There are design careers that can be described through projects, and there are those that can only be understood through process. The path of Sanjin Halilović belongs to the latter. From wartime drawings created in the early nineties, through studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo and work in the agency environment, all the way to the IT sector and international recognitions, his professional development follows the continuity of a single idea: that design is not just form, but a thoughtful process in which concept, context and responsibility toward the brand meet.
Over almost two decades of work he has moved through different creative contexts that shaped his approach to design. The agency world brought speed, deadlines and the reality of the market, the IT sector introduced systemic thinking and an understanding of design functionality, while freelance opened space for full authorial responsibility and the construction of his own professional identity. Precisely this combination of experiences today defines his approach to branding, in which the logo is not just a visual mark but the starting point of a broader identity system.
The occasion for this conversation is also international recognition: four of his logos have been included in the publication LogoLounge15, one of the most recognized global selections of design. Still, this story does not begin with awards nor end with a publication. It speaks about process, continuity and design thinking built over years, from the first sketches to identities that today live in real space.
In the conversation for Media Marketing, Halilović speaks about his beginnings in Sarajevo, about the lessons that shaped him through two decades of work, about the international recognition that comes with LogoLounge, but also about where he sees space for authorial design in a time when artificial intelligence accelerates the production of visuals. Between process, precision and context, three words he uses to describe his own design signature, a story unfolds about how professional identity is built through patience, continuity and belief in an idea.
- When you go back to the very beginning, before agencies, before IT companies, before freelancing, who was Sanjin who first felt drawn to design? Was it rebellion, curiosity, a need to fix something or to build something?
A curious boy who from an early age had a stronger affinity and desire to build, create and draw something. That way of expression is something that has followed me since childhood and my earliest discoveries about drawing. In a distant time, when basic living conditions did not exist, drawing and imagination were a window from a bleak reality into children’s dreams and imagination, which were easiest to express through countless drawings.
Besides that, I had the fortune that through my father, who had contact with film and printing houses, I discovered and saw different processes of creation, I can freely say a craft approach, especially through work in a printing house. From there came the decision to enroll in the School of Applied Arts in Sarajevo, the advertising graphics department, and after that Product Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo.
- Your professional path moves from classical advertising agencies into the IT sector and freelance waters. How did those three phases shape your creative philosophy? What did each of them give you, and what did you have to “unlearn” in order to grow further?
Before all these phases, I would first mention the foundations I received while studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, Product Design department. That was definitely a strong and quality foundation for everything that later happened in my career.
During my product design studies some excellent things happened that I am still very proud of today. One of them is participation at the D&AD Global Students Awards in London in 2007, where with the work Toy for Children I entered the shortlist of ten best works from around the world for the brand Hamleys in the children’s toy category.
In this phase of life I would especially highlight one project, Modular Furniture – Shape and Function, which influenced a large part of everything that would happen later.
Exhibiting at the IMM Cologne fair in 2013, Month of Design Ljubljana in 2011 and 2012, and winning the regional Quercus competition in 2013 with my colleague Mustafa Čohadžić, as well as publications of works on respected global portals where I would highlight Yanko Design, are definitely things that shaped me creatively.
That is where I actually understood what concept means. What process in design means. I realized how important it is to have a clear idea, but also the discipline to develop it through phases of research, testing and refinement. I saw that such a way of thinking can be recognized and appreciated beyond the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Precisely that foundation, understanding process and responsibility toward an idea, later helped me mature in different professional environments. Each of them shaped me in a different way, both as a designer and as a person.
- In the agency world deadlines are brutal, in IT the focus is on systems and functionality, and in freelance on personal responsibility and reputation. In which environment did you mature the most as a designer, and in which as a person?
As a third year student I got the opportunity to work in the marketing agency Lowe, Idols & Friends in Sarajevo, where I quickly realized that everything we did at the Academy was one world, and the agency something completely different. Brutal deadlines, speed and constant adaptation were serious training. That is where I matured the most as a designer in terms of efficiency, making decisions under pressure and understanding the real limits of budgets and time.
After almost ten years of working in agencies, in 2017 I moved into the IT world. I experienced UI and UX design as a new medium where design is no longer just visual form, but system, logic and functionality. There I further developed the ability for strategic and systemic thinking.
Freelance, however, is the environment in which I matured the most as a person. There I was responsible for everything, from negotiating projects and deadlines to setting prices and final delivery. Precisely through freelance I built my name and reputation, because I had the autonomy to lead projects from beginning to end and present them publicly.
If I had to summarize it: in the agency I matured as a designer of speed and adaptability, in IT as a designer of systems, and through freelance as a person who stands behind his name and his work.
- LogoLounge 15 is an international recognition that many designers dream about. When you found out that your works were included, was it a moment of confirmation or just another step? How much does such a platform mean to you in the context of a long term professional path?
LogoLounge15 is certainly a recognition that carries serious professional weight. When I found out that four of my works were included in the publication, I experienced it as a strong professional confirmation that years of work, process and continuity have their value.
What is especially significant to me is that behind those works stands many years of experience, but also a lot of invisible work, research, doubts, attempts and mistakes. It is not a success that comes overnight, but the result of constant building, from student days, through agency work and IT systems, to freelance projects where I had full responsibility and freedom.
I do not experience this as a finale, but as an important point on a long term professional path. LogoLounge is an international platform with a strong jury and global context, and the fact that the works were recognized among thousands of submissions confirms that process, concept and approach to design are relevant beyond the local framework.
It is also important to me that the name of Bosnia and Herzegovina appears in such a publication. I believe it is important to show that quality, thoughtful and systematic work can come from Sarajevo and from our scene.
In the end, this is both confirmation and obligation. Confirmation that you are on the right path, but also an obligation to remain consistent with the process, standards and values you build over the years.
- The four logos that entered the publication, if we do not look at them only as solutions but as chapters, what does each of them say about the phase you were in at the time? Are they the result of intuition, system or a long internal dialogue with yourself?
All four logos that entered the publication were created as real projects for specific clients. They are not concepts created without context nor personal experiments, but solutions that function today in a real market environment. Precisely that fact gives them additional value, because they were shaped through real requirements, limitations, budgets, deadlines and responsibility toward the client.
If I look at them as chapters, I would say that each of them speaks about a phase in which I increasingly believed in process and a systemic approach. Perhaps these are not symbols that strive to be different at any cost, but each of them was reached through research, brand analysis, understanding of context and a clearly defined methodology of work.
Scale Up represents a phase in which I strongly reflected on structure, growth and progression, while maintaining simplicity and functionality of the mark.
Code Forge speaks about the connection between technology and craft, about the idea of building and creating, where the symbol must have character but also durability in digital space.
APP IT d.o.o. reflects a more rational and systemic approach, with a focus on stability, clarity and long term usability in a corporate context.
Focus Architecture is perhaps the closest to my product design roots, because the mark emerges from construction, proportion and the relationship between form and space.
Some of these projects were previously recognized and published on international platforms such as World Brand Design Society, which further confirms that they were created as serious, market relevant works rather than isolated concepts.
If I had to answer whether they are the result of intuition, system or internal dialogue, I would say they are primarily the result of process. Intuition is always present, but it comes only after analysis and reflection. System provides structure, and internal dialogue helps ensure that decisions are conscious and long term sustainable.
In that sense, these four logos are not only solutions but traces of a continuity and way of thinking that has been built and refined over years.
- How do you look at your first works today? Is there something in them that you would keep regardless of technical imperfections, perhaps courage, naivety or purity of the idea?
When I look today at my first works, whether they are drawings made with tempera and brush from secondary school or early projects from the first and second year at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, I see above all a process of learning. At the Academy we drew a lot, sketched, analyzed form and proportion. Although I was in the Product Design department, we also touched visual communications, created logos and graphic standards books, which at the time laid the foundations of my later work in branding.
Technically speaking, today I would solve many things differently. Experience teaches you to see details you previously did not notice. But what I would keep without hesitation is courage and purity of the idea. In those works there was not too much calculation nor burden of perfection. There was sincere curiosity and a need to explore an idea to the end.
I look at my first realized logo from 2008 today as the moment of transition from enthusiasm to responsibility. That is when I realized that design has value beyond me and that every mark carries consequences, context and someone’s trust.
Today, almost twenty years later, technology has changed, AI has arrived, tools have advanced, but the essence has remained the same. I still believe in sketching, process, analysis and a clear idea. I still try to keep that beginner’s curiosity that guided me then, only now with more experience and system.
- Designers from Bosnia and Herzegovina often balance between local context and global ambitions. How open is the international scene today really, and what is crucial for visibility: quality, networking, persistence, algorithm or something else?
Working from Bosnia and Herzegovina today means simultaneously being part of a small market and having access to a global audience. That duality shapes the professional path of many designers. The local scene has its challenges, primarily in terms of continuity and infrastructure. We do not have many stable events and platforms that build community in the long term, although there are bright examples such as the Dizko conference in Mostar, which shows that interest and potential definitely exist when things are set professionally.
The international scene is technically more open than ever. Geography is no longer a barrier, but competition is enormous and visibility is not automatic.
In practice a combination of factors is decisive, but quality is the foundation without which nothing else makes sense. If the work has no depth, concept and consistency, long term visibility is impossible. However, quality alone is not enough if it remains invisible.
Persistence and continuity are key, because visibility is not built with one project but with years of work and presence. Networking is important through authentic relationships and recommendations, while the algorithm can help but cannot replace serious work.
From my experience, long term activity on LinkedIn, Dribbble and Behance was significant. I shared not only final projects but also process and ways of thinking. Today it is not only what you do that matters, but also how you communicate it.
If I had to single out one factor, I would say continuity. The international scene is open, but it requires a long term approach and readiness to present your work beyond the local framework.
- At a time when AI generates visuals in seconds and clients ask for faster and cheaper solutions, where do you see space for authorial design? What remains non automated?
Every major technological change in creative industries has brought similar dilemmas. The industrial revolution changed the relationship toward craft, and in the eighties with the emergence of software such as Illustrator and Photoshop digital tools replaced a large part of manual work. Even then it was said that machines would replace designers. They did not replace them, they changed the way of working.
Today we find ourselves in a similar situation. AI generates visuals in seconds and accelerates processes that previously took hours. However, design has never been only the production of form. A logo is no longer an isolated mark but part of a system that manifests through applications, web platforms, typography, animation, print and video. Identity today functions as a structure rather than a single image.
I see space for authorial design precisely in the ability to see that whole and set the foundation. AI can generate variations and accelerate exploration, but it cannot understand the context of a brand, its long term strategy nor take responsibility for decisions that shape identity over time.
We can automate the production of form, but not the ability to recognize what makes sense. In that space authorial design remains necessary.
- Is there a project that never received recognition but was personally a turning point for you, one that changed you internally regardless of whether the world noticed it?
One project that carries special weight for me is the visual for the Sarajevo Half Marathon in 2018. I had projects before that lived outside the digital framework, but this one carried a different type of emotional connection.
The concept of a postage stamp was a way to tell the story of the city through which the race passes in a small format. Vijećnica, Sebilj and Kozija Ćuprija were not just symbols of Sarajevo, but real points of the race route through which runners passed. The visual thus became a map of experience rather than just an illustration. The cable car was also included in the composition, which was restarted that year, as a subtle sign of movement and a new beginning.
For me it was the connection of a personal and professional story. As someone who runs recreationally, I was creating the identity of an event in which I also participated. As someone born in Sarajevo, I had the opportunity to interpret its symbols in a way that was both emotional and authentic.
Even today, years later, I see people running in those shirts or keeping medals with that motif. That is perhaps the most sincere recognition a designer can receive. Not a formal award, but the fact that the project continues to live in real space and collective memory.
- If you were starting your career today, with all the experience you have, what would you do differently and what would you repeat without hesitation?
If I were starting my career today, I would probably build international visibility earlier and more consciously, but the culture of documenting my work existed from the beginning. I remember bringing a CD with student projects to my first job interview. Those works were precisely the reason I got the opportunity. Today it would be a link or portfolio page, but the essence is the same.
Perhaps I would take even greater responsibility earlier and leave my comfort zone faster. Every phase, from agencies to IT and freelance, brought its lessons, but the greatest professional growth happened when I started making decisions independently and standing behind them.
What I would repeat without hesitation is the foundation I received through education and the early years of work. That drawing, sketching, thinking about form and function, that analytical approach to design, is still the basis of everything I do. Technology changes, tools evolve, but the way of thinking remains.
I would also repeat persistence. A career is not built with one project or one recognition, but with years of work and continuity.
- What does success mean to you? Is it an international publication, financial stability, clients who trust you or the moment when you see your mark in real space and know it has become part of someone’s identity?
For me the greatest success is a healthy family. My wife, two children, parents and all the people who stood by me and supported me through different phases of life. That is the foundation of everything else. Without that support, no professional recognition would have the same weight.
In a professional sense success is not one thing. It is not only an international publication, nor only financial stability or big clients. All of those are important segments, but what has special value for me is trust. When a client trusts you, when they give you responsibility and when a project develops into long term cooperation, then you know the work has meaning.
A special moment is also when you see your design in real space, when it becomes part of someone’s brand, city or everyday life. That is a quiet but powerful confirmation that what you do has left a trace.
I believe that with dedicated and honest work all these things come with time. Success is not a moment but a process built through patience, responsibility and continuity.
- If you had to describe your design signature in three words, what would they be and why?
If I had to describe my design signature in three words, I would say process, precision and context.
Process, because I believe that a good solution never happens by accident. Behind every project stand research, sketching, thinking and time. Sometimes a solution appears already in the first proposal, but even then behind that speed stand years of experience and a developed way of thinking.
Precision, because details are not decoration but the foundation of long term quality. Studying product design taught me discipline, proportion and understanding the construction of form. I still apply that foundation today whether I work on a logo, identity or digital system. From early days I have been followed by that pixel level perfectionism, the need that every proportion and spacing have their justification.
Context, because for me design is never isolated form. It must belong to the space, time and people for whom it is intended. Without context it remains decoration. With context it becomes identity.
- And finally, does that “click” still exist, the moment when an idea falls perfectly into place and reminds you why before all titles and recognitions you decided to become a designer?
It does. And I think that without that “click” this job would have no meaning.
That moment does not happen every day, but when it happens you recognize it immediately. It is that feeling when an idea falls into place, when proportion, concept and context begin to function together and you know that nothing more needs to be added or removed.
It is the same feeling I had as a boy when I was drawing, only today the responsibility is greater. Before all titles, recognitions and publications, there remains that simple need to create something and see that it makes sense.
That “click” always brings me back to the beginning. To that simple need to create something and, as in a craft, feel that every part is in its place.
