What comes to your mind when you think about Russia? Vodka, matryoshkas (the nested dolls) and a looong railroad? Well, there’s more to Russia than that, and rather than looking at it from an outsider’s perspective we wanted some Russians to tell us what they think is typical for their country. And we wanted all of us to get a good laugh, too. So we got a group of Moscow product designers together and told them the deal: think of something that is typical for Russia. Come up with a product that explores it in a humorous way. Visualize the product. Present it to the group tomorrow. 

So, what’s typical for Russia, or what are the stereotypes about Russia? The designers had the answers: cold winters, bad weather, vast landscape, accordions, scarves, babushkas, every car is a potential taxi, Russian roulette, the Kalashnikov, tea with jam, oil, gas, black resources, caviar, felt shoes, banya (Russian bath), felt hats and birch branches for the banya, birch trees, samovars, military, the red star, camouflage clothes, bribes, money, status symbols, bad roads, dark streets, polar bears on the streets, balalaikas, lazy people, no trash collection...

...which then led to a bunch of ideas from new products: cell phone heater, fur-coated cell phone, self-dissolving plastic bags, ladies flashlight for dark alleys, Russian roulette multiple usb sticks (only one out of six is working!), a bottle for tea with jam, a bear protector, mathrioska theft alarm… and much more. Some ideas were executed by the designers, and the result can be seen if you scroll down this page. Enjoy!

Hope all participants had as much fun as we had, it was great meeting you all. Big thanks to Natalia Schiptsova for organizing the event and to British Higher School of Art and Design for providing the workshop space.

creativity at the wall

click the images for details

Katerina Grigoryeva

Russia is a cold place, and money and subway tickets can be difficult to get hold of with all those bulky winter clothes. What to do? A mitten with storage pockets, of course.

Sergio Shlyakov & Anton Shurigin

These are the facts: Russians are lazy and don't plan far ahead. At least that's what Sergio and Anton claim... so every Russian should be familiar with the following situation: it's morning and you realize all your socks are dirty. Now what? Wash them of course, and then dry them with the hairdryer! To make every lazy person's life easier, Sergio has designed a smiling adapter for the hairdryer so you can dry two socks at the same time, while Anton suggests a freestanding little fellow with a built-in fan. They will make your socks dry, and make you smile too.

Ivan Yakushev

If vodka could be sold in a dry

"chocolate bar" version, this is what

it would look like. Just add water.

Irina Zdavona

Friendly vodka bottles show the

spirit of drinking together.

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