The Power of Minimalism
Designer & Creative Director
by Elizabeth Lavis
|15 Aug 2023
Tamer El-Menyawi’s designs are sophisticated and simple, employing minimalism and deliberate color and pattern to make a unique impression. Consistency and contrast are two of the most crucial design elements for El-Manyawi, but he’s also been heavily influenced by the idea of minimalism. “I don’t have any particular mentors, guides, or biggest influences in the design world,” he says. “The concept of minimalism is the most influential thing for my artistic personality.”
He also believes in staying upbeat and using setbacks to advance yourself. “Be positive and optimistic, learn from your mistakes, and stay away from frustration and despair,” El-Menyawi says. El-Manyawi has been a freelance graphic designer and creative director since 2015, but his unofficial title is “detail-oriented creative dreamer.” Although his artistic visions continue to revolutionalize the design world, El-Menyawi started his life with a different dream.
“During my childhood, I never imagined being a graphic designer,” he says. “I was a very talented football player, but I didn’t pursue this field due to special family circumstances.” Instead, he was bitten by the design bug in 1997, thanks to a friend who already worked in the field. “I found myself providing him with different and innovative ideas, and at that time, I started thinking about learning graphic design.”
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El-Menyawi began learning the design basics and principles. Although he learned a lot from design books, he strove to hone his creative voice. “Never intimidate anyone,” he says. “Be yourself.” El-Menyawi is Egyptian and split his childhood between Saudi Arabia and Cairo. “My father was working as an English interpreter,” he says. “He had a passion for old English literature and poetry and passed part of that passion onto me. It was one of the ways I got acquainted with Western culture and Western arts.”
His voice is refreshingly unique, and he believes that honesty is the root of all great design. “I believe that honesty leads to accuracy, and accuracy helps creativity reach its highest level,” he says. There’s also a fair amount of research woven into El-Menyawi’s design process. “My first step is to study the brand, competitors, and similar global brands, then start some initial designs based on the brand name and the client’s perceptions about the look they except,” he says. “Then, based on the discussion with the client about these initial designs, I start completing the design until we reach the final form.”
El-Menyawi takes criticism in stride, believing it to be an essential conduit for perfecting the final product. “I generally accept criticism, even if it’s harsh because I believe that reviewing designs based on criticism and evaluating this criticism is very important.” Also, El-Menyawi is receptive to criticism; he does not subscribe to the maxim that the client is always right. “If a client asks for something that is not artistically correct or that I see as inappropriate in terms of art, branding, or marketing, I try to calmly convince them to reconsider and use the available evidence to show that the direction is not the best.”
In tandem with his daily work, El-Menyawi strives to develop more artistically and academically and is open to multiple iterations of both. “My development may manifest in holding a master’s degree in graphic design or advertising and receiving more respectable and valuable awards such as Indigo Design Award,” he says.
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