Kim Kheradmandi
Artist / Graphic Designer / Illustrator / Poet / Aspiring clothing designer
Berlin, GER
www.kimkheradmandi.com
www.kimkheradmandi.design
www.puebloseshy.com
instagram @kimbogruff
Q What do you do?
“I’m an artist and poet at heart, but I also love graphic design and helping to build brands through the lens of relatability and authenticity. Since around 2015, I started translating my drawing, painting and digital art skills into design. At first, mostly making artwork for music releases and posters for events.”
The art I make has always been very personal, so I think I’ve brought that mentality to my design work. I aim to bring the vision of the client to life and make sure the visual identity truly speaks about them, but I also want to give their voice a scope that can appeal to as many people as possible. Authenticity is key for me, but I also understand that you may need to adjust slightly for whichever market you're aiming for.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I studied art and photography at A-Level (a two-year extra qualification you can choose to do after high school in the UK), I then took the Art Foundation Course at my local college (another UK thing, which I think is based on the principles of the Bauhaus “Vorkurs”), and is a mandatory step to go on to university.
I didn’t end up going to university however, I instead relocated to Amsterdam at 21 and started to work various odd jobs whilst creating art and meeting people. I began selling my paintings on Leidesplein (Leidse Square) a couple of years into my time there. I met a lot of other artists and lovely people when doing that; one of my happiest memories.
I then moved to Berlin in 2016 and continued doing the same sort of thing, working jobs here and there and meeting people.
I suppose I haven’t had a particularly “traditional” trajectory, although I imagine there are many creatives out there who took more of a didactic approach to building their skills and careers.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
As my background is in art for arts sake, I bring an authentic approach to graphic design, branding and marketing.
I feel like words/phrases such as ‘brand identity’, ‘marketing’, ‘consumer’, ‘social media marketing’ etc., can strike a negative connotation with people. My take is that, everyone needs to make a living, so if you’ve created something that’s going to benefit people, whether that’s functional, entertainment, philosophical enrichment or what have you, then the reality is, you need people to see you and your creation to make it a viable income.
My focus when working with clients is on staying true to my artistic values while tapping into broader, relatable themes that help to get the project or product seen by the people that will benefit the most.
Q What are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on expanding and promoting Drink Drink Drunk, a tabletop game I created with one of my good friends, Felix. We successfully funded and launched the game back in 2018 on Kickstarter. As the name suggests, it’s a drinking game!
I’m also working on growing my clothing brand Pueblo Seshy. I made and sold my first t-shirt designs almost 20 years ago in my hometown of Ipswich, England, and this is something I’ve been toying with on and off ever since.
Q What’s your style?
My art often blurs lines between surface aesthetics and introspective/external thought. I like to think I don't take things too seriously, but then I often find myself overthinking.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I would love to focus more on illustration, it’s probably the thing I’ve done the longest… some of my first strong creative memories are drawing cartoon characters I liked.
I focused on illustration, alongside painting, probably up until my mid-twenties; I’m still very much into painting, but my illustration kinda fell off. I feel like I associate it with my younger more carefree days, which makes it quite a comforting thing to do.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
Learning German! I think it would open so many more opportunities in the city that I’m happy to call home, but I’ve not got a natural gift for learning languages it seems, so I’ll need to put in a lot of hours to achieve it. But as a freelancer, I need to be on all fronts: marketing, networking, admin etc. (as well as the work, of course), so taking time to study German kinda slips down the list.
On top of that, I would love to learn my Dad’s mother tongue Farsi, and my wife’s mother tongue French, so there are other things I want to do on the language learning front…
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Probably someone to take care of my marketing and networking… I’m somewhat of an introvert.
Although I feel like I don’t have much trouble connecting with people in a social setting, when it comes to business chat, I tend to clam up a bit.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
My Dad's a tailor and he has a small shop in my hometown; I would probably go back and tell myself to go hangout out at the shop more and learn his craft, I really regret not taking the opportunity to learn from him and I don't get back home that often these days :(
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I would like to talk to a gallerist, I’ve found the fine art world a particularly hard nut to crack. I would like to know what makes them gravitate towards to displaying an artists work and how they best like to be approached.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I’m happy to work with large brands, small businesses or independent creatives, but the main thing for me is: are you creating something that you value and that you think others will value? Then, I’m well up for anything pretty much!
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
As previously mentioned, someone who really believes they’re bringing value with their product, art, message etc., but also someone who’s just up to chat about the project goals and their thoughts on a personal level. I wanna feel like I’m creating with someone I could also happily grab a drink with :)
Q: What is your rate?
I typically charge by the hour, 70 euros per hour (I’m not sure why I wrote that in the patter of James Bond), but my pricing depends on the project!
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Just drop me an email at contact@kimkheradmandi.com - including a rough budget is helpful, but mainly, just tell me about yourself and your vision. Having said that, it’s always much easier to discuss these things over a call or something, so it doesn’t have to be an exhaustive breakdown in the initial email.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
There’s so much talent out there, but if I had to give a shoutout to a few, @waxheadart - @ozgmx - @klub2020 - @mars_black - @mikeokay and @neasdencontrolcentrestudio - I just really like their work! (Special shoutout to @waxheadart cos I met him when selling my art on Leidesplein)
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
If it's dipping, music is always a good bet to get me back up.
This member profile was originally published in October 2024.