This Pakistani Graphics Artist and His Team Just Won A Sports Emmy

If you follow American sports programming, chances are that you have seen all those fancy, glitzy and slickly produced graphics that make events like Superbowl, NFL, FIFA World Cup and more come alive. A lot of work goes into producing all those aesthetically promos, charts, stats and all that to keep sports aficionados glued to their screens. In fact, only the best designers get to work on them.

What if we told you that one Pakistani graphics artist and his team were also responsible for bringing those awesomely designed promos to viewers? And not only that, but he got recognized for it?

Read on for his story.

Meet Umair Mohsin

If you followed the recent Sports Emmy Awards, you might have noticed a Pakistani guy’s post among those who checked in to the event.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10217616924322416&set=a.10205641597746736&type=3

So who is this guy at the Lincoln Center in New York City?

Pakistan’s Umair Mohsin is among the teams that won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Post-Produced Graphic Design for NHL Tonight Open: Shaken…. and Stirred.

The Emmy Award for Outstanding Post-Produced Graphic Design goes to @NHLNetwork's coverage of NHL Tonight (NHL Tonight Open: Shaken…and Stirred). #SportsEmmys pic.twitter.com/GVntX6XeWl

— Sports Emmys (@sportsemmys) May 21, 2019

The National Hockey League (NHL) one of the biggest Hockey league in the world, especially in North America. Mohsin is the only Pakistani to share an accolade from the Sports Emmys.

In case you’re wondering, the Sports Emmy Awards are presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in recognition of excellence in American sports television programming, including sports-related series, live coverage of sporting events, and best sports announcers.

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Here’s what Umair has to say about his win

Speaking to ProPakistani, Umair Mohsin had this to say about his achievement:

“First and foremost I am thankful to Allah SWT for giving me the opportunities that a lot of people hope for.”

He’s all praise for his team. Besides Umair Mohsin there were five other designers who worked on CG for the project. The collective team comprised of 30 people involved in the whole project including Creative / Group Directors.

Following the win, Mohsin said that his whole team worked really hard for this and they collectively deserve this accolade.

“The whole team worked really hard and deserved winning and we sure did.”

Umair’s graphics package for the NHL Network went up against heavyweights like NBC, ESPN, TNT and YouTube.

The 40th Sports Emmy Awards Ceremony was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, in New York City.

The Process Behind Making a Sports Promo

The package that won the Emmy didn’t materialize over-night. It was a very long process. Every network has its own pipeline on how things work and how an award-winning piece comes together.

“We go through the same process every day until we get the result that we are hoping for.”

Of course, there was a great deal of research and development behind the concept making and discussions.

On the subject of what this process could improve on, Mohsin brought up the need for “collaborations”.

“We can work on bringing whole packages to look good together in our industry as well. In my experience, there was a lot of awesome work that was thrown away just because of the lack of concept but this is a whole different conversation.”

His Life Story

So how did this Pakistani end up at the 40th Sports Emmy Awards? Umair, who hails from Karachi, remembers moving to Canada to further his career in graphics and animation.

After completing his studies, he was searching for a reliable institute to learn graphics. Since Pakistan only has a few good schools for specialized 3D graphics/animation, he ended up with a private tutor.

What followed wasn’t a walk in the park either. He started his career working with a variety of different animation studios and for television channels. However he always found his efforts unappreciated.

“I found a lack of appreciation for my work which I believe is a challenge all newcomers face in Pakistan. We need to make an effort to start acknowledging and appreciating new talent.”

Mohsin didn’t let that deter him. In 2015, he moved to Toronto, Canada in search of a better platform. When he moved to Toronto in 2015, he began working with different creative agencies.

Umair opines:

I landed a position with my current employer as a graphic artist and had the pleasure of working on different projects and for different networks one of which got nominated for an Emmy Award for 2019.

 

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His Dreams for Pakistan

Mohsin has some advice for decision makers in Pakistan. He suggested providing aspiring designers with quality education back home, something that can let them compete on an international level.

“We should work on opening more so that we can produce world class designers. It could play a major role in Pakistan’s economy, as we all know the Future is Tech!!”

His dream is to do something for the industry. Mohsin is eager to coach aspiring designers. He offered to support students willing to work on computer graphics (CG) pipeline in the international industry.

Mohsin added that like in his case, even today designers lack reliable platforms in Pakistan.

“There is no doubt about the talent in Pakistan as we have amazing artists, the only problem is them finding a perfect platform where their skills are displayed and appreciated.

“Have trust in your skills. Yes, you will face hurdles as the way of success is not easy, but in the end, there is success waiting for you!!”

A Truly Memorable Sports Emmy Win

Besides NHL Tonight Open: Shaken….and Stirred, there were three other nominees from different networks competing for the same award.

Amazingly though, the NHL Tonight Open win was really a Canadian win. All other nominees were from American networks.

In the end, we’re glad this Pakistani graphic artist’s efforts have highlighted that we are not lacking for talent and can compete with the best of them.