Hello,I'm Alex.
I design digital products. And I lead the people who design them.
Twenty years between technology and human experience.
I live in Stockholm and work as a design manager for Opera Browser (opens in a new tab). Ten years on the same product, the last five leading the design team — long enough to learn what actually moves a mature product and what only looks like progress.
I've worked across fintech, crypto, and AI: dense, technical products that arrive full of edge cases and vocabulary nobody asked for. My job is to turn them into something a person can use without a manual.
My focus is now on design strategy, workshop facilitation, and building the processes that help teams make great products consistently.
- EN Professional
- RU Native
- SV Working

My skillset
Design craft
UX, UI, information architecture, prototyping. Figma is my main tool.
Design systems
Components, tokens, and working close with front-end developers on the consistency.
Research & testing
Gathering insights from real users and validating design decisions.
Data analysis
Tracking business KPIs with design, planning A/B tests to make well-considered decisions.
AI tooling
Designing with AI, analyzing data, and using it to prototype faster than a spec.
Leadership & hiring
Building a team, running critique, facilitating workshops that end in decisions.
Twenty years, short version
Leadership
- Design Team Lead — OperaStockholm2021 — Now
Design
- Senior Product Designer — OperaLinköping · Mobile browsers2016 — 2021
- UX Consultant — kotomanov.comStockholm · Independent2014 — Now
- Product Designer — izi.TRAVELStorytelling platform2014
- UX/UI Designer — YotaSt Petersburg2011 — 2013
Front-End
- UI Developer — YotaYota Play · TV · Music2009 — 2011
- UI Developer — Exigen Services StarSoftSt Petersburg2008 — 2009
- UI Developer — EniroStockholm2009
- UI Developer — T-MobileLondon2008 — 2009
- Web Developer, Technical Writer — Color-ITFirst job2006 — 2008
Education
- MSc Computer Science, Applied Math — Dagestan State UniversityMakhachkala, Russia2003 — 2008
Let's talk.
Consulting, design leadership, or a second opinion on something dense and technical. Stockholm time, remote-friendly.