It’s great to have Nikita back. He was a guest during my earlier seasons. This is an update about his life and a teacher and graphic designer during these crazy times. Here is a bit about Nikita.Nikita is an NYC-based lettering artist, graphic designer, and design professor. His minimalist style reflects an admiration for work such as pure marks by Stefan Kanchev and beautiful typography of Doyald Young. As one happy client put it, ‘his work is conceptual, clean, and the reasoning behind every design decision is crystal clear.’ Focusing mainly on logotypes and lettering, Nikita has worked on a variety of design projects for local and international clients. He is an ambigram expert that has taught several ambigram workshops–in addition to having written a book about ambigrams. Nikita’s work has been featured in multiple design books and websites.His love of bad puns and jokes is second only to his love of type. To pass the time between projects, he reads, scuba dives, skydives, wingwalks, skis (not very gracefully), and travels. He thinks that writing about himself in third person is a bit strange, but he has gotten used to it.

See his work at https://www.nikitaprokhorov.com/or on IG https://www.instagram.com/typebynikita/

Here are some website that Nikita shared that are great for designers and illustrators. https://www.itsnicethat.com/
http://visuelle.co.uk/
https://www.behance.net/
https://fontsinuse.com/
https://www.designspiration.com/

Here is a written version of his response from the interview.

1. Reminder for the audience tell us bit about yourself? I am a lettering artist, graphic designer, and design teacher residing in NYC. With a strong focus on typography, I have worked for a variety of clients, ranging from small independent businesses to Fortune 500 companies. I have conducted workshops for several universities, AIGA, and Typism Conference, as well as being a featured keynote speaker for the latter. I am also an ambigram expert who has written a book about ambigrams, and my design work has been featured in multiple books and has been honored with several industry awards.

2. How have things changed in your life as a graphic designer during pandemic? Has it affected getting freelance work? I haven’t really focused on much freelance word, doing only a small one-off project or two during the pandemic. Teaching has taken up quite a bit of my time, and I like the flexibility of working on personal projects rather than meeting client deadlines in my spare time.

3. How have things changed as a professor during pandemic? As a professor/design teacher, everything has shifted to remote teaching for now. We use tools such as Zoom, Notion, Slack, and Canvas as a replacement for in-classroom interaction, grading, and communication with the students. Although nothing can replace a true in-classroom experience, we try to keep it similar as possible.

4. Where are the cool kids (designers and illustrators) showcasing their work these days as far as portfolio sites to get work? Behance, Instagram, Working-Not-Working, and a few other websites. There are some Instagram accounts that focus on lettering, branding, typeface design, illustration, and other niches of the creative industry. Those are also a good place to showcase your work.

5. How was the speaking engagement in Australia since we last spoke? The engagement was fantastic! It was one of the best experiences of my life as a designer – I’ve connected with a lot of old friends that I’ve only been able to communicate with online, made some new contacts, and was able to travel Australia for almost 3 weeks after the conference. It was a trip of a lifetime – that I plan to repeat again soon!

6. What are you currently working on? Are there any future events you’ll be speaking at? Currently, just personal lettering projects, design work, and laser-cutting various creations out of wood and plastic – a new obsession.

7. How are you managing work/life balance during the pandemic? I’ve been relatively consistent in terms of disconnecting after work and keeping fit – working out at home, playing tennis, or going for distanced outdoor hikes. It has helped keep my sanity and health!

8. How do you stay creative during a time like this? I’ve actually allowed myself to be less creative and not force it. During ‘normal’ times, I’ve tried to do an ambigram or a piece of lettering almost every day. Now, during these latest times, I allow myself to not create something every day, and taking that pressure off myself has allowed me to be more productive and creative when I need to be.

9. Where can people see more of your work? My work can be found at nikitaprokhorov.com, and instagram.com/typebynikita for more experiments, weekly lettering, and illustrations.

10. Some of my guest say they would like to teach at the college level. What advice would you give them to get hired for the job? Also are there more online options for professors and teaching. I would say that most colleges in the United States require an MA or MFA from an accredited school. So, if you have the time/money to get an advanced degree, I say – why not? It will set you up for the future if you decide to teach, and if you decide not to, you will still have an advanced degree that you can put to good use as a designer, even if you never become a professor. There are also some programs that don’t require you to have an advanced degree to teach. I teach at a school like that currently (Shillington), and I’ve seen first hand that it’s not always about the name of the school you attend or teach at – all that really matters is the desire to succeed as a designer, hard work, and everything else will fall into place.

Listen at My Creative Life Podcast.