Growing up in Belarus, Slava Karablikov was mesmerized by books, but not in the way many would think. It was not the content of the story, but the book itself. He admired their covers, bindings, the feel of the paper, the beautiful fonts, and layouts.
“A well-made book is a tangible piece of informational art. It’s a lost feeling in the era of digital information. Somehow, I’ve learned the principles of this legendary style through admiring books,” says Karablikov.
Karablikov’s love of books ended up leading to a prominent career as a product designer, and that passion helped him with learning basics such as color composition, typography, and grid. He then studied the works of Bauhaus titans, such as Jan Tschichold, Josef Albers, Herbert Bayer, and many others, which all contributed to a greater understanding in UX and product design. Working as the Director of Design at the influencer marketing tech company Captiv8, and previously at 415 Agency, InData Labs, and more, he has put this unique and thoughtful approach to garner multiple awards for these prominent companies.
A highlight of his esteemed career came back in 2015 when he first got an offer from RadiumOne, the acclaimed marketing company that provides online display, mobile, video, and social advertising services through programmatic marketing campaigns. The platform utilizes data taken from social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook and uses it to tailor online, video, social and mobile consumer advertising using real-time bidding. The startup had initially raised $33.5 million from venture capital funds, and was taking on only the most qualified employees to turn it into a success.
As a product designer for RadiumOne, Karablikov was responsible for many essential features of the Demand-Side Platform. To do this, he created and revised information architecture documents and diagrams, including but not limited to: content diagrams, content maps, wire frame diagrams, comprehensive diagrams, and static prototypes. He would also research and analyze industry user experience trends and competitor sites and strategies to ensure they were creating a unique and innovative product for customers.
One of the initiatives Karablikov implemented was regular usability tests, which significantly increased the quality of the product. He also initiated the process of establishing a Design System for the product and worked closely with recruiting departments to define hiring procedures for designers and the onboarding process and mentored junior designers.
The services and platforms provided by RadiumOne were highly complex on the technical side, and Karablikov says communication was the key to success. The average user of the R1 platform was an expert in digital media advertising, so when he would design a new feature, he would begin with the deep learning knowledge domain. Then, he would have a few rounds of interviews with developers to validate technical limitations and possible solutions and worked closely with product managers to build better designs. After that, he would have a few user interviews to confirm that the solution met the requirements.
“Working here was challenging in all senses. I needed to make optimal quick decisions in the short term; it helps me stay focused. Also, the head of the product encourages using new methodologies and practices. The team had the opportunity to try advanced techniques. Once, we ran Design Sprint developed by Google to validate the innovative product. It was a productive time for professional learning,” says Karablikov.
Karablikov’s hard work paid off. In 2016, RadiumOne took home many major awards during his time there, including the Top Prize, Most Improved Media Owner, Most Improved Partner, and the Rising Star at the 2016 IPA Media Owner Awards, Best Digital Media Solution at the 2016 Spark Awards, and the Grand Prix Winner at the 2017 Connies Mediatel Awards.
“It’s a thrilling feeling to have had such success. Making something holistic gives you exceptional satisfaction from your effort,” he says.
In June 2017, RhythmOne acquired the assets of data-driven marketing platform RadiumOne for US$22m. Karablikov’s immense contributions greatly contributed to this success, and his results led to him being approached by Captiv8, where he continues bringing in major awards.
Punit