Designer Spotlight: Elena Smirnova

In this Designer Spotlight, we introduce Elena Smirnova, a Prague-based digital designer specializing in projects across fashion, design, and lifestyle. She shares her design insights and talks about projects she did in the past.

Meet Elena Smirnova, a digital designer with a focus on fashion, design, and lifestyle projects. Specializing in website experiences, Elena’s mission is to help clients achieve their creative goals by crafting clean yet captivating digital solutions with distinct personality. Known for blending artistic approach with functional clarity, her designs consistently aim to engage users while remaining visually sophisticated. Elena’s expertise lies in striking the perfect balance between minimal approach and creativity, creating digital experiences that stand out.

From this point, Elena takes us through her creative journey in her own words, beginning with a selection of her standout projects.

Featured Work

ETRO Textiles

A project I undertook as part of the Dentsu Creative Italy team. Most people know the ETRO fashion house, and this website was designed for their homeware textiles line. The main challenge was presenting the extensive collection in an engaging way without overwhelming visitors. We tackled this with playful textile cards and 3D fabric animations, that are catching user’s attention from the moment they landed on the website . I enjoyed collaborating closely with a motion designer and a creative developer to bring this project to life.

Dolce Vita

I joined this project as an Art Director, collaborating with the Creative Nights team for a Czech digital and print magazine about lifestyle, design, fashion, and beauty. This was my first local project in a while, and being in the same city and seeing it in action inspired me. The goal was to convey the feeling of print in a digital format while ensuring it functioned seamlessly as a website. We played with typography and layouts to add a more artistic vibe.

Palette

One of my favorites, this project was for Nicole Mason, a Los Angeles-based photographer and creator. I designed this website together with Standard Studios, whose owner has become a friend over the years. We aimed for a smooth, engaging experience with artistic elements woven throughout. Originally created as a studio and prop rental business, it was an elevated e-commerce experience, which is a project type I love. It’s since evolved into a creative resource bank.

Elena Smirnova Portfolio

I think the hardest projects are the ones you do for yourself, right? I’d wanted to update my portfolio for a while, so it reflected the level of projects I’m working on and my personality. Balancing an interesting look with a minimal, elegant feel was challenging. I enjoyed collaborating closely with a local Prague developer on this project. It not only helped us create a great website but also deepened my understanding of the development process and improved how I hand off designs to developers.

Background

I’m a digital designer based in Prague, but I work worldwide. I started as a graphic designer but soon transitioned to digital design. I began in product design, mainly focusing on mobile apps, but my background in graphic design soon pulled me toward creating more artistic web experiences. Over my career, I’ve worked independently, handling the entire design process, and as part of design teams. My collaborative experience includes working with creatives and developers alike, which has given me strong communication skills with both.

Although most of my collaborations are online, my career journey has involved moves to several cities, allowing me to gain valuable in-person work experience. For instance, during a one-year stay in Milan, I joined the Dentsu Creative Italy team, where I had an opportunity to work on projects for TOD’S, Lamborghini, ETRO, and other world-renowned Italian brands.

Now, I’m back in Prague, focusing on growing my personal brand, not just globally but also in the city I call home for now.

Design Philosophy

I’d say I’m more of a “less is more” kind of designer. I prefer a minimalist approach, avoiding too many elements that compete for attention on a webpage, whether in animation or concept. With my background in app design, I bring some visual and behavioral patterns from mobile apps into my web designs. This approach is unusual for the fashion, art, and design projects I often work on, as they usually steer away from techy visuals. But I believe that, done right, these elements can enhance the experience and make a design stand out. My goal is to make the mobile experience as engaging as the desktop version.

Tools and Techniques

My primary design tool is Figma — I was an early adopter, drawn to Figma even while most were still using Sketch. For interaction animations and design presentations, I use Jitter for simpler projects and After Effects for more elaborate work. ChatGPT helps me find resources during the research phase or review copy. I use Are.na and Savee to organize resources for work and inspiration boards. Recently, I’ve been exploring 3D tools, mainly Cinema 4D and Spline, to see how they can be used in web design and project presentations without overwhelming the experience.

Inspiration

I often find inspiration in music. As a violinist, I think I have a unique relationship with it. For inspiration, I lean toward electronic and other modern genres, often finding a style or track that sets the mood for a project.

I’m a fan of fashion photography, so whenever I travel, I make it a point to visit local galleries if there’s an exhibition. Working with projects rich in visual content also provides a steady source of inspiration. The energy of major European cities inspires me, too — I like to think about what would attract people’s attention in each place, knowing the answer varies by city.

Goals

Currently, I’m working to integrate more into Prague’s creative community, as my focus has mostly been on building a global reputation. Alongside this, I aim to balance more Art Director roles with my web projects, ideally achieving a 50/50 split.

While I’m not planning to start my own studio, I enjoy the independence of freelancing and the opportunity to gain experience as part of the design teams I collaborate with.

Final Thoughts

For me, being a designer isn’t just a job title; it’s a way of life that continually inspires me. I hope readers find similar inspiration within themselves, as success often follows when you do. Don’t hesitate to reach out — whether you have a project in mind or just want to grab a coffee, in person or online.