Ukrainian graphic designer Olha Gud: When I started working as a graphic designer, I realized that this was my true calling

Olga Gud is a Ukrainian graphic designer who, despite having a background in psychology, realized that her true calling was in creativity. Among her major projects are the visualization of interiors and the development of exhibits for the Museum of Science in Vinnytsia, as well as illustrating a book using Artificial Intelligence. Olga shared with Drive Music Media her experiences as a graphic designer, the knowledge she gained in advertising that proved useful, and why she believes AI cannot replace human creativity.

Interviewer: Tell us how and when your career as a graphic designer started? Why did you choose this field?

Olha: That’s actually a very interesting question because, by education, I’m a psychologist. After finishing university, I worked as a psychologist for a while but realized I didn’t see my future career in that field. I wanted to change something. At that time, I tried getting a job at an advertising agency, specifically as an advertising sales manager. For some reason, I imagined this job as very creative and artistic, which is exactly what I was craving, but in reality, it turned out to be mostly about selling advertising. The part I enjoyed most was spending time in the graphic design department, watching the designers work. I even participated in some discussions about design concepts. I loved seeing how the creatives worked. After that, I had various job experiences, but every now and then, I found myself thinking about doing something creative, about making something interesting. The knowledge I gained during my extensive experience in advertising became very useful later on, even though there was quite a gap between my time as an ad manager and when I became a graphic designer. When I started working as a graphic designer eight years ago, I realized that this was my true calling. I began as a designer for amusement park attractions in Vinnytsia. Together with a few designers, we worked on designing the attractions for a local park. That was the first step that pushed me towards working in graphic design. Later, I was invited to work at the Museum of Science, where I worked on creating its visual identity – designing the logo, visualizing the interiors, creating advertisements, designing exhibits, and more.

Interviewer: You illustrated a book using Artificial Intelligence. While not everyone supports working with AI, it's still interesting to understand how the cover design process works.

Olha: I illustrate books using various techniques, but for this particular book, the client chose AI. She liked the style and wanted the entire book illustrated this way. Many people believe that AI can replace human work, but for designing this book, it is impossible to do it alone without a designer's input. It's important to note that AI is developing rapidly. Since I started working on this book, the quality of illustrations has greatly improved. At that stage, there was a lot to manage. First, there was image regeneration based on requests. AI doesn’t always generate what you envision, and sometimes there are serious errors that require a lot of time to correct to achieve the desired result. Back then, mistakes were more frequent, and I spent considerable time correcting all the images. AI struggles with details, and depicting things like fingers can be particularly challenging. We paid a lot of attention to the typography.

The book contains true stories of women who have faced abuse in their lives. While AI can now create interesting images, using these images alone is not enough for book illustration. Professional knowledge from a graphic designer is still necessary. Humans guide AI, deciding what to emphasize in the images. AI is a tool – it cannot independently create a complete book design. Humans infuse images with meaning, and AI helps to create them faster than drawing everything manually.

Interviewer: Did you participate in the Mariupol: 86 Days of Defense exhibition? Tell us about this project. What works did you use for the exhibition?

Olha: The exhibition Mariupol: 86 Days of Defense was a very important project for me personally. The works I created were specifically made for this project. They were not prepared beforehand to be used in the exhibition. This was an international-level exhibition. Designers and artists from various countries around the world decided to highlight the issues surrounding the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine and how Ukrainians defended themselves for 86 days. When I learned that such an exhibition would take place, I wanted to seize the opportunity and use my voice to speak about what is happening in Ukraine, about how the Russian army is seizing and destroying our cities. I created two posters on this topic. The exhibition organizers wanted Ukraine to be represented not as a victim and not to focus on suffering through our works, but to show how heroic and strong Ukrainians are. One of my posters was minimalist, while the other used the image of a shield, featuring a black-and-white photograph of Azovstal. This was a metaphor – Azovstal became the shield that protected Ukraine until the very last moment. Thanks to the soldiers who were at Azovstal, Ukraine was able to buy time and prevent the Russian army from advancing further.

Interviewer: What is the hardest and what is the easiest thing for you in graphic design? What challenges do you set for yourself?

Olha: That's an interesting question. It's hard to say what's the most difficult. The hardest part is communication with clients, for sure. Especially when the task is not clearly defined, and I have to guess what the client wants. When the work ends up not meeting the client’s expectations because they don’t really know what they want. The hardest part is understanding what the client expects to see. This mostly applies to new clients I haven’t worked with yet. Familiar clients allow me to fully express my creativity, and that’s why they value me – for my ability to think outside the box. I wouldn’t say that I set challenges for myself. Rather, I set specific tasks or goals. After the full-scale invasion, it's important for me to be useful to people. I really want to help. First and foremost, I help businesses cope with the crisis we’re facing. Design is very sensitive to various social issues in society. Of course, there are fewer orders now. However, an important moment for me was a few months after the full-scale invasion when a woman who had her own language studio, which had been operating for more than six years, reached out to me. Her request was important to me because she said that even though we are living through a major crisis, she wanted to change something in her business to breathe new life into her project.

Interviewer: How difficult is it to continue working during the war with constant power outages and danger? What system have you developed for yourself? How long does it take to complete an order now, and how difficult is it to meet deadlines?

Olha: Working during the war is indeed difficult. And it's not just about physical limitations like power outages and air raid alerts. There are also certain psychological factors. I’m quite a sensitive person, and I take in all the news and tragic events personally. It creates a huge imbalance for me, and I feel a loss of energy. There are even moments when I physically can't work – when I need to generate ideas, my creativity is completely blocked. Even meeting deadlines isn't as critical of an issue, as it can always be discussed.

Interviewer: What projects are you working on right now?

Olha: All of them are very interesting. One of them is the development of a logo for a new Ukrainian brand of therapeutic toys. This is not just a toy, but one designed for the prevention of certain emotional states and the development of specific skills. It's truly a powerful project. The second project is a bit spicier. I am creating the design for a deck of metaphorical cards for a sexologist-psychologist. This deck contains very explicit cards to address various sexual problems and client issues. We are also including cards related to the experience of war and dealing with trauma, and this will be an invaluable resource – something that doesn’t yet exist.

Interviewer: If you had the opportunity right now to implement your most desired idea in graphic design, what would it be? Why?

Olha: I’m not sure how to answer because I have so many ideas in general, and if I have the strength and energy, they will definitely come to life. I would love to do more collaborations with brands, to create different illustrations for them. I would also love to create socially important projects. I work a lot with Ukrainian psychologists and psychotherapists, and I understand that this field is extremely promising in Ukraine right now.

Pictures were taken by Alina Dyka