Vitali Zahharov is a Los Angeles based designer who reveals the secret of his own success.
Many people live according to predetermined schemes, move along beaten paths, and enter a matrix, just to not disturb their comfort zone. But there are others who choose different paths, new experiences, and life journeys. Vitali Zahharov is one of these people – a few years ago, his life changed dramatically, literally in a few days, and turned into a real adventure.
“My journey into the world of design began in 2011. The laptop was always by my side, no matter if I was on vacation with my family or on an outing in nature. My friends often laughed at me that even when I was resting, I was working. But for me, it was a new world that I wanted to explore in-depth.” – Vitali said.
It starts from scratch, from ground zero. He doesn’t even know how to use Photoshop professionally, but with each new day, he learns more and more. He watches online tutorials, observes the work of leading designers and thinks: ‘One day I will do the same! Maybe even better!’
“Many people believe that mastering even just one design program makes them a designer. But this is not so – says Vitali. – It’s like not knowing how to drive and wanting to become a perfect driver with one tour of the city by car. It takes experience and hard work. As well as tenacity: to keep going and not give up.”
Vitali’s profession takes him and his family to Singapore. Today, he remembers this moment with a smile and warmth: “It was a turning point for me that affected my whole life. I started working with people from various fields and communicating with people from all over the world. It gave me a lot of experience. Today, I am already sure – only by working with people from different cultures and background on the project, makes you understand how unique every project is. Everyone is trying add something that he brought with them. And that’s so nice, because it expands the boundaries of your perception.”
Vitali’s working day begins early, when there is still no one in the office. These days he drinks coffee and enjoys the peace and quiet. Then he gets down to his daily tasks: emails from clients, meeting with clients and team members, preparing and organizing tasks for fellow designers and so on.
The other tip Vitali gives is to create your own concepts that can easily be posted on different social networks such as Dribbble, Behance, or Pinterest—world should know about you! The real feedback from the other users, especially from the community will help you understand what your strengths are and whaat your weaknesses are.
Today Vitali is working as Art Director at MØDDEN, it’s a design studio based in sunny Los Angeles, CA. He works with major clients such as Samsung, Toshiba, UAPackaging, CPK, Thrive Market, Oracle and many others. Vitali puts his soul into every project, without allowing the work to become a routine. He creates useful and beautiful solutions that expand the possibilities of the client. During the development of his career, Vitali is also tryting to help small start-up.
“One day I was highly valued by Silicon Valley’s billionaire!” – remembers Vitali. “That kind of feeling was absolutely fantastic! Keeps you motivated to continue doing great things! You just need to remember a few things like:”
1. Never give up!
2. Work and study!
3. Do not blindly agree with the opinions of others. (Even if someone has told you no, do what it takes to make it your yes, that’s truly works!)
In the end, the advice from Vitali: “Always go to the goal, even if it will be a long way. Plan your tasks for the day, week and month. Write down in your journal what you did today. If something doesn’t work out today, it doesn’t mean you can skip the step towards the goal and move on to the next task.”
The Paste editorial staff was not involved in the creation of this content.