heatmaps of Philipp Girzalsky web design

Meet Philipp Girzalsky – The Design Is Not Made for a Client to Like It

Our team decided to interview the most intrigue creators on good design and test their works with the Attention Insight platform. It predicts how user’s attention distributes in design. We hope, these short talks will inspire you and give some useful insights on catchy design. Enjoy!

A designer from Düsseldorf with a focus on the digital Philipp Girzalsky believes that design is key and the designs are not made for the client to like. 

Why have you decided to step into design field? What inspires you and why?

I kind of “accidentally” got into design. I played a lot of video games (I still do) so I tried a lot of different new things that came out at the time, including YouTube and Twitch. I saw people doing cool stuff with their banners, avatars, etc. so I tried to do the same.

I started with basic Photoshop stuff, go into 3D for a time, which I’m currently revisiting, and basically experimented with every design tool I could get my hands on. I have friends who I learned different fields and techniques with, some brought me into motion graphics, others into web design.

Because of that, I get inspired by a lot of different things. A 3D art can inspire me to do web design or vice versa. Most of the times though, I get inspired by basic color schemes and shapes I see in nature or in my everyday life. I take what amazes me about these things and include them in my designs in some way.

Philipp Girzalsky web design
heatmaps of Philipp Girzalsky web design

How do you measure the success of your design?

I always try to get as much feedback as possible. So I ask my friends and colleagues and post my designs with a descriptive text on social media. As I worked at a marketing agency for a year, I also learned to use analytical tools for my web projects. So I track interactions and view heatmaps to find out what actually works.

Maybe not a measurement of the success in the same way, but sometimes the most satisfying for me is when people want to include my work in their mockups or do a design that is directly inspired by mine.

Philipp Girzalsky web design
heatmaps of Philipp Girzalsky web design

What principles do you follow when creating attention grabbing design? 

Whatever principles the work demands. But in general, always focus on your target group and their needs. What problem are you solving and who are you solving it for?

The design is not made for a client to like it, but for its users to work.

Philipp Girzalsky web design
heatmaps of Philipp Girzalsky web design

What is your biggest challenge in design creation process?

When it comes to client work, it is probably – satisfying both the client and the end-user. A client has a different mindset and goals than the users. As a designer, you have to make sure to keep the user as your target and still deliver a product that the client accepts. 

I often have to force myself to do a lot more testing in the concept phase. Doing a ton of variations may seem to counterproductive but it will help you in the end. If your concept doesn’t work, no typography, no color, and no image will save it.

 

Get inspired by Philipp’s works: dribbble.com/pgirzalsky

Follow Philipp Girzalsky on Instagram

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