Q&A with Artiom Dashinsky

Hi, I’m Artiom Dashinsky (dashinsky.com), designer and entrepreneur from Tel Aviv, living as a nomad in Europe right now.

How did you get started in UX design?

I always was passionate about two things: bringing value to people and good design. UX-design could be a perfect intersection of both.

My parents are designers, so I had a privilege to learn design theory and a good taste from them. As a kid I was curious about technology and how it affects our lives. All of these things were a great basis for being a UX-designer.

My first job was as a journalist, I was sharing my experience and knowledge about software/hardware and internet in technology-related newspapers and magazines.

Then I started to create blogs and websites in different topics to make information and knowledge accessible for as much people as I can. This work required skills in design, development, marketing, SEO, content strategy etc. and obviously I was doing it all by myself.

People started to ask me to do a website or design for them and after a while I found myself doing both freelance work and my own projects.

Since then I worked as a graphic, UI, UX designer and manager with almost all kinds of clients - agencies, startups, technology companies and retails.

I decided not to go to university, which allowed me much freedom for work, self-development and life.

Let’s talk about the creative process and how you work. What tools and software do you use for your work?

I’m nomad, so my work environment changes all the time. I’m writing this text from the jewellery design studio of my roommate in Bucharest. She is my Airbnb-host and lets me work at her studio (thanks, Mona!) :)

Since most of the time I’m on the go, I keep my working tools portable as much as I can. So I’m using MacBook Pro (Retina) with iPad Air as a second display using Duet, StandStand for standing work, Baron Fig notebook and MUJI pens for my sketches, Beats Pill XL speaker for music.

Usually my projects start as a Pages document where I define the idea, the purpose and the vision of it. After that I do sketches on paper and jump to Sketch/Photoshop. I’m using Slack, CloudApp, InVision, Quip and Appear.in for collaboration with my team, SourceTree for git and Sublime for a code.

I think that my most usable tool and biggest creativity booster is Spotify. Also I highly recommend using f.lux for people who work at evenings/nights.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on startup that I co-founded with my two friends. We’re building a new and unique tool for iOS developers - HelloDebug. It is going to help developers create better applications and provide a better experience to their users.

Besides this I’m working on Nomadler - a community for nomads like me and people who want to start being nomad but have doubts, fears and not enough information.

What is your ideal work environment?

I don’t need a lot to get into zone and basically can work in any environment.

Usually though coffee shops (preferably ones with a lot of sunlight) allow me to be most creative and less distracted, then any other place.

Who are the UX designers you admire most?

I really admire designers who are also founders and entrepreneurs like Joe Gebbia, Tina Roth Eisenberg, Khoi Vinh, Yves Behar, Jason Santa Maria.

These guys are awesome too - Aarron Walter, Tim Van Damme, Julie Zhuo.