Sarmad Ahsan

motion designer who has worked at PakistanNow

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Sarmad Ahsan is a motion designer and Production lead at One Eight Nine Media. Ahsan has freelanced since his first semester. He said his first ever job came in an election year.

Early life and background

Ahsan's father was a government servant who took the CSS examination, and he is a CSP officer. Ahsan has said his family is from Larkana, though he has lived most of his life in Karachi and considers himself a Karachiite. His family moved often, including within Karachi. [1]

Education

Ahsan studied at Beaconhouse and attended Cadet College Petaro. He said he hated Cadet College Petaro and that it was not meant for him. He completed his intermediate at a degree college for men. [1]

He scored well in his CAT exams, and during them his interest began to move toward other fields. He decided accountancy was not his thing and wanted to move into design. He wanted to study at the Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture, and he attended the Pakistan Air Force Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology. He chose his institute because its bachelor's program was a Bachelor of Computer Arts. He dropped some courses, even though he says he could have passed them, and he graduated late, in 2015 or 2016 by his own recollection. [1]

Interest in design

Ahsan used to watch the cartoon Avatar: The Legend of Aang, which he still watches. He was inspired by a well-known anime music video producer of that time and decided to make original music videos from scratch rather than anime music videos. He decided to learn Photoshop first, because at that time there were more Photoshop tutorials than Flash ones. When he started, he did not have GFXMentor as a resource. [1]

Career

Ahsan has freelanced since his first semester. He said his first ever job came in an election year. After his first semester, his dean offered him an internship. [1]

After graduating he was disheartened by the design industry in Pakistan. He felt the industry had too little scope, and a couple of his clients did not value good design. [1]

CSS examination

CSS was put to him as an option to try. He moved to Lahore in 2016 to study for the CSS examination. He said he was very much an idealist before CSS and became more of a realist after it. [1]

Motion design

Ahsan restarted his freelance work, made a corporate film and worked for a couple of people in Karachi. He decided to stop pursuing graphic design and focus on motion design. His main focus in motion design was advertisements and corporate videos. [1]

He defines motion design as the point where graphic design meets animation. He says motion design can connect widely because it represents an idea rather than one person. He describes himself as an aspiring motion designer who is not there yet. [1]

PakistanNow

Ahsan describes PakistanNow as a digital-first journalism company. At PakistanNow he pushed for a more organized workflow, which he says has worked. He says team members become more productive once they see the benefits of the system. [1]

Views

Ahsan believes Pakistanis are just as skilled, given the chance and a conducive environment to do a project well. He distinguishes between a core idea and its execution, and says an idea needs good execution and execution needs a good idea. He advises focusing on insights, which he describes as going into the market and finding out what is happening in it. He says a plugin cannot replace basics such as color, composition, speed and timing. [1]

He says colleagues think he is very organized, which he denies. He realized his own lack of organization, rather than clients, caused his problems. He says that probably the biggest challenge is finding the talent, and that technical skill is easily taught and he does not weigh it heavily. He said one of the challenges, looking at the production team, is that it is very difficult to manage people. [1]

Ahsan says businesspeople are risk-averse by nature. He says that if you can create the proof of concept, the businessman does come around eventually. He says the government now recognizes and tries to facilitate the freelance industry. He used to avoid Pakistani content but now finds good content there. [1]

He says there is a difference in education levels between Sindh and Punjab. He says the need of the hour is to teach all these people the fundamentals, and that a lot of these courses are in English and people do not know English. He has been thinking of starting his own YouTube channel about design. He says he has become more realistic over the years, and that he is optimistic about Pakistan because of the spread of technology. [1]

Personal life

Ahsan describes himself as an introvert who likes the peace and quiet of Islamabad. His previous workplace had the infrastructure to work remotely. He says he was completely alone during the COVID period, when everybody was isolating. [1]

He says he was without power and water for nine days. He lost two prospective clients during that time because he could not reply to their quote requests. [1]

Timeline

2015 or 2016
Graduated, by his own recollection.[1]
2016
Moved to Lahore to study for the CSS examination.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-01-31 Why Pakistani designers chase technique and skip the idea Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

What does Sarmad Ahsan do?

Sarmad Ahsan works in motion design, which he defines as the point where graphic design meets animation. His main focus in motion design was advertisements and corporate videos. He has also freelanced since his first semester.[1]

Where did Sarmad Ahsan study?

Sarmad Ahsan studied at Beaconhouse and attended Cadet College Petaro. He also attended the Pakistan Air Force Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology. He chose his institute because its bachelor's program was a Bachelor of Computer Arts.[1]

Where is Sarmad Ahsan from?

Sarmad Ahsan has said his family is from Larkana. He has lived most of his life in Karachi and considers himself a Karachiite.[1]

Which company has Sarmad Ahsan worked for?

Sarmad Ahsan has worked at PakistanNow, which he describes as a digital-first journalism company. At PakistanNow he pushed for a more organized workflow, which he says has worked.[1]

What does Sarmad Ahsan think about motion design?

Sarmad Ahsan says motion design can connect widely because it represents an idea rather than one person. He defines it as the point where graphic design meets animation.[1]

When did Sarmad Ahsan graduate?

Sarmad Ahsan said he graduated a little late, in 2015 or 2016 by his own recollection.[1]

Why did Sarmad Ahsan move to Lahore?

Sarmad Ahsan moved to Lahore in 2016 to study for the CSS examination.[1]

References

  1. Why Pakistani designers chase technique and skip the idea . Thought Behind Things , 2022-01-31.
Show the source passages (65 statements)
  1. His father was a government servant who took the CSS examination. So, my father uh was a government servant. He did his CSS.
  2. His family moved often, including within Karachi. So, we have moved around a lot. Right. So, within Karachi we have moved a lot.
  3. His father is a CSP officer. because my father is himself a CSP officer
  4. His family is from Larkana. Yes, uh we are from Larkana.
  5. He has lived most of his life in Karachi and considers himself a Karachiite. I have lived most of my life in Karachi. So, I consider myself a Karachiite.
  6. He studied at Beaconhouse. I studied in Beaconhouse. I was a Beaconite.
  7. He attended Cadet College Petaro. I went to Cadet College Petaro.
  8. He said he hated Cadet College Petaro and that it was not meant for him. I hated Petaro. It was not meant for me.
  9. He completed his intermediate at a degree college for men. Wahan pe tha DADC uh Defense Authority Degree College for Men. Right. Did my um intermediate.
  10. He scored well in his CAT exams. I was actually really good. Yeah, so I scored really good uh marks in all of my CAT exams.
  11. During his CAT exams his interest began to move toward other fields. But during that CAT exams phir mera jo hai na interest thoda kisi aur taraf jana shuru ho gaya tha.
  12. He used to watch the cartoon Avatar: The Legend of Aang, which he still watches. Uh, I used to watch uh this cartoon called uh uh Avatar: The Legend of Aang. Theek hai, it's a really good uh cartoon. I still watch it.
  13. He was inspired by a well-known anime music video producer of that time. ek bahut hi famous anime music video producer thi at that time. Um, toh I was really inspired by that.
  14. He decided to make original music videos from scratch rather than anime music videos. achha main anime music video nahi, main original music video banaunga from scratch.
  15. He decided to learn Photoshop first, because at that time there were more Photoshop tutorials than Flash ones. us time pe Photoshop ke tutorial zyada thay, Flash ke kam thay. Mhm. So, I was like, okay, I am just going to learn Photoshop first.
  16. He decided accountancy was not his thing and wanted to move into design. okay, I don't want to do CAT, like accountancy is not my thing. Mhm. Um, so I wanted to move to design.
  17. He wanted to study at the Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture. I wanted to go to an IVS, uh this Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture.
  18. He attended the Pakistan Air Force Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology. I went to this another institute called PFKIET, Pakistan Air Force Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology.
  19. He chose his institute because its bachelor's program was a Bachelor of Computer Arts. And the reason I went there was ke woh unka jo uh bachelor's program tha, is Bachelor's of Computer Arts.
  20. He graduated late, in 2015 or 2016 by his own recollection. I think I graduated a little late. It was either 2015 or 2016. Not too sure.
  21. He dropped some courses, even though he says he could have passed them. I've actually dropped out courses, kuch samajh mein nahi aa rahi thi, even though I could have passed it.
  22. He has freelanced since his first semester. Yeah, yeah, I've been freelancing since uh the first semester.
  23. He says his first ever job came in an election year. So, my first ever job was, I think, um election year tha.
  24. After his first semester, his dean offered him an internship. But just after my um first semester, um my dean uh offered me an internship at his place.
  25. After graduating he was disheartened by the design industry in Pakistan. right after I graduated, I was a little disheartened uh by the design industry in Pakistan.
  26. He felt the design industry in Pakistan had too little scope. I felt like ke as such itna scope nahi hai.
  27. A couple of his clients did not value good design. I had a couple of uh clients uh who didn't value good design per se.
  28. CSS was put to him as an option to try. they were like okay, CSS bhi ek option hai, try this, try this.
  29. He moved to Lahore in 2016 to study for the CSS examination. So I went to Lahore actually. Achha. Uh, to study for my CSS examination um in 2016.
  30. He says there is a difference in education levels between Sindh and Punjab. there is a difference in the level of education in Sindh and Punjab, I would say.
  31. He restarted his freelance work, made a corporate film and worked for a couple of people in Karachi. So I started redoing my freelancing work. I did a corporate film, then I worked for a couple of people in Karachi.
  32. He decided to stop pursuing graphic design and focus on motion design. I'm no longer going to going to pursue graphic design. I'm going to pursue motion design specifically.
  33. He defines motion design as the point where graphic design meets animation. Um but you can say ke if where graphic design meets animation, that's motion design.
  34. His main focus in motion design was advertisements and corporate videos. Um mera primary focus tha towards advertisements and uh company ki jo aapke corporate videos hoti hain in motion design.
  35. He says motion design can connect widely because it represents an idea rather than one person. one of the powerful things of motion design is that when you don't represent one specific person and you're representing just an idea, it can easily connect with a lot of people.
  36. He says he was an idealist before CSS and became more realist after it. I was very an idealist before CSS and then I became more realist ke okay, the world doesn't work the way I think it should.
  37. When he started, he did not have GFXMentor as a resource. when I started, um I didn't have this great resource which is GFX Mentor
  38. He believes Pakistanis are just as skilled, given the chance and a conducive environment to do a project well. I think uh we as Pakistani are just as skilled. If we are given the chance uh and the uh the conducive environment to actually do a project well, they'll be able to do it well.
  39. He distinguishes between a core idea and its execution. There is the idea, the core idea, and then there is the execution.
  40. He says an idea needs good execution and execution needs a good idea. Without good educa uh execution, aapka idea flesh out nahi hoga. Right. Without a good idea, aapki execution hollow hogi, right?
  41. He advises focusing on insights, which he describes as going into the market and finding out what is happening in it. But focus on the insights, because basic yeh hoti hai ki you go into the market and you figure out kya ho raha hai aapke market mein
  42. He says a plugin cannot replace basics such as color, composition, speed and timing. But if you don't know how to do that, like in in the first place in terms of color, composition, speed or pacing or timing, yeh sab cheezein nahi pata, then you won't be able to successfully produce it even with that plugin.
  43. He says colleagues think he is very organized, which he denies. a lot of people in the office think I'm very organized and that is not true.
  44. He realized his own lack of organization, rather than clients, caused his problems. And I realized the biggest issue was not at a client end, it was more at my end that I was not wasn't organized enough
  45. At PakistanNow he pushed for a more organized workflow, which he says has worked. Which is why I really pushed for a more organized workflow here in Pakistan now. Uh and it has worked.
  46. He says team members become more productive once they see the benefits of the system. they definitely uh come towards the system and unki product productivity bhi improve hoti hai, definitely.
  47. He describes PakistanNow as a digital-first journalism company. Pakistan now is a digital first uh journalism company.
  48. He says that probably the biggest challenge is finding the talent. Probably the biggest uh uh challenge is finding the talent
  49. He says technical skill is easily taught and he does not weigh it heavily. I don't give a lot of uh weightage to technical because it's easily teachable.
  50. He says one of the challenges, looking at the production team, is that it is very difficult to manage people. So, I think one of the challenges looking at the production team, it's very difficult to uh manage people
  51. He says businesspeople are risk-averse by nature. the fact is seth is a businessman in a capitalistic environment and so the businessman will always be risk-averse.
  52. He says that if you can create the proof of concept, the businessman does come around eventually. if you are able to create the proof of concept, seth does come around eventually.
  53. He says the government now recognizes and tries to facilitate the freelance industry. usko government recognize karti hai, usko facilitate karne ki koshish kar rahi hai.
  54. He used to avoid Pakistani content but now finds good content there. I wouldn't consume any Pakistani content cuz I thought ke woh accha nahi banta. And now there's like really good kism ka content out there.
  55. He has been thinking of starting his own YouTube channel about design. I was thinking of starting my own YouTube channel, which I haven't gotten around, us mein maine yahi baatein karni thi about design
  56. He says the need of the hour is to teach all these people the fundamentals. cuz the need of hour is to teach all these people, jo maine bola tha, fundamentals.
  57. He says a lot of these courses are in English and people do not know English. a lot of these courses are in English, people don't know English
  58. His previous workplace had the infrastructure to work remotely. so the previous place I was working at, they had the infrastructure to work remotely.
  59. He says he was completely alone during the COVID period, when everybody was isolating. So, I was completely alone here because COVID ke time pe everybody was isolating.
  60. He says he was without power and water for nine days. So, for 9 days we were out of uh uh power and we were out of water.
  61. He lost two prospective clients during that time because he could not reply to their quote requests. And during that time, I lost two prospective clients because they asked me for a quote and I couldn't get back to them
  62. He describes himself as an introvert who likes the peace and quiet of Islamabad. I personally am an a very introvert person. So, I like the peace and quiet of Islamabad.
  63. He says he has become more realistic over the years. Over the years, I've become more and more realistic.
  64. He says he is optimistic about Pakistan because of the spread of technology. So, I am very, uh, what's the word, optimistic about Pakistan and the trajectory that Pakistan is heading because of the penetration of technology.
  65. He describes himself as an aspiring motion designer who is not there yet. So, I I say I am an aspiring motion designer. Like I am not there yet.