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Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you
I’m Sergey Krasotin, a digital designer currently splitting working time between making interfaces and managing Czech technical startup for interpreters.
Your current job
UX designer at CA Technologies.
In which city are you located?
I’m based in Prague, Czech republic.
A word to define what kind of worker you are:
Structured. I’m obsessed with creating design systems instead of just making graphic mockups, maybe because of that I really like Sketch with its symbols and styles which are really helpful for projects larger than 40-50 screens.
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..)
As I said before Sketch is the main one. Also, I usually use Adobe products such as Photoshop (which still is the best choice if you want to play with rasterized images in your mockups) or After effects. Otherwise, I use Evernote for keeping all my notes and Pocket for reading deferred articles.
Also, I like simple papers and pens since sometimes it’s the fastest way to prototype some user flows.
What does your office space look like?
I’m definitely not the kind of guys who like to work at home or in some cafe/restaurant because talks with developers and project managers are maybe the biggest part of my daily routine.
Actually, I think that any UX designer should work in close connection with the product team and product users because only from them you can get real feedback or test some assumption and do it much quicker than remotely.
What kind of music do you listen when you are working?
I love soundtracks, for last month I’ve been listening to “The Witcher” soundtrack all the time, it’s calm enough to not distract me from the work but not so boring as some ambient Spotify playlists. Otherwise, I listen to different Spotify playlists and do not concentrate on some specific genre or singer.
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work?
Yes, for sure, usually I use Evernote for making daily plans and keeping some notes about projects. Projects files itself I keep in Google Drive.
What tips would you give to improve productivity?
Do some sport. It definitely helps to relax and clear head from thoughts about work. And also do not drink during the weekend, for me it always means that next day I will just stare at display during the whole day without even drawing a single pixel.
You’re better than your colleagues to:
Russian language I guess 🙂
What is the best advice anyone has given you?
On the one design meetup, Tobias Van Schneider (former design director of Spotify) said that he never starts drawing UI from looking for references on Dribbble or Behance and always tries to do it only on his own. It preserves you from unintentional copying and let you create something truly new.
What is your best tip for saving time?
Do design discovery and complete wireframes. If you start drawing any interface without a complete understanding of user flows and all necessary states — you will draw a big, really big number of useless screens and will be needed to redraw a lot.
What is your routine start and end of the day?
Reading emails and procrastinating on Facebook or Instagram.
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not you go without?
My paper notebook.