Ermin Međedović is the design manager and art editor of Delo newspaper. Years ago, he took care of the renovation of the newspaper's font, today he takes care of the entire newspaper. He knew from an early age that he would work in graphic design. He wasn't interested in football, he didn't want to be an astronaut or a pilot. He was interested in the wonderful world of letters and...
Ermin Međedović is the design manager and art editor of Delo newspaper. Years ago, he took care of the renovation of the newspaper's font, today he takes care of the entire newspaper. He knew from an early age that he would work in graphic design. He wasn't interested in football, he didn't want to be an astronaut or a pilot. He was interested in the wonderful world of letters and shapes. He acquired his knowledge not through study, but through long nights of reading. He says that he is an autodidact - a person who has accumulated knowledge on his own initiative over the years and skillfully used it in his work and in life in general.
Does a person have to have a lot of imagination, inspiration for this kind of work?
Visual communication is a strict science. Those who think that design is art are living in error. Design is a craft. Visual communications guide the communication of messages. They must be relevant and properly communicated. We can talk about aesthetics in graphic design, but this is not the main point. We see what people like in the way they dress, the selection of furniture in the apartment, cars. We cannot relate this to visual communication. It has to work, it has to communicate. It's not meant to be likable. The Coca-Cola logo is not the most beautiful in the world. The stop sign isn't pretty, but it works. Phone books, flight plans, maps, menus serve their purpose. If they are easy on the eye, so much the better. But the important thing is that they work.
Where can we see quality graphic design in our country?
Brumen, the graphic design biennial, shows what Slovenian graphic designers can produce. There is really a lot of it, a lot, but not all of it is in commercial use. We don't see the good work of graphic designers on roadside billboards and in shopping centers.
Where can students acquire the knowledge necessary to perform this profession?
The Academy of Fine Arts, majoring in visual communication, and the College of Design provide a range of new prospects for Slovenian graphic design. Practice helps. If they live in a cage of college exams and quizzes, they won't get real world experience. Professor Ranko Novak did a lot of good for the students, who gave the students real design tasks. Petra Černe Owen's colleague raises the level of education in the field of graphic design with her valuable experience. There are some people who are aware of the difference between the education system and the real world and who prepare students for it. Schools do not prepare future professionals for demanding clients.
We can expect a renewed Dela in October. What changes await us?
Delo newspaper is in the renovation phase. The format promotes content that adapts to the times. We pay particular attention to the time the reader devotes to reading the printed edition of the Work. Thus, the texts will be more compact and on average thirty percent shorter, there will be a lot of diagonal reading, and there will be more visual centers. The focus will be on infographics and photography, which has been somewhat neglected recently. We adapt to the needs of readers, but the Work is still the Work.
What is the process of renewing a newspaper?
At the beginning is the decision to change. There can be many reasons, the main reason for the renovation of Delo newspaper this time was the refreshed content. The changes then take place along two parallel tracks, content and form, for some time successively, but at some point they meet. Coordination is ongoing. At the end, the solutions and proposals are tested and verified on sample groups of readers, follows final touch and that's that.
Will we like the new layout?
Newspaper readers are the most demanding subscribers in the world. I think everyone will be happy with this renovation. Readers' letter writers, too.
