Mixing the power of computer
technology with fine arts sensibility — and plenty of steely
sheer will — a local graphics design firm is making some
inroads with both companies and critics.
But the path to success can be grueling.
Axioma Graphics,
headquartered in a home office in Lafayette, designs graphics
for everything from simple business cards, to complex Web
sites, to dramatic animated DVD menus.
The small company — a trio of friends and the partner who
lends them his home office every day — has already worked with
local companies and small film studios. The
soon-to-be-released DVD "The Independent," a 2001 film
starring Ben and Jerry Stiller and Janeane Garafolo, will
feature a colorful, active menu designed by Axioma.
"We knew that we could really pull this off," said Sabina
Soultanova, with Axioma. "We know we have the talent; we just
needed people to give us a chance."
The company won the 2003 American Graphic Design Award from
Graphic Design:USA for brochure design. And they recently
secured a deal with Sonic, whose DVD Producer product for
Windows is a market leader, to allow them to design its
graphics for trade shows.
But much of their work so far, except for a few projects
here and there with companies including McKesson, has been for
free. The team says it's hoping that the credit they get for
the design work will later translate into major paying gigs.
"We're using the money we get from projects to fund the
next project and for marketing," Soultanova said.
Soultanova and Paul Ryan met at the University of Colorado,
where they took most of the same classes and often teamed up
on projects. Soultanova was a prima ballerina from Azerbaijan;
Ryan, a first-generation Slovak-American from southern
Colorado.
"We graduated from college in debt," Soultanova said. "Paul
and I graduated with two degrees, business and engineering.
The master's (degree) was in telecom. When we graduated in
2001, telecom was gone. There were no offers! We graduated and
had nothing to do."
"I sent out resumes like crazy," Ryan said. "Nothing was
happening."
The two decided they had "nothing to lose" by establishing
their own business, Soultanova said.
They met Irina Kiseleva through her mother, who had been
getting her master's degree at CU while Soultanova and Ryan
were there. Kiseleva graduated in 2000 with a classical arts
degree from a school in Moscow.
"We started without a penny in our pockets," Ryan said.
"And that's the hardest thing. A lot of people have a network
and have parents who are helping them out. We didn't have any
of that. And as a young startup, it is very hard to get
credibility."
Which is why the company is working so diligently to get
recognition and jobs — even if those jobs aren't exactly
paying the partner's mortgage. Soultanova admits that she's
pretty aggressive with pitching Axioma's services to potential
clients.
"They approached us," said Rob Levin, co-president of Arrow
Entertainment, the New York distributor of the upcoming
"Independent" DVD. "They wanted to design it for free for the
credit."
Levin said the team did a good job — the end result is
cohesive and professional. And importantly, he said, "it's not
annoying."
"You want it to be something the viewer can watch again and
again, so that the buyers like Blockbuster will want to buy a
bunch of them," Leven said. "The work that they did was
great."
Contact Erika Stutzman at
stutzmane@dailycamera.com or (303) 473-1354.
