Yulya Besplemennovaybdesigning@gmail.com

medium.com/@yulyamedium.com/@coonsfromspace

it.linkedin.com/in/ybdesigning

I am a multidisciplinary designer:

areas of work&interests:

#nevicata14 was a project of ta temporary pedestrian configuration of Castello square in Milan during EXPO- 2015. It was a square built from collective dream. “Nevi-cat14” in Italian stands for “snowfall of 2014” - a vision which we proposed to transorm a former road in a middle of conflict between city administration and citizens into a shared open space where all citizens were invited to create their story from the blank page. When our approach was selected to be implemented, we proceeded expanding the arhictectural project into a project of public communication. This led to the positive change in citizens’ perception of space and its definitive pedestrian transformation. There were numerous participatory activities implement-ed: kick-off workshop, open Facebook page, meetings with citizens during all the process and especially one month of events to introduce the square - #nevica-ta14LAB. Initial narrative helped also to build identity of this new place for which we worked to activate it and bring citizens to contribute to its new life.

#nevicata14storytelling, participative process

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role: project coordinator, lead designerwith Guidarini-Salvadeo & Interstellar Raccoons

nevicata14.tumblr.com/facebook.com/nevicata14

bit.ly/n14_futurecapetownbit.ly/n14LAB

#nevicata14storytelling, participative process

As we understood the need to overcome perception of new square as an empty street we needed not just a physical intervention but coordination of efforts to activate it. For all the duration of installation we were working to attract as many events as possible as well as to communicate the informal uses of space. Besides communication we developed the website to connect all the events and services available in the space and have explained it in the signs in the square (which also had Wifi to access the digital extension of its space).

This new hybrid space became a sort of media platform which also interested sponsors and producers of the furniture installed there so that we could double the initial budget thanks to their discounts in return for the high quality of communication of their brands. This way we have tested a new business model making a physical space creation more sustainable thanks to the added value of its digital layer and its capacity to reach more people and increase visibility.

#nevicata14curated hybrid space

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role: project coordinator, lead designerwith Guidarini-Salvadeo & Interstellar Raccoons

nevicata14.itbit.ly/designing_n14

http://bit.ly/n14_identitymedium.com/nevicata14-story

This was the work that changed my view on how the urban space functions and the moment when I decided I wanted to work on the new “hybrid space” condition.

During the thesis process I performed a deep theoretical research to understand how public spaces change with Internet adoption and what could be the role of urban Wi-Fi service in the reinvention of new public realm. To understand better the local context I had performed observations in 3 places in Milan looking at people interactions and talking to them to better undertand their behaviour and opinion about urban spaces in general and use of Wi-Fi and Internet access to communicate in them.

My final project was about redefinition of the existing OpenWifiMilano service in order to become more suitable for the needs of various users and to create a platform for the other urban services to become integrat-ed with it for the general benefit of the city and citizens.

Eterea: new urban wifi landscape

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Thesis for Product-Service System Design Master Program in Politecnico di Milano

bit.ly/issuu_etereabit.ly/medium_eterea

Ceramic Futures was an online/offline workshop between leading European design and art schools where groups of students were working locally offline and communicat-ing all the process online in the or Google+ community.

For the 2nd adn 3rd edition I was a co-tutor for the Politecnico di Milano group. We developed the methodol-ogy of this learning environment approach basing it partially on speculative design concepts, but mostly improvising and putting together new tools, like design approach patterns, rituals and future maps. With this approach and flexible individual guidance for each student, Politecnico students won Top of the Top nomination for the 2nd and 3rd years of the workshop.

Besides specific methods we created this process as an open multidisciplinary environment bringing students of various specialisations as much as possible beyond the academic classrooms and making them collaborate and help each other in different expertise areas.

Ceramic Futures#

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ceramicfutures.com

role: co-tutor, coordinatorwith Interstellar Raccoons

Master Relational Design is an itinerant hybrid Master of 1st Level. During one year students participate in didactic activities split into 4 weeks-long modules both online (in the community on Google+) and offline — having monthly workshops. The core of the course is its focus on relational aspects of design and community-based process.

We have curated modules in 2 editions of RD:

2014: Mobility and Vehicles — in partnership with FIAT research center, focused on development of future scenarios in mobility.

2015: Urban Thinking — in partnership with Polymnia Venezia and M9. Module was focused on how social innovation in retail can help to shape new M9 district in Mestre in connection with existing urban canvas and relations within local community.

Relational Design#

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bit.ly/RelDes1bit.ly/RelDes2

relationaldesign.it

role: co-tutor, coordinatorwith Interstellar Raccoons

Interstellar Raccoons is the plarform and network for design knowledge sharing and creation. It has started with the desire to reflect on our work and learn from it at the same time discussing finding with others.

We have created the story of fictional identity of Raccoons in order to liberate ourselves from the assigned expertise and be able to detach from work itself.

Further it transformed also into exploration of the role of fiction in mediated world we live as imaginarium of Raccoons has raised suspicions of the existance of a secret mission with more animal species in space than we thought, about which public has never found out.

The principle of “Design beyond terrestrEality” is what guides us in exploration of space (in broadest terms) issues, development of understanding of role of immagi-nation and speculative approach to complex problems that we face in contemporary world.

Interstellar Raccoons#

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medium.com/@coonsfromspacebit.ly/coons_approach

role: founder, illustrator and content creator

The Floating Piers and Production and Consumption of Hybrid Space

Zarya is the new entity, which I'm developing, dedicated to the exploration and design of the hybrid space - social space existing in more than one dimension (physical/digi-tal, material/intangible, real/fictional, etc).

With the spread of mobile devices, social media, ubiqui-tous internet connection, augmented reality and many other technologies all the space around us has gone into the new state which has its own (hybrid) rules and logics but is still not that well understood.

Unnecessary divisions and contradistinctions of digital and physical, real and virtual, fictional and actual have caused serious damage to the understanding of the continuous experience of people inhabiting this new environment. This is the gap which Zarya aims to bridge defining the holistic approach to the hybrid space and interactions within it.

Zarya/hybrid space lab/

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bit.ly/int_tinderbit.ly/pokefetish

medium.com/zarya-hybridspace-labbit.ly/floating_piers

role: founder, designer & researcher

Routes Software is a Russian-Italian company aiming at improving the travelling experiences with technological solutions.

Main project we’re developing is the Routes.tips platform to share user-generated “routes” - automatically regis-tered itineraries which permit users to review their travels on the map and share insights about the places they live in or visit.

Another app with created is Bergamo Quest - kind of intellectual Pokèmongo - geolocated treasure hunting game to discover hidden gems of the city. In parallel we’re working on other projects involveing Augumented reality and chatbots technologies to assist travellers.

My role is to create a human-centered design process in the tech-domincated collective and to guide all the service and UX design decisions based on the work with real users and their inputs.

Routes Software#

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routes.tipsfacebook.com/bergamoquest

role: strategic and service designer

As I work on the projects that mostly involve high level of complexity and a lot of people collaborating, the best way to rest for me is to create something simple on my own. It’s been more than 18 years since I entered the children arts school for the first ime and since then I’ve never gave up drawing, sketching, making different things by hand.

Nowadays my favorite activities are life-drawing, serigra-phy, lino-cut and handmade stamps creations, as well as illustrating various complex topics which I write about with the same level of complexity in artworks.

But besides arts I was also always interested in tech and grew up in the house full of microchips, old computer details, punchcards and other curious objects. Therefore I also tried to learn coding (Processing, VVVV) and paid attention to the development of makers and physical computing trend, attending workshops and creating my own (not very) smart objects.

Personal projects#

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Thank you!