Object design is not only about how something looks — it is also about considered functionality. Contemporary Russian designers seek to address everyday needs through aesthetic means, placing usability first.
In this article, Losko Magazine has gathered seven emerging object designers from Russia who are well worth your attention.
Maxim Shcherbakov — @maxim_scherbakov
Maxim Shcherbakov is an object and interior designer from St Petersburg. He holds two specialist degrees — one in painting and one in architecture.
Maxim founded the studios Plan-S23 and Supaform, which specialise in product and interior design. In his projects he seeks to maintain a balance between sculpture, painting, design and architecture.
Together with designer Lyosha Galkin, co-founder of Plan-S23, Maxim created the project PROKK. PROKK is a system of multifunctional wall panels with integrated shelves, niches, switches and sockets. In their work, the designers drew inspiration from Soviet Constructivism and the retro-futurism of the Dieter Rams era.
In 2014 Maxim took part in Milan Design Week (Salone del Mobile), Europe's foremost furniture fair, as part of the project IZBA.
Lyosha Galkin — @lesha_galkin
Alexei Galkin is a product designer and illustrator from St Petersburg. He studied environmental design and architecture at SPbGUPTD.
Alexei co-founded the studio Plan-S23 and the PROKK project with Maxim Shcherbakov, and later went on to establish the St Petersburg studio Facultative Works.
Galkin made his debut on the international design stage as part of the Izba team at Salone del Mobile in Milan, presenting the object Shkatulka — a modular storage system in wood and marble that caught the attention of Wallpaper magazine. Alexei enjoys working with wood, combining ecological tendencies with a modular, construction-kit approach.
Katerina Kopytina — @katerinakopytina
Katerina Kopytina is an industrial designer from Moscow. She graduated from the Institute of Humanities and Applied Sciences in Moscow, earned a Master RSP degree from the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Milan, and completed an internship at the Matteo Ragni studio.
Katya has collaborated with brands including Lavazza, Jannelli&Volpi, Fabbrica del Vapore, Campari, W-eye, Cartier, Disney and Bell'Arte.
She places the idea at the heart of her design. By her own admission, she mentally reimagines everything around her — street bins, benches, bus stops, washing machines, tin cans — everything must be open to reinterpretation and ultimately become a design object.
Ekaterina Semenova — @studio.ekaterinasemenova
Ekaterina Semenova graduated from the Polytechnic University with a degree in economics and management, and went on to study at the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
Katya completed internships at Bart Hess's studio in the Netherlands and in the design department of IKEA's head office in Sweden, and has taken part in Dutch Design Week and the St Petersburg project Naturalist. She is drawn to colour perception, colour theory and the exploration of different textures.
Katya Tolstykh — @katia_tolstykh
Katya Tolstykh is a graduate of the Interior Design and Furnishings department at the Stieglitz Academy.
Katya currently lives in Berlin. In 2015 she joined the Naturalist project and took part in Robowood — an experimental project focused on small-scale forms within a futurist aesthetic. Tolstykh also collaborates with the designers of Plan S-23 and BRIZ Studio, and is a co-founder of Supaform studio. She draws inspiration from Constructivist architecture, Russian avant-garde painting, Scandinavian furniture and Japanese minimalism, and prefers to work with natural materials — wood and metal.
Dima Loginov — @dimaloginoff
Dima Loginov lives and works in Moscow. After thirteen years as a hairdresser, he simultaneously graduated with distinction from the International School of Design in Moscow and from Rhodec International School in the United Kingdom.
Dima has created designs for Artemide, VitrA, Studio Italia Design and Axo Light. In 2012 he won two of the most prestigious awards in design — the iF Product Design Award and the Red Dot Product Design Award.
Maxim Maximov — @maximmaximov
Maxim Maximov completed his diploma in furniture design at the Architecture and Construction Institute in Oryol, after which he relocated to St Petersburg.
He is drawn to the philosophy of minimalism, purity of form and functionality. Maxim is the recipient of 10 awards from the international design association Design and Design (France, Paris).
If you are interested in product design, take a look at our selection of 10 brands whose products are defined by minimalist design.
