Autumn events

It's been a busy autumn, there's absolutely no time to talk about it. So, here's a quick digest of events, and then more details on the interesting stuff.

Masterskaya

At the beginning of September, we settled into our new Masterskaya place on Petrogradka. A workshop on an island! The old building and 900 Mbps internet—this is something unexpected and impressive! The housewarming party went well; it was nice to meet the designers and chat. So far, it's the coziest place we've worked in. We didn't light the fireplace, it's a bit scary. We're looking forward to continuing the themed meetings, stay tuned.

Jury of the Russian Design Cup

As a longtime RDC participant, I continue to judge as part of the RDC Crew. Once again, I was thrilled to review bold design concepts in the first three rounds. Many of the participants' work is enviable—the level of craftsmanship and creativity is impressive!

Special thanks to Pavel Karpov and Valery Sirotkin, who launched and carried the competition this year. All the VK finalists were brought to Moscow for the final design battle! How should I know? I also took a day trip to Moscow for the finals, supported the participants, applauded the event! The jury for the finals was also impressive: Mitya Osadchuk, Sasha Ermoolenko, Alexey Chupin, Chris Anfalova, Pavel Karpov—a review of work by such a lineup is simply a dream! Straight to the point, thoughtful, without being overly sweet, yet supportive. We're looking forward to RDC 2026!

Jury at AVA SRG

As an expert, I reviewed the work of AVA SRG graduates. The first part is already on YouTube. And one of the advantages of being a judge at high-quality festivals, competitions, and projects is that you get to see amazing and diverse design. I wish we could always live like that! Aspiring designers are so inspiring, and it's so rewarding to see talented work, especially when it's combined with hard work and dedication to the profession! It's inspiring, I learn from reviewing such work, so thank you very much for that. <3

Consultations

I'm continuing to refine my consultation system—both individual and mentoring. The video recording system, followed by a written summary, has proven itself to be excellent. Everything is recorded, allowing for better reflection. I already have a good collection of cases where consultations have successfully led to successful interviews and a whole new level of design skills.

But I want it to be even more compelling and useful! I plan to create a skill-map to track the process and its dynamics. Not tied to a specific company but with a focus on the profession as a whole.

I still need to create a questionnaire to make collecting feedback more convenient. If you've worked with me or purchased consultations, I'd be grateful for your feedback. Feel free to write to me, offer both praise and criticism—that way, I can do better and avoid repeating my mistakes.

I've found my effective workload limit. Right now, I have one last spot for a mentoring format. After that I won't be taking on mentoring for a while because I'm overloaded. I'm not ready for a group format or courses and otherwise it simply won't scale. I'd rather it to remain small-scaled for a while. Less is more.

Work work work

GRAD is eating up my time, but I've successfully integrated vibe coding and am building prototypes for interactive experiences. Seriously — it's a wonderful time, incredibly exciting!

I drew cars, built websites for startups, designed cosmetics packaging, made test projects, put together turbine engine presentations, and published a new issue of the Digest. I've added to my collection of both good projects and rather idiotic screw-ups. But more on that later.

Catastrophically lacking time, it’s total chaos. Yet I still love the design!

p.s.
I finished Hades II, it's incredibly cool! The gameplay, the mechanics, and the visuals are fantastic.