Brand and experiential designer. I shape a brand's idea and carry it into every form it takes.
Charlotte, NC
Info
I work with the people who imagine a brand, from the first idea and strategy to every form it takes in the world.
I can join at the strategy, at the concept, or when an existing brand has to move into a new space. It spans beauty and consumer goods, cultural projects, independent consulting and, since 2025, AI infrastructure.
Based in Charlotte, NC, working with distributed teams.
Where I come in
- Strategy
Positioning and brand platform. Author of the BRAND IS A VERB framework.
- Concept
The idea and the creative routes it can take.
- Identity and systems
A visual language that holds across product lines, cities and formats.
- Creative direction
Leading designers, agencies and partners toward one result.
- Realization
Spaces, events, packaging, vehicles and screens, through production.
Who I work best with
- One brand, many surfaces
A brand that has to show up in rooms, on streets, on people and on screens at the same time.
- Growing faster than the brand team
New events, offices and launches arrive before there is a system for them.
- Idea to reality
Teams that want one person to hold the idea from the first concept to the finished thing.
- Where I have done it
AI and technology, beauty and consumer goods, culture.
Clients
Crusoe, Cointelegraph, xpate, SLIM by Apriori, Les Jardins d'Étretat, Il Nature, Novodek, SEG Solutions
Four rules I design by
- Brand is a verb
A brand is what it does in the room, on the street and on the shelf. The idea behind my published framework.
- Design the system
One request becomes a rule that works for the next city, site or product line.
- A mockup is not a spec
Preview size and production size are different documents. Nothing is released until the spec is complete.
- A screen is not a proof
Color gets approved on a physical proof. Monitors and automatic conversions drift.
Experience
- Crusoe2025 to now
Brand and event design, contract. Event and booth graphics, large-format signage, illustration, motion, print and digital brand materials.
- GEONYX and FeedMatchFounder
Two tools of my own: AI recommendation diagnostics, and preparation for thoughtful LinkedIn presence.
- Independent brand designer and consultant2016 to 2025
Brand strategy, identity systems, packaging, exhibition and trade show graphics for clients in luxury, wellness and tech across the US and Europe.
- Natura Siberica2011 to 2016
Creative Director. Design systems across 80+ product lines and a creative team of 12+.
- Il Nature2010
Creative Art Director for opera and cultural productions, France.
Recognition
- Red Dot Design Award2018
- Pentawards2018, 2019, 2020
- The Dieline, Pentawards, CosmoprofFeatures
Writing
- BRAND IS A VERBFigshare, DOI
An original framework for action-based brand strategy.
- Why Your Dog Needs a Strategy (and So Do You)Book
Elsewhere
- elenagrivko@gmail.comEmail
- olena-zaitseva-ai-designLinkedIn
- elenazaitsevaBehance
Crusoe work is described, not shown. It is covered by an NDA and all rights remain with Crusoe.
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