Kostya Stihe

Kostya Stihe

Product Designer in Kyiv, Ukraine

About

I'm strategic and creative product designer who specializes in crafting compelling digital experiences that delight users, drive business outcomes, and push design boundaries. With a data-driven and user-focused approach, I have a relentless focus on rapid iteration and continuous improvement. I'm a skilled collaborator who thrives in fast-paced environments and loves bringing fresh ideas and perspectives to the table! Let's work together to create something amazing. (With deliberate imperfection).

Contact

Website
Telegram

Work Experience

2021 — 2023
Senior Product Designer at Aura NFT
  • Played a crucial role in developing a cutting-edge web3 ecosystem & Aura’s brand identity.

  • Collaborated with developers and stakeholders to design intuitive and visually stunning interfaces for Marketplace, Wallet, and Tournaments applications.

  • To help users comprehend parameters of NFT-token better I conducted extensive research and created visually appealing NFT-token pages packed with rich analytic and infographic.

  • Designed a wallet with NFT-games specifics in mind.

  • Focused on creating profile pages that allow users to showcase their successes and victories in the games they played.

  • Involved in building the design team.

2017 — 2020
Senior Product Designer

As an early pioneer and designer in the Sweatcoin team, I played a crucial role in creating an app that became the #1 hit on both AppStore and Android.

  • Swiftly iterated to bring various new features to the app and improve existing ones based on data and feedback.

  • Helped over 5M users become and stay active.

2015 — 2016
Senior Product Designer at Konnekto
  • Led design for communication platform Konnekto, designing interfaces for mobile and web.

  • Created beta version of iOS app, primary functions of Web CMS for brands and app-template delivered to multiple brands.

  • Collaborating with key stakeholders to establish product vision and strategy.

  • Translating complex user needs and requirements into intuitive and user-friendly designs.

  • Coordinating with engineering to ensure the interface and mechanics were optimized for user engagement.

  • Guiding product development to ensure it met customer expectations for a seamless discovery experience through local communities.

2014 — 2015
Product Designer at &go
  • Worked on app for helping travellers find and buy flight tickets in credit, researching existing solutions, flows, and visual language.

  • Created guiding principles for tickets usage at different scenarios and stages.

  • Launched beta-version, landing page, logotype, and style core principles.

2013 — 2014
UI/UX/Product Designer at auto.ru
  • Relaunched Auto.ru's News project from a daily newspaper into leading magazine about vehicles.

  • Conducted much research, architectural redesign, and visual design to upgrade the project.

2013 — 2014
Product Designer, Co-founder at Piiine
  • Conducted hypothesis statements, context scenarios, and concept testing to refine functions and restrictions.

  • Created service for searching hotels along the road-trip route and creating thematic lists of hotels.

  • Launched MVP and later the first version of service, connected suppliers of hotels, enticed one investor, won StartupSauna battle and completed acceleration program in Stockholm, Finland.

2010 — 2013
Digital Designer at Yander
  • Delivered materials for Yandex advertising online and offline, doodles for the main page logo, landing pages for company services and updates.

  • Created a logotype for one of the best IT-conferences.

2005 — 2009
Graphic Designer at various companies
  • Designed logotypes and company styles for clients from different industries.

  • Designing layouts, articles, catalogues, brand books and advertisement.

Projects

2024

— About
Aura is a state-of-the-art gaming ecosystem that equips gamers with everything they need to be better. Not just another marketplace. Aura powers gaming strategies with real-time data and various tools to help accurately find the best choices on the market.

— Goals
Design Aura to cultivate a data-driven community that empowers gamers to enhance their gameplay, discover new opportunities, and connect with fellow enthusiasts.

Assist Aura in maintaining its innovative edge by designing a user-friendly interface for payments and crypto exchanges, integrating tokens seamlessly, and implementing a decentralized exchange.

Support gamers in discovering new games, metaverses, and projects while catering to brands' unique needs with customized experiences and advanced listings.

— Challenge
Time and budget constraints required to prioritize features and make strategic decisions, balancing innovation with practicality. Working within a small team demanded versatile skills and effective collaboration to cover multiple aspects of the project.

Rapid iteration and learning from user feedback were essential to refine the platform and meet the needs of the community.

Balancing the need for a customizable, NFT-compatible marketplace template with a cohesive user experience necessitated careful design thinking and a modular approach.

Staying up-to-date with the ever-changing blockchain and NFT landscape involved continuous research and adaptation.

— Result
Aura boasts visually captivating interfaces for Marketplace, Wallet, and Tournaments applications, achieved through collaboration with developers and stakeholders.

Extensive research enabled the creation of visually engaging NFT-token pages that facilitate user comprehension with analytics and infographics.

The customized wallet design caters to the specific needs of NFT-games, offering a tailored experience for users.

Aura's Brand Identity, Design Principles, and UI library were established, fostering consistency and cohesiveness across the platform.