About

With over 17 years of cross-disciplinary experience, Igor Polyakov has established himself as a creative and strategic leader in product design. His career is defined by a consistent ability to transform complex digital challenges into clean, human-centered experiences. A Finnish citizen currently based in the Netherlands, Mr. Polyakov has driven significant innovation and measurable business growth across Europe's competitive health-tech, cybersecurity, and financial sectors. His work is a testament to a deep understanding of how thoughtful design can build trust, enhance usability, and deliver powerful results.

Product & UX Strategy: Expertise in leading the entire design lifecycle, from user research and testing to wireframing, prototyping, and executing comprehensive UX strategies that align with business objectives.

Design System Architecture: Proven ability to build complete, scalable design systems from the ground up, ensuring brand consistency, developer efficiency, and long-term product sustainability.

Cross-Disciplinary Leadership: A track record of founding and directing creative studios, managing agile teams, and fostering collaboration between designers, developers, and stakeholders to deliver minimum viable products (MVPs) and market-ready solutions.

Branding & Creative Direction: Accomplished in shaping visual identity, brand strategy, and art direction for major clients, including leading Finnish brands and international companies.

Understanding this philosophy is key to appreciating the measurable impact detailed in his career milestones.

For any senior design practitioner, a well-defined philosophy is not merely an academic exercise; it is the strategic framework that ensures every decision serves a clear purpose. It is the bridge between a user's needs and a business's goals. This section explores the foundational principles that guide Igor Polyakov's approach to creating exceptional digital products.

Mr. Polyakov's philosophy is centered on the artful fusion of human-centered design thinking with business-driven results. His process begins with a commitment to transforming complex ideas into clean, intuitive experiences that connect clarity, function, and emotion. He operates on the core belief that great design should quietly improve a user's understanding and trust, achieving a delicate balance between practical usability and visual harmony. This is accomplished by combining rigorous research, structured systems, and refined aesthetics to create interfaces that are not only inclusive and accessible but also feel better for the people who use them every day.

This approach translates directly into tangible business outcomes. By prioritizing the end-user experience, Mr. Polyakov’s work has consistently enhanced customer loyalty, increased conversion rates, and delivered a strong return on investment, as evidenced by the achievements throughout his career.

Igor Polyakov’s career is marked by a clear evolution from foundational design roles to positions of strategic leadership. Each phase is characterized by significant, quantifiable achievements that underscore his ability to deliver value in diverse and demanding industries.

F-Secure Corporation, Helsinki (2011-2014) As a Senior UX & Product Designer, Mr. Polyakov was instrumental in shaping the user experience for F-Secure KEY, a cross-platform password manager. His design contributions were a key factor in improving the product's market adoption and profitability, leading directly to a 50% increase in ROI by the second year post-launch.

Wisdom Health, Helsinki (2014-2019) In his role as Head of UX, Mr. Polyakov led the complete reimagination of the user experience for the Wisdom Health Panel 3.0, a breed identification dog DNA test kit. By creating an intuitive dashboard that translated complex genetic data into actionable insights for pet owners, his leadership and data-driven A/B testing strategies directly resulted in a 15% increase in sales and secured over 3,000 purchases on Amazon.

This period saw Mr. Polyakov take on senior leadership roles in Estonia's burgeoning tech scene, applying his deep expertise in Finnish design to new challenges. Concurrently, he demonstrated significant entrepreneurial drive by founding and directing his own digital studio, BlueRoad / Hotsnow Studio (2020-2025), which delivered targeted design strategies that increased client user engagement by over 25% and conversion rates by 20%.

CoinMetro, Tallinn (2020-2021) As Senior UX/UI Designer, Mr. Polyakov was tasked with stabilizing and enhancing the user journey on a volatile cryptocurrency exchange. He applied proven Finnish design principles to create a comprehensive design system, a strategic move that provided consistency and built user trust, directly contributing to a 35% increase in user retention.

Reinvest24, Tallinn (2021-2022) Serving as Head of UX, Mr. Polyakov was tasked with overhauling the user experience of the real estate investment platform. This strategic initiative involved a complete redesign guided by a Nordic-inspired interface design ethos, resulting in a 40% reduction in usability issues and making the platform more accessible and efficient for investors.

Zaffire Health Technologies BV / Sping Orion, Netherlands In his current freelance capacity, Mr. Polyakov serves as the lead designer for a modular health-tech platform that integrates lab-test data and patient questionnaires. His responsibilities are comprehensive, including building a complete design system from scratch in Figma and directing a cross-disciplinary team to successfully oversee the delivery of the MVP.

This trajectory of delivering measurable results is complemented by a history of formal industry accolades and patented innovations.

Mr. Polyakov's expertise is validated not only by project outcomes but also by formal industry accolades and contributions to intellectual property. These awards and patents reflect his ability to innovate across both visual design and user interface technology.

Details

Double Gold Medal, Packaging (San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 2017)

Silver A' Design Award, Packaging Design (A' Design Award & Competition, 2017–2018)

Gold Medal, Design & Packaging (International Spirits Challenge, 2017)

Locating of Locating-Incapable Devices (GB 2521668)

User Interface Feature Generation (US 2013069953)

SUOMALAISIA — Educational Material (Lasten keskus, 2008)

These contributions, which range from award-winning packaging aesthetics to patented user interface innovations, underscore the remarkable breadth of his impact on the field of design.