_
>|
PORTFOLIO SYSTEM ........ OK
PROJECT FILES ........... LOADED
INTERFACE ............... READY
> START_
ANNA KUZNETSOVA
>|
scroll ↓
SEOUL / OPEN TO RELOCATION_
GIVE ME SOMETHING
COMPLEX.
I’LL MAKE IT WORK.
>|
> 7+ YEARS IN DESIGN
> LOCATION: TOKYO, JAPAN
> LANGUAGES: RU / EN / JP
> NEXT: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA_
A rough idea, a complicated product or a project with no clear direction — that’s where I’m at my best. I dig until I understand what actually matters, turn the mess into a system and stay with it all the way to launch.
I’m curious, deeply involved and always asking why. I enjoy working with people, sharing ideas and taking responsibility for my part in making the whole thing work.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
──────────────────────────
──────────────────────────
──────────────────────────
──────────────────────────
──────────────────────────
──────────────────────────
────
────
────
────
────
────
────
────
────
────
────
────
>|
MONTESSORI
15 INTERVIEWS BEFORE THE FIRST SCREEN
RIKAKU
FROM ZERO TO LAUNCH IN 3 WEEKS
MEDATLON
ONE PRODUCT - TWO VERY DIFFERENT AUDIENCES
SIMPLE PR
BUILDING A WEBSITE WITHOUT VISUAL CONTENT
KOTOFEY
A SEASONAL WEBSITE THAT BROUGHT IN $38K+
TEAM: GRAPHIC DESIGNER / DESIGN ASSISTANT / COPYWRITER
MY ROLE: ART DIRECTOR / LEAD DESIGNER
TIMELINE: MAR — NOV 2024
INDUSTRY: MONTESSORI EDUCATION
CLIENT: SCHOOL OF GREAT DISCOVERIES
> PROJECT FILE / SCHOOL OF GREAT DISCOVERIES
> 01 / RESEARCH
> 02 / FROM CHAOS TO STRUCTURE
2024 / SYSTEM LAUNCHED → 2026 / STILL IN USE
> THE INFORMATION WAS THERE. THE STRUCTURE WASN’T.
> INTERVIEWS ACROSS THE SCHOOL
→ MANAGEMENT
→ PROGRAM LEADS
→ METHODOLOGISTS
→ TEACHERS
→ PROGRAM LEADS
→ METHODOLOGISTS
→ TEACHERS
BEFORE REDESIGNING THE WEBSITE,
I NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND
> 03 / BUILT TO EVOLVE
THE WEBSITE HAD TO GROW
WITH THE SCHOOL.
THE SCHOOL FROM THE INSIDE.
The School of Great Discoveries is a large Montessori school in Moscow and the Moscow region, with multiple locations, age groups and educational programs. Before making any design decisions, I needed to understand how this complex system worked — from the people running it to the parents using it.
I conducted interviews with people across the school, tested the existing website with parents, ran a parent survey and analyzed 11 competitors. This research became the foundation for the new website structure, content logic and design direction.
The existing website had grown into a complex mix of programs, pages and content with no clear information hierarchy. Even parents familiar with the school struggled to find what they needed — making the experience even more difficult for people discovering the school for the first time.
> EVOLVING THE EXISTING IDENTITY
The school already had an established brand, so the goal wasn’t to replace it. I developed a new digital direction within the existing identity — keeping the brand recognizable while giving the website a more distinctive and contemporary character.
The school keeps evolving — new programs, events and content appear constantly. The website needed a flexible system that could grow with it, without relying on the original project team every time something changed.
I built the visual language and page system with that flexibility in mind. Two years later, the internal design team is still developing the website independently, adding new content and pages while keeping the system we created consistent.
I rebuilt the information architecture and content logic around different user needs, creating a structure that made the school easier to understand and navigate. I then developed the design concept, designed the desktop experience and animations, directed the team and brought the final website to launch.
TEAM: SOLO
MY ROLE: DESIGNER / PHOTOGRAPHER
TIMELINE: OCT 2023 / ≈3 WEEKS
INDUSTRY: PREMIUM SUSHI RESTAURANT
CLIENT: RIKAKU
> PROJECT FILE / RIKAKU
> 01 / THE BRIEF
> 02 / CONTENT PRODUCTION
≈3 WEEKS / TO LAUNCH → ≈3 YEARS / STILL IN USE
> THE CONTENT WAS PARTOF THE DESIGN.
BUILDING THE DIGITAL SIDE
OF A NEW RESTAURANT.
> 03 / THE RESULT
WHAT WE LAUNCHED IN 2023
IS STILL IN USE TODAY.
Rikaku was preparing to open as a private sushi restaurant in central Tokyo — intimate, premium and built around a carefully considered dining experience. My task was to create its website from the ground up and make the digital presence feel as exclusive as the restaurant itself.
There was very little prepared for the website, so I had to define what it needed to communicate, shape the structure and visual direction, and work directly with the client in Japanese to bring everything together.
With no existing content to rely on, I planned the photography around the website from the beginning. I decided what we needed to show, built the shot lists and references, and used the website structure to guide the entire production.
The final result was a complete bilingual website built around the atmosphere and content we had created for Rikaku. But the strongest proof of the work came later.
Nearly three years after launch, the restaurant is still using the original website and visual direction. The content changes as the business evolves, but the design itself has stayed in place.
I shot everything over two days, giving each day a clear focus: drinks, tableware and details first, then food and the chef. The result was a complete visual library created specifically around the website and the atmosphere we wanted it to convey.
TEAM: ILLUSTRATOR
MY ROLE: ART DIRECTOR / LEAD DESIGNER
TIMELINE: JUL 2025 — JAN 2026
INDUSTRY: MEDICAL EXAM PREPARATION
CLIENT: MEDATLON
> PROJECT FILE / MEDATLON
> 01 / MAKING COMPLEXITY CLEAR
> 02 / EVOLVING THE IDENTITY
> THE BRAND DIDN’T NEEDA REBRAND. IT NEEDED MORE LIFE.
> CREATING THE MASCOT
THE EXAM IS COMPLICATED.
THE WEBSITE SHOULDN’T BE.
> 03 / THE RESULT
A COMPLEX PRODUCT,
MADE CLEAR AND ALIVE.
REFERENCE / MEDICAL LATEX GLOVES
Medatlon helps Russian-speaking students prepare for MedAT — the entrance exam for medical universities in Austria. My task was to turn a complex and unfamiliar topic into a website that worked for two different audiences: students preparing for the exam and parents trying to understand the process.
I first learned the product myself: how the exam works, what makes it difficult and how Medatlon approaches preparation. Then I built the content around one clear contrast — show the challenge honestly, then show how the school makes it manageable.
Medatlon already had a recognizable identity, so I kept its foundation and developed it further. I introduced a university study-notes aesthetic and expanded the existing palette, giving the brand more character without losing what was already familiar.
I brought the content, visual direction and character together into a complete website for Medatlon — designed across desktop and mobile, with motion integrated throughout the experience. Today, the website is live and brings the school real consultation requests.
To bring more personality into the system, I worked closely with an illustrator to explore several mascot directions. We chose the bacterium because it connected naturally to the medical context while staying playful, expressive and flexible enough to work in different situations across the website.
+
TEAM: ILLUSTRATOR
MY ROLE: ART DIRECTOR / LEAD DESIGNER
TIMELINE: APR — JUL 2024
INDUSTRY: PR AGENCY
CLIENT: SIMPLE PR
> PROJECT FILE / SIMPLE PR
> 01 / CREATING THE DIRECTION
> 02 / DEVELOPING THE ILLUSTRATION SYSTEM
> ONE DIRECTION. A WHOLE WORLD OF STORIES.
> CLIENT FEEDBACK
“We use the website actively in our work, including outreach to potential clients. The visual concept and overall style stood out the most — and adding new cases after launch has been easy.”
NO PHOTOS. NO VISUAL CONTENT.
SO I BUILT A WORLD INSTEAD.
> 03 / THE RESULT
OTHER CLIENTS WANTED
THE SAME DESIGN.
Simple PR needed to refresh an outdated website after introducing a new logo. The brand already had a bold palette of bright colors, but almost no visual content for the website — so I needed to find a way to bring everything together into one clear visual direction.
Instead of relying on stock photography, I built the concept around an editorial aesthetic — using white space, graphic compositions and the existing brand colors as controlled accents.
I worked closely with an illustrator to turn the direction into a flexible visual system. Different services became different scenes, with their own characters, situations and details — all connected by the same visual language.
After the launch, several potential clients came to me specifically because of the Simple PR website, asking if the same design approach could be adapted to their own businesses.
I set the direction and references, then gave the illustrator room to develop associations and stories within them. My role was to guide the ideas, give feedback and make sure every new illustration still felt like part of the same world.
ILLUSTRATOR
TEAM: GRAPHIC DESIGNER
MY ROLE: ART DIRECTOR / LEAD DESIGNER
TIMELINE: AUG — OCT 2025
INDUSTRY: CHRISTMAS OUTDOOR LIGHTING
CLIENT: KOTOFEY
> PROJECT FILE / KOTOFEY
> 01 / FINDING THE DIRECTION
> 02 / DEVELOPING THE DESIGN
> THIS IS WHERETHE MAGIC STARTED.
During the first season, the campaign generated over $38K in tracked revenue — and this was only the part we could directly measure. The client also reported that customers regularly mentioned the website, with some saying its design influenced their decision to choose the company.
THE CLIENT WANTED A FAIRY TALE
FOR A PREMIUM AUDIENCE.
> 03 / THE RESULT
WE BROUGHT THE WHOLE WORLD
OF KOTOFEY TO LIFE.
The client came with an unusual mix of references inspired by old Russian fairy tales and vintage illustrations. They also wanted a cat mascot — a natural fit for the name Kotofey — with the character of an old storybook illustration. At the same time, the service was aimed at affluent homeowners, so the brand needed to feel sophisticated enough for a premium audience. They had already explored different directions before coming to me, but none of them felt quite right.
I took the warmth, nostalgia and slightly mysterious mood from their references, then paired it with darker colors, cleaner compositions and more restrained details. This became the direction for the new identity.
Working closely with a graphic designer, we developed the logo, typography and mascot together. We combined a vintage display typeface inspired by old Soviet film titles with a clean modern sans serif, bringing the retro influence into a more contemporary visual language.
The website turned the identity into an interactive story. As visitors move through the page, houses light up, Kotofey appears in different scenes, and animation creates the sense of stepping into his world.
We also explored multiple directions for Kotofey before arriving at the final mascot: an elegant domestic cat with a slightly mischievous expression. His clean silhouette kept him refined, while the glowing eyes gave him the strange, playful character the brand needed.
