I’M LENA, A SEASONED DESIGNER ORIGINALLY FROM RUSSIA, MSC. I’VE SPENT THE PAST SIXTEEN YEARS BUILDING DIGITAL PRODUCTS, LEADING DESIGN TEAMS, AND EXPLORING HOW CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY SHAPE EACH OTHER.
From 2008 to 2014, I climbed the career ladder, working for companies such as Tanuki, Lamoda, Vintage Agency, and Digital October Center. In 2014, I became Creative Director at Otkritie Bank, leading the digital communications department of its brokerage division. It was everything I thought I wanted — until I realized it wasn’t.
I left the corporate world and founded The Chayka Shop, a small experimental craft studio that unexpectedly appeared in online media such as SNC, Afisha, Elle, and The Village. For three years I worked with my hands, exploring form, scent, and material — a completely different kind of design.
In 2023, I joined music streaming app Zvuk, where I first led the design team and later moved into R&D projects, exploring design innovation, experimentation, and the intersection of user experience, technology, and meaning.
Over the years I’ve collaborated with Huawei, Yandex, Kaspersky Lab, VTB Bank, TBC Bank, BCS Broker, Kulturhuset Theater, Camber App, Autry Park, Timepad, and others.
Today I’m a Principal Designer at a Dutch neobank, raising a child, and exploring how digital products transmit culture, and how culture shapes digital design in return.
RECOGNITIONS
Hiiibrand Awards
Finalist
2023
ODA Awards
Winner and Gold
2023
AKAR
Creativity Rating (Digital)
2020, 2022
Awwwards
x5
CSS Awards
Showcase Featured
x2
CSS Lite
Site of the Day
x2
Behance
2014-2025
x36
Readymag
Project of the Year
2020
Mindsparkle Mag
Site of the Day
2020
APD Awards
Selected for Editorial Board of Almanac
2019 & 2021
G8
Long List
2019
CSS Winners
Site of the Day
2019
Investfunds Awards
Best Broker App
2019
FinNext
Winner
2016
Behance Russian Top 5
Branding
2015
PUBLICATIONS
It’s Nice That!
See & Grow
2025
Handheld Design
User Playlists
2024
Mindsparkle Mag
Swell
2024
UX Parrot
Featured designers
2023
Mindsparkle Mag
MadBand
2022
Abduzeebo
Vostok
2022
Interface Market
Camber
2022
Type.today
Personal website
2020
Tutdesign
The Chayka Shop
2016
BOOKS
Ну почему мы этого не знали до того, как начали работатьЭйч, Moscow
Hot Right Now — A Contemporary Landscape for Digital Thinkers: Vol.4
Awwwards Book
Asia-Pacific Design Yearbook No.15,17-18
Sandu Publishing Co., Ltd. of Guangzhou
Interactive Design for Screen
Sandu Publishing Co., Ltd. of Guangzhou
Excellent Branding Identity 2
Hightone Publishing Ltd. of Guangzhou
Touching Branding 3
Artpower International Publish Co., Ltd. of Hong Kong
INTERVIEW
Podcast Dobar Dabar
Youtube
2025
Диалог о дизайне: почему они вмешиваются
BBE
2024
РД #37 · Референсы дизайна
Дизайн-коммьюнити
2023
Об экзистенциальной зрелости и опасности тотального упрoщения
Skvot
2020
Как преуспеть вне офиса
Skvot
2020
An Opportunity to Create Something Beautiful
Viola Chip
2020
Работа над продуктом - не самовыражение
Innova
2017
Познакомьтесь с самым красивым мылом на свете
Afisha Daily
2017
JURY
Awwwards Jury
2020-now
G8 Greateight Jury
2022, 2024
ODA Awards
2023
British Higher School
2021
CSS Design Awards
2020-2021
G8 Executive Jury
2019
Behance Russia Top Five
2016