My name is Anton, and I’m a talkoholic. Not a typo. Some folks fancy fast cars or hunt for rare Jordans. I collect good conversations.
When I first stumbled into design more than seven years ago, all starry-eyed with a cracked copy of Photoshop CC 2019 and no clue what a grid system was, I kept wondering—what’s my thing? Everyone had a signature. A trademark move. I wanted mine. Turns out, I had it all along: curiosity, empathy, and this urge to connect. To ask the right question. To say the quiet part out loud.
So, that’s what I do. I talk. I ask. I listen. And weirdly enough, that makes me a better designer.
Design Starts With People, Not Pixels
Great design isn’t just about layouts, gradients, or whatever’s trending on Dribbble this week. Behind every vague brief is a real person trying to solve a real problem.
Every “can we make it more premium?” is someone trying to justify their price tag. Every “make it pop” is a business owner worried their product will be overlooked. Every “like Apple, but different” is a brand stuck between admiration and an identity crisis. That’s where I come in.
Before a project even starts, I do a little research. Not in a creepy Joe Goldberg way—just enough to get a sense of who I’m about to work with. A quick scroll through their LinkedIn, a peek at their travel blog, or that one Insta post with their dog and a surfboard. Anything that tells me: this is a person, not a task.
Then come the small talks.
“My kid renamed all my Figma files.”
“The dog’s barking on every Zoom call today.”
“Sorry, I’m in a café, and they’re playing Taylor Swift again.”
You laugh. They laugh. Something clicks.
When someone sees you as a human, they stop treating you like a service provider. They start collaborating. Real things get built.
Why I Choose Conversation Over Convenience
If it’s between a call and a seventeen-thread email spiral with missing context and smiley-face sign-offs, I’ll take the call. Not because it’s faster—because it’s human. During those, I ask questions. What’s unclear? What matters most to them? What would make this project a win in their eyes? I don’t assume. I don’t design for numbers. My audience is real people.
So, forget the Medium think pieces, SEO-stuffed ‘10 UI Principles’ listicles, and cookie-cutter design bootcamps. The stuff that actually makes projects work is messier, softer, and harder to fake.
Here’s what stuck with me—through deadlines, pivots, and one too many Google Docs:
– People remember how you made them feel, not the font you used.
– Do your homework. A bit of client research goes a long way in building real dialogue.
– Don’t skip the small talk—it’s the foundation of trust.
– Listen to understand, not to respond.
– And above all: ask “Why does this matter to them?”, not “How fast can I finish this?”
That’s the real craft. The rest is Figma.
