Introduction
Professionally, I’m best at the intersection of helping businesses reach their goals and creating meaningful experiences that leave people feeling great, inspired, and cared for. I have a strong background in designing both customer-facing and enterprise software for desktop and mobile, as well as a years' worth of website design commercial work.
Work timeline
Freelance designer
Apr 2015 — Jul 2017
Apr 2015 — Jul 2017
Strengths & skills
My main strength is the ability to solve complex problems by finding elegant solutions and transforming them into functional interfaces. There's no magic to it, though, just a combination of an accumulated experience, applied knowledge and design thinking.
People always tell that I have an eye for perfection when it comes to crafting high-fidelity UI, and so I would consider this to be my second-best trait. Wireframes and early drawing board concepts can and should be wild, but when it comes to the final product it's pixel perfection or death! (Just kidding, but yeah, my Figma stuff is pretty neat.)
Leadership
Even though I see myself bringing the most value as an individual contributor, I have an experience of leading creative initiatives within business objectives, directing and working closely with a small, dedicated team of professionals.
Usually, I'm also the person who welcomes new hires and performs an onboarding routine, which is a very easy and comfortable activity for me. I've also been taking up a mentor role to share the experience with aspiring designers and gently guide them through design processes.
Recommendations
Here are some testimonials people shared about me on LinkedIn.
Hobbies
My main passion is the photography, which I've been doing for quite some time, starting back when film cameras were still the mainstream way to do it. At some point in the past I was comfortable enough to have it as a side gig, even securing contracts from some big companies like Omsk Carbon Group to shoot portraits and environments.
Another huge activity for me is cycling — there's nothing better than hopping on a bike, go out exploring and making friends while doing so. Also helps with taking photos in new places!
And, as a family man, I spend a lot of time with my with my wife Olga and two sons Boris and Gleb.
Contact info
I'm currently residing in the city of Astana 🇰🇿, while being in the process of relocating to Limassol 🇨🇾. I'm always open to meeting new people, so please feel free to shoot me a message either through email d.shkaev@gmail.com or on LinkedIn.