work; a conceptual project to explore a future version (5-10 years in the future) of Office where all applications are tightly linked together allowing the users to communicate and work from a variety of remote locations. We ended up winning a gold IDEA design award for this project, which was one of the highlights of my career.
Q: What made you decide to leave Microsoft?
After 8 years at Microsoft I decided to move on to explore more variety in design. I learned a lot about branding one of the most recognized products in the world. I gave presentations to small and large audiences at Microsoft talking about my approach to develop a new look and feel and brand for software applications. I collaborated with usability engineers to design products that are not only visually appealing but also easier to use through better visual flow and hierarchies.
Q: What’s next for you? What are you excited about doing in 2006, and beyond?
I think 2006 is going to be a really exciting year for me. Joining the Biznik group has introduced me to new people and contacts and opened some interesting opportunities for me.
Recently I started my own freelance graphic design firm called Gimbo Design. My main focus is on branding, corporate identities and web presence. I am excited to have a variety of clients from financial institutions to restaurants and startup internet companies. I enjoy working closely with clients to build their brand and design strategies. This is something that was difficult to achieve at a company the size of Microsoft.
Fashion design is another passion of mine that I hope to explore in my new career. My business partner and I are planning to develop a simple yet sophisticated high-end line of fashion accessories based on our Swiss heritage. The focus of the line will be on quality and precision, with a trendy, eye-catching edge that sets us apart from the rest. We already have some great ideas that we hope to put into motion. We are working on getting things into place with manufacturers and vendors so that we can get some of our products into stores by the end of the year.
In addition to graphic design and fashion design I am in the process of creating a series of large scale paintings based on images that I have carried around in my head ever since I was a small child. They are visions of another world, a parallel universe where neither time nor gravity exist and everything is in a constant state of motion, co-existing in perfect balance and harmony. After carrying these images with me for more than 30 years I finally decided to let them out to share the experience with a larger audience. I have recently started working in a studio space in pioneer square and I am hoping to have my first show: “Transcessive Paintings” sometime this summer.
Q: When I think of your work, I think “elegant, sophisticated, and precise.” How would you describe your approach to design?
Well, thank you. My design is strongly based on the simplicity and precision of Swiss design principles. I strive to create both visually stunning as well as highly conceptual designs that communicate a message and spark conversation. When I started design school in San Francisco, I had already lived with Swiss design aesthetics for more than 20 years. I was able to infuse that sense of precision and structure with an experimental and conceptual twist that allowed me to develop a unique visual language that I now use. I tremendously enjoy working with clients, understanding their unique needs and then helping them tell a visual story that captures the essence of their message.
Q: You say your work is “highly conceptual.” What does that mean, in practice?
Conceptual design means that I communicate information through visuals. I strive to create visually stunning designs, but that’s just the icing on the cake at the very end of the project. My design process goes much deeper than what immediately catches the eye. When I approach a new project, I first educate myself about my clients and what they want to communicate. Then I create a message and translate that into visual metaphors. The shapes, colors and final combinations of elements is not a random artistic expression, but rather a result of a highly thought through process that contains all the key elements to communicate a message.
For example when I designed the Biznik logo I thought about the human interactions that take place within a professional organization. Members join to meet other working professionals and make business contacts and connections. I used the visual metaphor of two links to show that connection. The links are contained in a circle which represents the organization itself and if you look closely then you can see that part of one link is slightly protruding from the circle. To me that represents an open environment where connections are made and not locked in but rather encouraged to come and go to take on their own lives outside of the organization. I purposely angled the corners of the links to give them an edge. Biznik members are radical professionals, so a round link would have been too soft for the message that I wanted to communicate. I could go on for about 20 more minutes but I think that’s enough information to explain my thought process.
Q: What kind of clients are you looking for?
As I mentioned earlier, I strive to have a diverse mix of clients from various industries. I love learning about different businesses and products and am excited by the challenge of developing new visual languages appropriate to those businesses.
Q: You and I have been a member of the same Burning Man tribe, The Space Virgins, for a couple of years now. To say that you’ve blossomed creatively during that time would, I think, be an understatement. At least in terms of how you dress! How has Burning Man and your participation in the burner community influenced you?
Funny you should mention that. All my life I have been a very motivated and creative designer. During my time at Microsoft I constantly questioned existing design processes and customs and invented new and innovative ways to push the limits and develop forward thinking designs. But I think Burning Man ignited something inside of me that was dormant for a long time. All of a sudden I found myself designing an entire collection of costumes and sewing them for myself and several of my friends. I also started designing funky flyers and posters for party invitations and rediscovered an artistic and experimental side of me that I was not exercising at work. Burning man allowed me to fully express myself creatively without restrictions or judgment. I met a lot of incredibly motivated and talented people with whom I create art together. I now consider many of these amazing people my closest friends and part of my daily inspiration.
Q: Has your membership in Biznik proven worthwhile yet?
Absolutely! I decided a few months ago that I was going to start my own company and immediately joined Biznik to see if I could find freelance clients. Before I even had a chance to leave Microsoft, I already had more clients than I had time for without even doing any self promotion. In addition to freelance clients I also got contacts for an accountant, a trademark lawyer and all kinds of other useful people that I am working with today. Biznik is the reason why I can do what I do today, thank you!
Q: Is design important for small business owners?
Yes, design is very important for small businesses, as a matter of fact, it’s much more important than people realize. You have heard the expression that a book is judged by its cover. Small businesses especially need to have a professional appearance. Just doing good work or having high quality products isn’t enough anymore with all the competition out there. The perception of a business or product is often more important than the product itself and one way perception is measured is through visual appearance. Good design can help a small business rise above their competition. The cool thing is that it’s easier today than ever before to create that perception of quality and reliability through a sophisticated and well designed website, logo and business card.
Q: What’s the biggest design mistake that you see small business people making?
The number one problem that I see with small businesses is that they do not invest in well designed business cards, websites, or brand design. They believe that it’s more important to get their name out there and hope that the product or service will speak for itself. This puts them at a great disadvantage in comparison to their competitors who may have invested in these areas. In the long run this could cost them a lot more money through losing customers and jobs to more professional looking competitors. I have often worked with clients to upgrade their brand and websites resulting in the perception that their products or services are of higher quality.
