Asya Demidova is a multidisciplinary designer who thrives off both mess and organisation

Finding order amongst the chaos, Asya Demidova thinks of herself as having two traits: not only is she incredibly organised, she’s messy too. This has turned into “the ultimate combo that helps me a lot daily,” she tells It’s Nice That. A multidisciplinary designer and art director, Asya’s tendencies have enabled her to build imaginative worlds in both the physical and digital spheres. From joyful characters to bubbly lettering, her work transcends mediums as it flits between branding, creative direction and a medley of techniques in 3D, AR and animation.

Asya grew up in Moscow but later moved to Dublin, which is where she currently resides and spends her time cycling around on her foldable bike. In her younger years, she always had an inkling that she’d end up doing something creative, despite studying for a degree in economics before completing her second degree in design. “I felt my call and interest,” she says about finding her feet in the creative industry. Excited by her new path, she began developing her own unique style and channeling her interests in both 2D and 3D.

Whether it’s doodling in her sketchbook or building geometrical structures, Asya likes to absorb as much as possible from the waking day – finding inspiration in just about anything and twisting her shapes into fully realised characters. This can be seen throughout the entirety of her portfolio, but most notably in her 2D project crank kitty crew, featuring a simplistic line drawing of a friendly feline sporting a colourful head of hair. When it comes to 3D, she always strives to test out new technologies and media, as seen in her projects for The New York Times, Pull&Bear and abstract worlds. “3D allows me to communicate and create an engaging experience,” she says. “I’m especially into creating different 3D worlds, where you can actively choose how you want to see the world and what you want to focus on.”

Everything Asya puts her mind towards has been built with a lot of care and attention. A typical project begins with extensive research and a deep dive into the topic at hand. Sometimes, she’ll take her sketches and morph them into new angles and compositions, reworking the original idea and generating new ones in the process. She also works regularly with clients, which is a collaborative part of her job that she thoroughly enjoys. “When building concepts, I love to create strict rules which allow me to focus on better communication, and then rules which break them,” she says. “I love to stay visually playful and it adds a personal touch.” Just like her ability to be both organised and messy, Asya’s approach to design and illustration is equally broad – she likes to break boundaries just as much as she likes to work with structure.

Recently, Asya was tasked to work on Finna, a swimming brand founded in 2020. Living a healthy life herself, she was thrilled to take on a project in connection to sport, developing the brand and creating 3D backgrounds and artworks. “I used organic shapes, typography and grids following the movement wave traced throughout the design,” she explains. There are plenty of signature Asya trademarks running throughout the identity, like the bubbly, shiny textures and creative compositions. What’s more, the brand participated in the FINS Swimming World Championship for the first time this year, making it an exciting project to be part of.

Elsewhere, Asya was given the opportunity to build an identity for #beeasykid, which is an “adaptable” clothing brand for kids with disabilities. Asya and the team worked on the website, social media, communications and character design, as well as 2D and 3D illustrations. Additionally, she’s also working on a 3D animated video to raise awareness around adaptive clothing – garments that make those who wear them feel comfortable, included and accepted. “Those small things can make the change,” she says. “Inclusivity is the main goal, as many people are unaware that dressing can be an issue for kids.”

Next in line for Asya a series of illustrations for digital magazine zollfreilager and its special issue, Figures of Figuration, which is created with the Zürcher Theaterspektakel, a theatre festival in Zurich. Not to mention a new series of illustrations named under SoftRealms, set to launch later this month. There’s clearly lots more to come in this playful world of Asya’s.