7 Questions with Martin Simeonov, Lead Designer of 15toGO
Martin works on the UX & Web design, Graphic Design, Motion Graphics, Animations, and the branding of 15toGO. He has been involved in the creation of the first Bulgarian 3D movie. He has been working for Symbol Media Group and the video production Company ScreenMixer since their inception.
Check his LinkedIn profile
- What is your background and why did you join 15toGO?
Peter (the CEO) said he needed a designer for 15toGO and I decided to jump right in! We’ve been working together for over 6 years now and we’ve found a real synergy when it comes to the whole workflow. I’ve been gaining a great amount of experience through the project founders’ other companies — Symbol, Dotslave and ScreenMixer. We’ve always been keen on providing our clients with world-class products and services, so growing up was only natural to us.
I have been designing since 8th grade since I have been studying in a specialized school and I have been doing it professionally for about 14 years, I’ve also been involved in the first Bulgarian 3D movie creation. Throughout this whole period, I’ve gone through almost all the possible positions and processes in the field, which now helps me not to waste any time wondering “how should I do that”. I have learned a great deal about illustrations, branding and color theory in the meantime.
2. What is your role in the 15toGO team?
I’m the project’s lead designer — to summarize, everything that’s visual goes through me and we also discuss it within the team before it is finally approved. I’m a graphic designer, an art director, I am basically entirely involved in the project’s final outlook. Because I cover all the design positions, I sometimes say that I’m the equivalent of a full stack developer.
Our design team is composed of me and two other guys, who are amazing professionals — we have an established vision that we are aiming to stick to. I should add that I am working not only on the app but also on the 15toGO website, the representative documents (pitch decks, for instance), the animations…
3. What gets you most excited about the project?
All the skills that I have obtained, I can now use in one project — and at the same time, everything is on the next level. Implementing designs on iOS and Android is a lot more different than creating a desktop product, so working on all the three platforms is truly exhilarating to me.
And of course, the chance to disrupt the travel industry, to overturn the status quo.
4. Where do you see the project in the next few years?
Strictly following the roadmap (Laughing). So far we’ve been able to deliver everything on time, there is no reason not to believe that we’ll be able to reach the milestones ahead of us. So, in a few years, we should have turned into a global travelers social platform.
From my professional perspective, we will be striving to set the standards in the travel industry in terms of the way products, services, destinations and experiences get promoted. We know that customers’ preferences tend to change constantly — and we plan to evolve constantly as well! Soon we will reveal our trips and marketplace section within the platform and the readers will see what exactly I mean by that.
5. Which do you think are the main challenges that the project and the team will face?
Breaking the model, that currently exists. Getting in touch with Local Tour Operators directly is a bit of a different UX that users will have to get acquainted with.
Other than that — the deadlines. We have no time to waste, we need to move fast constantly because the clock is ticking. There is a whole chain in the workflow — the collaboration with the other team members needs to be top-notch because in case it isn’t, we get delayed. It’s a good thing that we have already established our process of labor and such occurrences are getting less and less common.
6. How would you describe the atmosphere around 15toGO?
Fun (Laughing). We realize what sort of an immense objective we have set ahead of us, yet we still find ways to entertain ourselves while working hard.
7. Tell us one interesting thing about yourself?
Even though I am a part of a team, developing an application, I, myself, am trying not use any smartphones in my free time currently. I feel like it helps me be more creative at work when I am not occupied with social media. So far, it has actually had quite a positive effect and I recommend it to all my fellow UI designers out there.
