Do you remember the first design project you ever did?
The one where your grandmother’s approval was the ultimate measure of commercial success, and the composition was built on a radical pursuit of «prettiness»?
Katya, age 7
The creative director (aka grandma) signed off without a single revision. The main KPI? Placement in the living room, with viral reach across the entire extended family.
Back then, I thought the designer’s job was just to make the world more beautiful. I thought that was enough.
But it wasn’t.
The first real brief, and the first competition, showed me: beauty gets a nod. An idea gets chosen.
AI made form accessible — anyone can generate a pretty picture. Pinterest pushes the same patterns. Everyone copies everyone.
The result: a sea of pretty visuals that say nothing.
No idea. No solution. No sale
So I chose a different path.
Meaning first. Form follows.
I’m Ekaterina Kochkina, a fourth-year design student and brand identity designer based in Moscow. Before university, I completed a secondary specialized degree in design and teaching. Currently interning at Kaspersky as a designer.
My practice is grounded in research. I analyze the cultural, historical and social context of a brand, and from this analysis I derive a central metaphor.
This metaphor becomes the foundation of the whole identity. Typography, color, imagery and composition are not chosen for appearance alone: each one has to serve the idea. The visual system is therefore a consequence of the concept, not its starting point.
Every decision has to be explained and defended.
Identity for a porcelain collection
Brief
As part of an open call initiated by the tableware brand Antikhrupkost and the real estate developer Strana Development, the task was to develop a concept for a porcelain collection reflecting the identity of Moscow’s Presnensky district.Research
I decided to explore the question: What is on the roofs of Presnya? In the Presnensky district, you can find many unique weathervanes, spires, towers, and rooftop sculptures. This reflects the heterogeneity of the district, where each era has left its mark in the form of distinctive details.Idea & Metaphor:
Presnya is remarkably diverse and eclectic. The visual fragmentation of the district, where historic estates collide with austere Soviet constructivism and the mirrored towers of the City, is its uniqueness. Its identity.Form
And collage is its language. That is why the technique here is not accidental. The fragmentation logically led me to it. Watercolor, scissors, crayons. The collage brings together what the district brings together: different eras, different materials, different details.
Shortlisted — top 11 out of 129 submissions from around the world.
Identity for Japanese confections
