Arman Khorramak

Since childhood, I used to see things and create stories behind them in my mind. Even while communicating with people, I preferred to draw instead of talk. The verbal language was not enough to express my inner world as I used to in my imagination. I don't know whether it was because I was an only child with few friends or whether it was related to my introverted personality. After graduating high school, I was highly attached to computer things. Something unique was happening in the computer world in contemporary times. I assumed there was a strong connection between art and computers; therefore, I decided to start my career in Graphic design. After working years in graphic design and building knowledge about it, my attention turned to the basis of design more than graphic apps. During those years, I've experienced how difficult it is to find common ground between the vision of my clients and the vision I had. Despite occasionally having different opinions, I still had to consider the will of my clients. I wanted to create something unique, something with my signature. Therefore, I thought about other options gradually. My choice was something that I used to do in my childhood and learned in the art institute – drawing. However, this new path of will did not discourage me from graphic design, and I wanted to do something great in my thesis. After studying different dissertations, I found semiotics is an interesting scientific way of analyzing texts, especially artistic ones. So, I applied semiotics to analyze and interpret the book cover designs of Cheshmeh Publications, one of the most famous publishers in Iran. After defending my thesis, I used my thesis' solutions to the book covers of a publisher I had been working with (Beheshti university press).

Our cooperation lasted for ten years. Years after, it was challenging. I had to do something aside from the graphic design field. So, I have tried different things, such as designing typefaces, recording audio books under observation by "Media School" in Tehran, and then attending a short story writing class by Abbas Maroufi via the internet. In that class, I learned how to narrate a story to capture my audience's attention. One day one of my clients suggested illustrating her poems for a book. It was an excellent opportunity for me to create work routinely and a chance to express myself. I was not required to draw something similar to the poems; consequently, I could work on my interpretations based on my personality and background.