About why, how and what I do

Back then coming across some unforgettable CD covers↗︎ or magazine designs↗︎ as well as finding another weird experimental website↗︎ in the middle of the night web surfing were the experiences that convinced me: this was something I wanted to do. That was an emotional decision and I think true passion is something hardest to achieve and keep but something most critical to do good work and be proud of yourself.

I am Ilya [il-'ya] and I design things. When I was a teenager I believed that there was nothing more fulfilling, beautiful and enjoyable than playing a bass in a band, being a snowboarder and making designs on a computer. Since then only snowboarding thing is still on a to-do list. Life was kind enough to let me complete another two tasks.

I’ve been always enamored of the possibilities and elusiveness of digital and made my way as a digital designer. So I am more into web sites, web and mobile apps, motion graphics and interactive stuff. But it rarely goes without heavily overlapping identity design, typography, illustration, etc, so I deal with those regularly too. I mean it’s just a more frequent thing for me to do a digital communication rather than a leaflet.

I started in a small design studio that made digital promo for movies, then I worked in (full-time) and with (as a freelancer) some great agencies (like Red Keds↗︎ and Friends↗︎) for some good brands (Unilever, Panasonic, Range Rover, WWF among others). Later on, I helped the startup Fasten↗︎ to compete with Uber and Lyft (in Boston and Austin) and startup Smartcat↗︎ to build the all-in-one language translation platform (worldwide). I’ve been working in different roles: as a designer, art director and design manager, so I feel comfortable both as a doer and a facilitator.

What I want and what I’d like to stick with for the next decade is designing meaningful experiences, thoughtful content and useful products. It is a pretty broad definition but it sounds good to me:)