Meet Radim Malinic, Creative Director at Brand Nu

We recently caught up with London based freelance creative director and designer Radim Malinic of Brand Nu at the Adobe Creative Cloud Creative Meet Up. Read on to find out more about his unique approach to design and what gets his creative juices flowing…

You’re renowned for your use of colour, how do you view colour as a key component in your work?

I would like to think that I’m a positive person and therefore, I like to inject colour into all aspects of my personal and working life, from the shoes and clothing that I wear to my business cards. In my creative work for Brand Nu, I also try to be more scientific with colour. I like to apply a multi-layered approach to projects, I like looking for things that make us tick.

My work tends to blend art with a pinch of science together – I like to challenge people’s perceptions of colour.

What inspires you?

I believe that inspiration hits you on the nose wherever you go. I just surround myself with things and sources that I enjoy. I guess I like a mixture of aesthetics and science that inspires what I do. For a while, my Instagram feed has been about pictures of vegan food, surf boards and sport surf photography. For me, I am inspired by the processes and decisions. One of my screen prints Dust into Gold is based on a surf photo by an Australian photographer Trent Mitchell. On the other hand, I like psychology, science and behavioural research as alternative sources of creative inspiration, as I believe it’s important to keep an eye on everything around you which has the potential to inspire.

Dust Into Gold-Radim Malinic

Also, one particular person that really inspires me is who founded The School of Life a few years ago. He has an amazing take on why people are hard-wired into seeing things a certain way and puts real insight into everything he does, which really spurs me on.

Also, one particular person that really inspires me is Alain De Botton who founded The School of Life a few years ago. He has an amazing take on why people are hard-wired into seeing things a certain way and puts real insight into everything he does, which really spurs me on.

What advice would you give to people who are trying to enter the creative industries?

In all honesty, there are so many different answers to that question, but personally I’d say that the three key pieces of advice I’d give are to ‘start small and grow in your own pace’, ‘be honest with yourself and your work’ and ‘stay curious and try everything at least once’. I didn’t really have an idea of where my career would take me but I always wanted to create the best work regardless of the commission size or client status. I use the mantra ‘work for your soul and the money will follow.’

What’s your favourite piece of work and why?

I am sure every creative would answer in the same way, as it’s always the most recent or current project that gets the mention. Earlier in the year, I completed a self-initiated typography project which consisted of three different types of resin sculptures. I took one of my quick social media posts and turned it into a physical object. I wanted to see how far I could push the idea and myself into exploring areas of translating a vector drawing into something I could hold in my hand. It’s been a proud moment that has given me ideas for further projects and beyond.

Lucky Numbers-Radim Malinic

Are there any pieces of advice that you wish you’d been told when you were starting out?

I wish somebody would have said that is ok to be producing work that is ‘strange’ or ‘different’ to the crowd. When you start up, you’re looking for people to get your work and sometimes that might involve unwanted compromises. Trends and style will come and go before you know it – sometimes work can be created with wrong client objectives. It’s about the projection of yourself into what you do and keeping it that way.

What’s been your proudest moment in your creative career so far?

It makes me happy when I get to hear that my work has inspired others to get into design and illustration. I always try to surprise with my new work, I’d say I am almost always exploring the obvious and turning people’s perception upside down. It’s a great feeling to know people can connect with what I do.

If I had to pick one career moment, it would have to be seeing HRH Prince Charles wearing a star shaped pin badge that I designed for WWF’s Earth Hour event. We all dream about celebrities sporting something that we designed, I just never thought I would see this happen. It was very much unexpected and utterly brilliant.

About Radim

Radim Malinic is an award winning art director, illustrator and graphic designer based in London. He is also founder of creative studio Brand Nu™ which offers a unique approach to branding, design, advertising, illustration, typography and website design for individuals, global brands and small businesses.

To view Radim’s talk at the Adobe Creative Cloud Creative Meet Up visit Adobe UK on YouTube