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Five year plan is done and gone

Graphic design is part of my portfolio, but it's been more of a guilty pleasure for a while now. For the last five years, I've been responsible for the design of the GRAD service for geologists and analysts at Gazpromneft. During this time, the project has

AIDA, triumph!

I haven't had much faith in it but I've managed to beat everyone and get the six-fingered AIDA AI Design Fest statue! The "900 Icons and a Relational Model" project proved quite convincing to the jury. The competition was strong, and the shortlist included

STMK Gift Box

Sometimes one wants to share beauty, to discuss it, but there's no right place for it. Facebook isn't what it used to be, Instagram is for something else, and there are no comments or discussions on the website. So let it be here! I'm

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

Apple's presentation and confidence

The presentation is certainly about beauty and technology—I like how it was directed and filmed. iPhones and other things—all great with a pinch of skepticism, but I want to talk about something else. The very delivery of the words caught my attention. How shamelessly, constantly, and convincingly the

Aim for the dollar, hit the penny

In designers' portfolios, I often see a whole range of technologies and methods used: custom development, JTBD, CJM, Double Diamond, and so on. But did this ultimately help the project, and if so, how? How many times have I seen a JTBD applied to a project simply for show,

The Value of Randomness in Design

It's interesting how differently people perceive randomness and the value they attribute to it. For a long time, I believed that true value lies in control. When we control the situation and ourselves, it's valuable. It's a triumph of will, thought, and reason. After

Neural Networks, Figma, and the Future of Design Tools

A few words about Figma and why I'm skeptical about its prospects. Well, first of all, I'm a skeptic!) Figma went public at the end of this week (July 31, 2025). The initial price per share was $33—the upper limit of the expected range. After

Designer's tools and relevance

Design is an intellectual labor, so thinking is more important than the tool. But design is also a craft, so you can't really do anything without a tool at all. It must be up-to-date, you need to maintain it in decent shape as well as your skills of

28th issue of Digest

Issue 28 of the Digest is out of print! The theme of the issue was Triumph. Once again I was convinced that the magazine has become even more prominent as we've introduced the theme of the issue. It allows us to not just to give the publisher'

Messy projects, bad performers and clients from hell

Entropy is inevitable Working with AI tools once again shows how fundamental principles of any communication are. The more you code with AI, the more the code turns into overcomplicated and buggy crap. One thing depends on another, you solve one feature, four others break. As a result, 90% of

Neural networks and social simulation

Spring, neural networks are blooming. According to my observations, they are used to generate content or to solve technical problems. I use them myself them myself, and I plan only to increase the volume. I still have the habit of communicating with a neural network as if it were a

Working too much is bad for your career!

Headline byte, but it seems obvious that the more you work, the cooler you are as a specialist. And there's recognition, fame, honor, rock and roll, groupies, sorry, got carried away. But no, that's not how it works. I started my career as a student and

Vibe-coding

About vibe coding from a designer's perspective. I always welcome technological and process improvements. If the path to the result can be shortened, it is foolish not to take advantage of it. Last year I started using neurons in my work — not for the sake of hype and

Metrics and design effectiveness

From the very beginning of my career, I wanted to design not mock-ups, but completed projects with realization. I got into production and sought to work with printers and developers. Thus, I closed the brief and concept part with clients, design and helped with realization. But I did not get

Design tools

It's always great to see new tools for design and AI implementation. I'm already using Cursor, Perplexity and ChatGPT to work and, remarkably, I don't use visualization tools at all, I'm more interested in analytics and development. Nevertheless I see how it

The value of observation

Many years ago I met with Georgy Pinkhasov, where he shared this story: he takes a lot of photographs, and often the works that have not been critically selected are put aside and lay there, gathering dust. And once he was sorting through this archive of old, already many years

Design portfolio & customer engagement

It is important for a designer to keep an up-to-date portfolio at all times. Even if you work for hire, it's good to expose yourself to the market and professional environment so that you don't miss out on career opportunities. Well, and in general, to synchronize

How to evaluate design grade

"What grade am I? Am I good?" — those types of questions that stump and make designers flounder and make wrong decisions. This affects self-esteem and self-confidence, negotiations, and therefore affects the evaluation of the cost of work. And in the end – career. The difficulty is that there is

Design & career consulting, mentoring

I am ready to share 15 years of practical experience in design and management, for professionals and companies, in a consulting format. I can assess skills, grading and portfolios, help you navigate your path in the design industry, analyse situations and businesses to build a career track, establish teamwork and