Phil Brown
University of Plymouth (BA 3D Design: Product Design)
The first thing I have to say to anyone considering an internship here at Art. Lebedev studio (and all the other intern reports will confirm this..) is not to be scared of Moscow!!! When I told people i’d be moving to Moscow for a month there was a mix of excitement, jealousy and people telling me rumours and horrors stories of crazy drunk people and violent cops! BUT... the people who told me that stuff are the ones you have never actually been here!! So it just goes to show that you have to keep an open mind and discover things for yourself. My honest impression of the people I’ve met in Moscow is that they are some of the most open-minded, friendly and inviting people I’ve ever met. Also, the language barrier is not something to worry about, a lot of people in the studio (and the city) speak really good English and are really keen on improving, and communication with non-English speakers is usually a pretty funny situation!
As for the studio, its a really cool place to be, it has a great relaxed atmosphere and it seems like all the people here are really good friends rather than just colleagues. So it’s really cool to be able to hang out with loads of different types of people from different cultural and design backgrounds. This was my first internship so I was half expecting to be running around making the cups of tea and not having much input but the best thing is you feel equal to all the other designers and your ideas and suggestions are just as valid as those from everyone else.
Even though I was only here for a month, which felt like quite a short time, I think I’ve learned a lot about design from speaking with Timur and other designers from graphics, web and illustration. And I have also been able to see a lot of Moscow, not just the tourist attractions and do some really cool stuff outside the studio like going wake-boarding and going to a hip hop festival. So if you are thinking about an internship here I would definitely recommend you to do it and to also make sure that you make the most of the city as well as the studio. :)
