In STO’s bustling marketing department, surrounded by sketches, and glowing monitors, is Affan Farooq Mohamed, a soft-spoken yet strikingly imaginative force whose ideas have helped shape the visual language of one of the country’s most prominent corporations.

To the outside world, his work arrives in the form of crisp corporate calendars, animations, posters, and annual reports wrapped in sleek, minimal design. But to Affan, each project is something far more intimate - a riddle, a challenge, and a chance to connect people with ideas through visual clarity.

“I’ve always believed design is about solving problems,” Affan says. “Art can be subjective. But design has a purpose.”

It’s a quiet philosophy, but one that echoes powerfully through his five-year journey at STO. A journey driven by curiosity, shaped by collaboration, and grounded in a childhood fascination with drawing that never left him.

Affan’s story begins, as so many creative ones do, with a pencil in hand and wide-eyed admiration for an older relative. It wasn’t cartoons or comic books that first sparked his interest, but rather typography. The elegant, precise art of forming letters. That early exposure planted a seed. School gave him structure, but the passion ran deeper.

At Dharumavantha School, he opted for the art stream, honing his craft while others debated science or commerce. He remembers those years fondly, not because they were easy, but because they brought clarity to what he loved.

Even so, the path forward wasn’t always clear cut. After graduating, Affan dabbled in different fields, unsure of where to anchor his passion. But the pull toward design remained, undeniable and insistent. He knew he needed to do more than draw. He wanted to understand how design worked.

That clarity brought him to Malaysia’s The One Academy, a world-renowned design school known for attracting industry giants from Pixar and Disney to its lecture halls.

“Those classes changed everything,” he said, eyes lighting up.

“We had people come in who had worked on major animated films. They showed us how they framed each shot, how they used color to tell stories. Suddenly I wasn’t just drawing. I was learning how to build a story visually.”

It was here that he learned one of his most valuable lessons. That good design doesn’t just decorate; it communicates. And sometimes, the simplest solution is the best one.

“Designing is all about problem solving. You see a problem and then create something that solves it,” he said.

Affan returned to Maldives with a sharpened skillset and a clear mission. His first application? STO.

“I didn’t apply anywhere else,” he said, smiling.

“STO being one of the biggest companies, I knew that if I joined, I would have room to grow. It was the biggest stage.”

Within his first week, he was designing for STO’s anniversary event- a trial by fire that quickly earned him trust within the team and set the tone for his journey ahead.

Since then, he’s played a central role in shaping both corporate and product marketing visuals.

Affan’s portfolio is diverse, including billboards, social media campaigns, internal branding, and packaging. However, he is perhaps most proud of his work on the STO annual calendars, each, a passion project that allowed him to experiment, animate, and invent.

Working on STO’s calendars from 2020–2022, Affan built around Dhivehi idioms reimagined as fantastical illustrations, was a standout. Every month featured a new idiom, showcased in vibrant color and accompanied by subtle animations that hinted at its meaning. Users were invited to guess the idiom each month, a design that was not only beautiful but also interactive.

“Each artwork took about four weeks. And hundreds of animation layers. But it was worth it. I wanted people to engage with the design, not just have a look at it,” Affan added.

If there’s one quality that defines Affan’s approach, it’s precision. From color calibration across print and digital, to typeface selection based on readability and tone, he approaches every project with intention.

“When I design a logo, I test it at a small scale first,” he explains.

“Most people will see it on a phone screen. So if it doesn’t read at that size, it doesn’t work.”

Affan is also well aware of how design must evolve in a digital-first world. RGB versus CMYK, serif versus sans-serif, iconography versus text - every decision carrying weight.

But beneath the technical fluency lies a deep belief in collaboration. Affan credits much of his growth to his teammates at STO. Affan highlighted that the group pushes each other forward without ego or competition.

“We bounce ideas off each other. If someone finds a cool new tool or technique, we all try it. That kind of culture is rare,” he said.

Affan also gives special credit to his early mentors at STO, particularly those who gave him major design responsibilities when he was still new. “They saw my portfolio and took a chance. That gave me confidence,” he said.

If design is problem-solving, then deadlines are the puzzle’s ticking clock. Affan admits that time is often his biggest challenge, especially when juggling multiple projects or awaiting rounds of feedback.

But he refuses to push deadlines.

“Finishing on time gives me joy. That sense of completion is important to me,” he said.

To make it happen, he breaks each project into phases: sketching, drafting, color selection, final approval. Communication, he says, is key. Without clear direction from marketing or management, the design can suffer.

“I always ask questions. That way I know what they’re looking for before I start,” he says.

Outside of work, Affan finds inspiration in unexpected places. Anime, photography and casual conversations with fellow designers. He watches for lighting in scenes, for wild camera angles, for unexpected uses of color.

“I’m fascinated by dynamics in animation,” he said.

“Anime uses these crazy angles, motion blurs, lighting tricks. I study those and try to bring some of that energy into my work.”

He’s also a fan of surrealism. Citing M.C. Escher, Rembrandt, and Salvador Dalí as his biggest influences. Escher’s impossible spaces, Rembrandt’s mastery of light, and Dalí’s strange, dreamlike logic each feed into his visual style.

Even when he’s relaxing, his mind doesn’t turn off.

“I’m always thinking about how something was made,” he admits. “Why those colours? Why that shape?”

If given the chance to design anything, without limitations? Affan doesn’t hesitate.

“Motion graphics,” he says instantly. “Animation brings things to life.” His dream project? A multimedia event where motion graphics, sound design, and light are synchronized in a choreographed experience. A kind of immersive visual concert, perhaps with a presenter interacting live on stage as the graphics react behind them.

“It would be storytelling in a completely different way,” he said. For now, he’s content working on branding, product design, and communication. But the hunger to push further is always there.

“I don’t think a designer should ever stop learning,” he said. “There’s always something new - a better way to express an idea.”

When asked what he’d say to young designers starting out, Affan encouragingly said “Research everything. From how professionals do it to new, creative ideas.”

He recounts a story of working on a milk packaging project, where his research led him to discover a design based entirely on a child’s doodle. It was imperfect, but brilliant.

“Design doesn’t have to be perfect. It has to solve a problem,” he said. “Keep practicing. Keep designing. That’s how you grow.”

Affan may not be the loudest voice in the room, but his designs speak volumes. From whimsical fantasy illustrations to finely tuned corporate identities.

He is proof that creativity doesn’t require flamboyance. Sometimes, it’s the quiet commitment to doing things right that makes the deepest impression.

His story, like his work, is a careful composition of experience, imagination, and purpose. And although he has already contributed towards STO’s visual identity, it feels like Affan is just getting started.