Artist Focus: Mohammad Ardalani
Graphic Designer – IRAN
Mohammad Ardalani is graphic teacher and designer who has begun his art journey with calligraphy and gilding. He became interested in technical fields and computer and that’s where he became familiar with graphic applications and used them for web designing.
Poster designing is Mohammad’s major activity in the world of art. Creating more than 200 posters made him a well-known poster designer, while his activities in decoration designing, set designing, art directing and any other thing which needs a designing taste are among his activities. Mohammad Ardalani is busy with fashion designing these days. Membership in Graphic Association, nominated in 6th Asma Al-Hosna Typography Festival, Festivals Arbitrations are among his glorious activities.
Tell us about yourself and your passion for art, especially graphics …
As a child, I was familiar with traditional arts such as calligraphy and gilding; I used to draw something in my school books and create a mass out of whatever I could find. I also was a technical student with a passion for technology; therefore I studied computer hardware at Sharif University of Technology and started working. Meanwhile I took advantage of visual effects while programming and it made me learn how to work with graphic applications in order to beautify my programs and webpages. This use of unique graphics was effective in the acceptability of my projects.
ertime I began to design posters for my commercial projects. Soon after I was designing commercial posters for the institutions I was working with and other businesses. That was the time I started reading about visual arts and the doors of graphic opened up to me. As I got to know the charm of graphics, I knew how much I am close to my passion. I had a nonstop effort to study everything I could find concerning visual arts while I was practicing so hard to elevate my mental and handwork techniques.
Poster designing can be considered as your major activity. Tell us about creativity, idea development and finding pure ideas …
I consider graphics as a whole; from designing a logo or a book cover to costume and stage design. I don’t believe in boundaries in graphic but it seems like posters are graphic designers’ showcase because it will be seen more. Publishing over 200 posters made everyone, including you, think of poster designing as my main filed which is not for from reality.
Every graphic order is a question that must be answered. There surely are so many ways for finding correct visual answers that would not necessarily end up in success, but pondering in the order’s subject, surveying its overall theme and studying it, writing the conclusions, focusing on other artworks of the same subject to avoid similarity of concept or technique, focusing on the ideas and writing down before coming to the final idea are only some steps of what I do.
Next stage in concentrating on the sketch and draw it simple while I am thinking about the whole work and every single detail of it. I don’t want to let the visual attractions change my way in the middle of creating a piece. The implementation of an artwork is the very last stage.
Tell us about the difficulties of poster designing…
We shall face no difficulties in posters designing if we could specify enough time and attention to know every aspect of our project before starting it. One must devote his time to study his project, understand the client’s needs, know the audiences’ taste and sign an exact contract with a wisely timing and an accurate financial program.
What concept a poster must convey?
The true concept of the order! A graphic designer must not try to change the world while he is working on an order. He has to find the best way of conveying client’s order to the audience; therefore he must include needed creativity and deep implications in his design without damaging the main concept. These details must be hidden in the heart of the poster. Of course this designer may express himself as a social artist and express his innermost attitudes while he is not preparing an order. A designer must keep in mind not to mix his mentalities up with his clients’ orders because it will distance us from order’s goals. 
What is the difference between a commercial poster and an artistic one?
These two types of posters are different in subject, clients and audience. These differences may occur between different orders of the same genera, but in these cases they are absolutely vice versa. The process of surveying the order, client and audience, idea development and implementation is the mutual part of designing a poster. But every single order has its own specific restrictions, audience, client and hints that can be found and understood in the surveying step.
Apart from teaching and arbitration, you held numerous poster designing workshops. Tell us about these workshops…
While taking a closer look at my students’ artworks as a referee I realized mutual flaws. For example good works in terms of implementation lacked idea or brilliant ideas ruined by a bad implementation. There were some works with appropriate implementation that were distanced from the main idea. The majority of these flaws were improvable while working in a group and in the presence of client’s agent; therefore I have decided to help my students and clients and fill this gap.
What is the most special poster of yours?
Despite the variety of my posters, I do love them all the same and it has always been difficult for me to choose one among them. But as you asked your question, a poster I have designed for Moharram came into my mind. This artwork was really special, but this does not mean that it is the best poster I have designed or it has any priority to other posters of mine. Designing and implementing this poster was a memory for me that I can never forget.
Apart from graphic designing, are you engaged with other branches of art?
Music, painting and volumes have always been of my interest. I was been practicing theater for a while but I am bounded to designing and art directing apart from occasional painting, teaching and writing. I shall add that in addition to designing logos, official papers, corporate identity, book covers, posters and billboards I will whatever that can fit within the borders of designing including scene and environmental graphic designing, interior designing and so on. I must say that fashion designing, especially designing T-shirts is a great part of my work.
And your last world for young artists and art lovers…
One shall rely on his knowledge, efforts and perseveres to reach success. Graphic designing obeys the same rule.
More About Mohammad Ardalani at: Linkedin