In this TechBullion interview with Sergei Evdokimov, we will be diving into the world of design and art, with this talented individual who’s tackling both roles as a designer and art director. Sergei will be sharing some of his success stories with us, including his creativity as a designer and his skillset, from creating visually stunning marketing materials to designing seamless user interfaces for SaaS products.
Sergei, you are the winner of many prestigious international awards and have a diverse experience in design. What project are you currently working on?
Currently, I have two roles. I work as a Designer at AiData and Art Director at Trafficcino. AiData is a service for the advertising industry, serving as a system that stores and segments data of all types. Its clients include companies like Nissan and Carlsberg. My responsibilities involve the visual appearance of our websites and marketing materials. I am also responsible for designing the user experience and user interface for our products and SaaS services. I performed similar tasks in my previous position at Aitarget, Meta Marketing Partner, and Google Premier Partner.
In Trafficcino, I create visual brand communication with users and design SaaS solutions. I have been involved in this project since its inception. This project brought me several international awards, including Gold at the Indigo Awards, Silver at the Muse Creative Awards, and Bronze at the A Design Awards.
You have worked in both startups and large companies. What makes you such a sought-after designer?
At the beginning of my design career, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring different directions in design. Besides, I always believed that if you want to do something well, you have to do it yourself. From the first day of my work in companies, I covered a wide range of different tasks. Over time, I became equally adept at UX/UI, 3D, web, graphics, motion, digital illustration, branding, and analytics. This combination is much appreciated by companies and startups that require a lot of responsibility but have small teams. For a business, hiring one highly qualified designer who can cover several areas at once is easier than hiring several highly specialized professionals.
Another important skill is my deep understanding of UX. The marketing performance and efficiency of a product like AiData is directly dependent on how well the website performs. A complete website redesign and specific UX solutions increased AiData’s website target action conversion rate from 0.44% to 4.49% in the first month and 6.18% in the second month after launching the new website.
Finally, I also highlight my competence in web development. This allows me to implement small sites on my own without resorting to the help of engineers. Still, it also helps me to communicate with them more effectively, faster, and better in the implementation of complex and large projects.
Numerous world-renowned contests have recognized the creativity of your designs. Could you please share the project details that brought you international recognition?
This was the Trafficcino project. It is a SaaS for SMB brands. The idea is that sellers who sell their products on different marketplaces can create a landing page on our service and track all their sales analytics in one place. On the other hand, customers can buy their products on the marketplace of their choice.
This is the first project I have done from scratch as a designer. I designed the logo and identity, designed and developed the promotional website, created the marketing materials for the promotion, and finally implemented the design of the complex SaaS interface.
What creative innovations have you implemented in this project?
The main innovation is empowering users to create landing pages without the need for a designer or developer. As a designer, my task was to make the process as user-friendly and time-efficient as possible. I took a creative approach by simplifying the complexity of creating a landing page into a simple questionnaire-like experience. When users complete the questionnaire, they can see the final design of the landing page.
What advice do you give to junior designers who are just starting in the industry? What skills are required these days?
It doesn’t matter if you have a talent for drawing or analytical skills. The most important thing in the design industry is to be passionate and commit fully to your work. Be passionate and open-minded, and then you’ll easily learn all the necessary skills and keep up to date with all the innovative trends in design
What design trends do you expect to see in 2023?
We live in remarkable times. Technologies are constantly replacing and complementing each other. Last year we discussed topics such as NFTs and the Metaverse. This year, Chat GPT and Midjourney have received considerable attention. I believe that artificial intelligence (AI) technology will continue to evolve and have a major impact on the design industry in the near future. I am optimistic about this progress. AI is already assisting people and speeding up their daily tasks. It will continue to help startups and designers like me to streamline workflows, delegate routine tasks to neural networks, and free up time for creativity.
