Sakina Muhamedjanova, Art Critic

The advertising business is a relatively young and one of the most interesting fields in our country, although some works are worthy of attention and are highly appreciated by consumers, while others leave much to be desired. One way or another, the graphic design in general and advertising in particular are actively developing.
Young professionals with wide artistic horizons, owning professional skills in modern graphics programs work in the advertising agencies, offering a range of services in branding and advertising. They are in charge of the creative product design and advertising design. Designers create advertisements, labels, logos, outdoor advertising, etc. In other words, they determine how the promotional products will look like, which have their own characteristics that should be considered by the contractor. Only non-standard approach, unusual artistic solution can attract the attention of demanding consumers.
Currently, a lot of talented professionals are trained in the advertising business of our country, whose works have got high appraisal not only in Uzbekistan, but also beyond its borders. One of them is the Art Director of the Design Department of the advertising agency “Siymo” – Ivan Shtabovenko, who over the years of working as designer has already implemented many projects both in Uzbekistan and in Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland and other countries. His works is the meaningful and intuitive interface of interaction, and his objective is to solve user requests, for which “design” is an experienced guide. I. Shtabovenko has designed logos for the companies like “Analiz-24”, “PIZZA CORNELI”, “Apex Group”, “IN THE CLOUD”, “SWEEPER” (Pic.1), as well as the brand style for the first e-commerce shop in Uzbekistan «home24.uz”, “Alutex” company, joint stock holding company “O`zagrosanoatmashxolding”, media publishing company “Red Rocket Media” (Pic.2), “Bortsh Bar” (Saint Petersburg) (Pic.3), “Raduga Vkusa” (Pic.4) etc.
Developing a logo or a design concept, a professional designer should have information not only about the specifics of this product, but also about its advantages over other. Moreover, he needs to convey the message of the advertised products or events by using visual tools, not straining the visual perception by the viewers. Ivan Shtabovenko possesses such professional qualities in full measure. He is actively working on creating the design concepts of public events taking place in Uzbekistan. This is, for example, a development of the brand style, outdoor advertising and corporate media for the “TASHKENT-2015/ FENCING CADET AND JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS”. The designer’s task was to unite the upcoming championship with its venue – the capital of Uzbekistan – Tashkent. The label must be original and recognizable. As the basis of the logo designer used the sword pushed upwards, by pairing it with one of the most recognizable landmarks of the city – the Tashkent TV tower (Pic.5).
One of the author’s works by I. Shtabovenko for foreign companies is the corporate identity and logo for the “Bortsh Bar” cafe in St. Petersburg, where the logo contains lettering and graphic symbol that is visually interesting and attracts the attention of potential customer (Pic.3). Creation of logos and corporate identity is a specific task, from the successful completion of which depends largely the further promotion of the brand on the market. According to Shtabovenko, “Designers are working on the project under pressure, completing it in a timely manner. This is a difference of our activities from the activities of the artists and writers, who, as a rule, are not time-bound by specific order”.
Another area of application of talent of this designer is outdoor advertising (signs, pavement signs, billboards, etc.), for which you should be able to do something not only unique, but also to consider how it will look on the street, would not be discordant with the existing objects of the urban environment, etc. In this respect, the design projects by I. Shtabovenko for outdoor advertising in Uzbekistan are distinguished by their brightness, brevity and originality. In the development of outdoor advertising for local consumers, the designer believes that he must take into account the specific features associated with their mentality. Besides, there is a number of important technical rules for the design of outdoor advertising: the choice of colors, slogan, brightness, contrast, etc. In outdoor advertisement for such companies as “ASIA ALLIANCE BANK”, “PROMZONA”, “SALUS VITA”, I. Shtabovenko professionally addressed the tasks set upon him by the customers: advertising is recognizable, readable, and memorable and attracts the attention (Pic.6).
Shtabovenko successfully works also on the creation of design on social issues. Example: design of social anti-smoking advertising. This initiative was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Pic.7). In the composite solution main meaning of advertising is a cigarette depicted in the form of a loop. The main message is the phrase “DON’T WAIT TOO LONG”, which stands out against the rest of the text. The contrast between the texts provides the dynamics between the elements: the first one reads “DON’T WAIT TOO LONG”, and then the whole phrase – “You can quit smoking right now”. All of the designer’s works strictly adhere to logical sequence, allowing the product to stand out in the flow of information and to remain in memory for a long time. Ivan Shtabovenko is a vivid example of successful designer working in the advertising industry of Uzbekistan; he is one of the leading experts actively creating the national branding of Uzbekistan, to the development of which the State pays great attention.