I don’t use client budgets to indulge my “artistic” impulses — my photography and film satisfy those needs.
Design serves a purpose, a function. Art is the one we still have no commonly accepted definition for. Could be a 150 000 USD banana duct-taped to a wall. That’s the line of demarcation for me.
Freed from the “need to self-express”, I focus on the real fun of UI/UX design — how do you make someone do something — with a website, an app, a geolocation system — feel exactly what we need (luxury, ease, serenity or intrigue) and let the interface seemingly disappear? UI/UX, like good film editing — which I also do — is invisible.
No, users won’t notice my choice of Univers over Helvetica Neue. Or the custom font I designed (Have you noticed this site’s font? Noticed anything peculiar? Definitely drop me a line if you have).
But if I’ve done my job, you shouldn’t have remarked anything. My fusion of Swiss-level clarity, typographic precision, technical expertise, and a human-centered ergonomics, honed over 26 years of crafting web and product experiences, creates an illusion of “stuff just is”. Even though in reality, I’m thinking sub-pixel kerning and rendering.
A picture gallery once used arrows. Now everyone swipes left-and-right. OK, let’s add some Tinder-like behavior. But without huge flag waving.
From conceptual frameworks to final implementation, I create systems that feel as seamless as they are striking. Every button, animation, and layout exists to nudge — not distract — users, ensuring they move through each interaction with purpose and ease, without thoughts about my skills and choices.
I started building websites in 1999 — hand-coding HTML with inline styles when tables and 1px GIFs ruled the internet. Since then, I’ve evolved with every major shift in web design tools: from the replacement of Flash by the rise of CSS to allow responsive grids, JavaScript single-page apps, and beyond. But the design principles ignited in the Bauhaus era and applied through the works of Emil RUDER, Josef MÜLLER-BROCKMANN, Paul RAND or Massimo VIGNELLI have remained stable.
What has changed? The ease of implementation. The choice of tools. I can finally attribute wide color gamuts, download custom typography and shift from JavaScript heavy bundles to lighter and faster CSS animation.
Whether crafting a content-heavy CMS — this website has 4 300 pages in 3 languages, for example, but you shouldn’t have noticed that either — or building modular systems for scalable apps, I continue to work at the intersection of usability and cutting-edge technology.
Over the years, I’ve collaborated with clients ranging from multinational organizations to experimental startups. But my designs aim to answer the same 2 questions: How can this solve your business challenge? How will users feel when they interact with it? The result? Projects that aren’t just functional — they’re memorable. Even when you can’t quite put the finger on what happened (that was me accurately dosing friction into the glass of Interfacium 10 mg you drank).
I’m not the kind of designer who simply hands off mock-ups. I actively shuttle between concept and execution, writing clean, scalable code to bring my designs to life. Front-end or back-end, my 25 years of vanilla JavaScript, 22 years of PHP, 18 years of SQL… oftentimes give me ideas of how we could play to a tech stack’s strengths and make a fun feature, without bugs. I optimize for performance as much as aesthetics — whether it’s CSS animations, SVG illustrations, or streamlined API calls. Noticed any pesky pop-ups, by the way?
I approach every project with a designer’s mindset and an engineer’s discipline. That means starting with research — usability testing, ethnographic studies, client culture, defining technical and team constraints along the way. I’m equally at ease working solo on small projects, as well as leading 150+ teams into highly iterative prototyping with the experience of a full-stack developer. Then refining based on real-world feedback, improving the result with each closed ticket.
But while structure underpins every decision, creativity breathes life into it. I’m a huge fan of the Swiss typographic grid because it doesn’t restrict me — au contraire, it’s a platform for play. My visual language, influenced by my home country’s graphic minimalism (I was born in Geneva and returned there after 15 cold winters in the USSR/Russia), balances precision with personality, ensuring designs are as delightful to navigate as they are efficient to build… and serve a business purpose.
As someone with a business education at ESCP Europe and years running diverse businesses in France, Russia, Switzerland and the US, not to mention the logistic of producing stuff all over the world — I literally wear formal dress shoes to match my suit and tie — KPIs and investor calls is something I live with myself.
As one CEO put it: “With Anatoly, you are not just dealing with a ‘creative personality’ but a highly professional business partner, willing to refine and iterate his team’s work until it serves its intended purpose.”
Whether optimizing conversion rates or creating frictionless onboarding flows, I see design as a tool for solving tangible problems. Are your users aging out or evolving beyond your current platform? Do you need to reposition your brand into a higher-tier luxury market — or showcase authentic, unmistakably human experiences in an AI-saturated world? Perhaps you’re seeking global, cinematic immersion, where every detail speaks with clarity and intent. These are the challenges I embrace, crafting bespoke solutions for an evolving digital landscape. Not for beauty’s sake or some post-modern relativism, but for concrete results: take a look at my portfolio or dive into detailed client case-studies.
Good design is about repetition of something that “just works”. Long term. If you need a refresh every year, something is as good as current fast fashion — flashy for a season, but not sustainable.
That’s why I build adaptable and well-documented systems (brand books, inline comments, descriptive naming schemas I share on GitHub). Sites I’ve built in 1999 continue to function in 2025. Yes, even the Flash ones, if you install the plugin.
My design work isn’t confined to one aesthetic or trend; it’s informed by universal principles that stand the test of time. I’ll even hide a touch of Russian poetry behind the disagreeable face of a Moscow metro ticket vendor. Here’s a micro-Interaction for you.
But it’s still built to Swiss spec: reinforced concrete to last several centuries. Did you know that the Swiss armed forces’ SIGs are essentially Kalashnikov’s machined to tighter tolerances? That’s me: precise and reliable, clean hits and low maintenance.
Clients return for results — and for the rigorous, collaborative process behind them.
Explore my portfolio to experience the depth and breadth of my UI/UX work—from experimental layouts to highly functional systems. Or head to my GitHub for the systems and tricks I'm eager to share with the world.
Then let’s build an interface between your best work and something better than pure function — memories and inspiration.
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