When Hellen Kiprizloglou started in graphic design, the world was a different place. A niche industry, design was a necessity for every business but corporate branding and the experience of visual design for a business were ideas that didn’t flourished until the boom of technology and the onset of corporate marketing.
The year was 1996, and Hellen was a fresh-eyed designer ready to make her mark on the world. Hellen’s creative flair was obvious from a young age. She always did well at art in school and was always looking for ways to express herself and talk through her artwork. Clever mentoring saw that she was encouraged to apply for a university course in Visual Communications.
In the early 90s, budding designers had to jump through hoops to be accepted in the course that would see a select 40 students graduate each year. It was while she was studying that Hellen started to understand “what kind of designer [she wanted] to be”. “The course gives you the fundamental design principles and allows you to develop your personal style,” Hellen tells Neos Kosmos. Her curious nature got the better of her and she became intrigued by corporate design and branding. But what is it all about? “It’s about creating a visual identity for an organisation and using their logo in a tangible method,” she says.
A new client is asked to fill in a design brief for Hellen. There she finds out the core ingredients that make up this business which enables her to create a stand-alone definitive design. “A design brief is the most important part of the branding process because that’s where you ask questions of the clients that they may not have thought of themselves. You can ask them their values; the philosophy of the business; who they are in terms of their services and products; what are their expectations of the design; and how they differentiate themselves in the market. This way I get a really good idea of what these businesses are about and what they want their design to do.”
As the proprietor / creative director and project designer of Prana Design and Art Studio’s, Hellen takes full control of every aspect of every project she is working on. A boutique high-end design studio, she gives full attention to detail for every client.
“People come to Prana Design Studios because they want me to be very heavily involved, and me to do the work. I am quite hands on and when I have a vision after I have spoken to someone I really need to do it as that’s the best way for me to get the message across much faster. That’s what I find my clients want, they know that Hellen is going to be doing the work,” she explains.
Her clients range from Sweet Pie Patisserie, Aquadome, Hilton Hotel, Citrus, Chasecrown Living and Sooki – a variety of clients for a designer who doesn’t like to limit herself to one market or industry. But it’s her recent work with the Women’s and Children’s Hospital that has been the most fulfilling for her so far. “Working on this has definitely been a highlight,” she says gushing with pride.
She confesses that the work has at times been “painstakingly hard” but the fulfilment she gets when she knows that her work is going to somehow make the day of an unwell child makes it all seem trivial.
“Knowing that you could potentially put a smile on one of these kids’ faces – even if it’s just for a minute – is so rewarding. Not only is it fun and creative, it borders more on the art side of things. For this project, Hellen uses Super Graphics, which is an illustrative style of design that’s almost like a wallpaper. She creates these wall-to-wall artworks to almost distract the children and excite them so they lose themselves in the scene Hellen’s artwork creates.
Based in Adelaide, most of her clients do come from the Festival State but Hellen has worked on a national and international level having worked on the signage for terminal three at the Singapore airport and international Conrad Hilton. But for now, Hellen is content with her work and has chosen to hone in and focus on her client base as it stands to give personalised services with a high level of professionalism and true vision, ensuring each project has the same level of enthusiasm, imagination, commitment and intuition.
After all, Prana in Sanskrit means energy force, life and breath. And Hellen is the energy force, life and breath behind every design.