01 / Paragon
Hello,
I'm Olha Shaparenko, a Product Designer with 8+ years of experience in research & design complex SaaS products
Selected Work
I bring structure to complexity — through research, systems thinking, and design that works in the real world.
Services
01 / UX & Product Design
I work across the full product lifecycle, from early discovery to polished design and documentation. Turn complex SaaS workflows into intuitive, structured flows.
02 / UX Audit
I identify where users can get confused, hesitate, drop off. Using a behavioural approach, I uncover friction that impacts on product performance. Provide clear, actionable list of improvements.
03 / Research & UX Strategy
I help teams to understand product vision, what users do, what they need and how to design flows that align with real user thinking and business goals.
04 / Usability Testing
I run usability tests to reveal where users struggle in real scenarios, not assumptions. Synthesize findings into clear patterns, metrics and prioritized UX improvements.
05 / AI-Enhanced Workflows
I use AI to accelerate research synthesis, uncover behavioral patterns, and explore UX solutions faster and deeper.
Teaching
Product Design Instructor with 6+ years of experience, mentoring 6 successful student cohorts
I've been teaching design since 2019 at ORT Dnipro, where I've led 6 student cohorts, many of whom have built successful careers in design. My approach starts with fundamentals: color, composition, and typography.
Due to Master's degree in Arts, I help students develop a strong visual foundation before moving into product design. From there, I guide them through the full product design process: research, analysis, synthesis.
And validation building a clear and structured understanding of how digital products are created. I also facilitate Design Thinking workshops, based on my training at Stanford d.School and share best approaches to audience.
About Me
I work with a user-centered approach, grounded in critical and holistic thinking. For me, it’s about the full experience that truly matter for both users and the business.
I focus on helping people reach their goals with less effort: simplifying interactions, removing friction, and automating what doesn’t need their attention.
My background in linguistics informs how I design communication within products — bringing clarity to complex information and helping uncover deeper layers of user understanding. In research, I rely not only on what users say, but on behavioral patterns and evidence, often revealing insights that go beyond self-reported data and bring real live value to the product.
At the same time, I don’t think in fixed solutions. My role as a designer is to shape systems and frameworks that can grow and adapt over time. Instead of defining a single path, I create structure and boundaries that allow more flexible, context-driven experiences to emerge.
Senior Product Designer
Vasari (ArtTech Platform)
End-to-end product design for an AI-powered artwork authentication and cataloging platform.
- Defined core product architecture, user flows, and visual identity from zero — shaping the product as a founding design voice.
- Conducted UX research with artists, galleries, and collectors; translated complex domain knowledge into intuitive workflows.
- Designed responsive web and mobile interfaces; built and scaled a cross-platform design system from scratch.
- Partnered directly with engineering and business leads to maintain design quality through rapid iteration.
Impact: Established design maturity in an early-stage startup; introduced a scalable, research-driven process that reduced rework cycles and accelerated feature delivery.
Senior Product Designer
Ciklum (IT Outsource)
Clients: Adidas, Duracell, Paragon, Redstor, TUI, EasyJet, Vitala, Snaex
Embedded design lead across multiple enterprise client engagements, owning UX strategy, research, and delivery.
Adidas · Herzogenaurach, Germany · 2020–2022
- Led design for internal and consumer-facing digital product modules across mobile and web.
- Facilitated discovery workshops and in-depth field research to align global product teams.
- Defined information architecture, UX flows, and interactive prototypes for complex multi-platform experiences.
- Built a comprehensive design system with personas, journey maps, and usability documentation.
Impact: Streamlined design consistency across multiple product modules; improved cross-team alignment and reduced design handoff friction.
Redstor · Cloud Data Management SaaS · 2022–2023
- Introduced Design Thinking methodology, structuring iterative design and research workflows for the first time at the company.
- Conducted usability testing on onboarding and core task flows.
- Built and maintained a design system to unify experience across the full product suite.
Impact: Improved user task success rates and reduced design-to-development delivery time through usability-led redesigns.
UX/UI Designer
AgroCore (AgroTech B2B Platform)
Design of complex data-heavy B2B tools for enterprise users in the agrotech domain.
- Led end-to-end design for MVP and early-stage products (from discovery to delivery).
- Conducted user research and usability testing to validate product decisions.
- Translated complex agricultural data and workflows into clear UX structures.
Impact: Turned complex agricultural data into structured, user-friendly tools that improved decision-making for enterprise teams.
Graphic Designer
EVA (Drogerie retail)
Visual design for retail and print communication in the pharmaceutical and beauty sector.
- Designed and produced print materials (magazines, promotional assets, in-store communication).
- Worked on layout, composition, and visual storytelling across editorial formats.
Impact: Delivered consistent, high-quality visual communication across print and retail touchpoints.
Beyond
My background in linguistics and art history shapes how I approach structure, meaning, and visual communication. It gives me a more systematic way of thinking about information architecture and clarity — something that has proven valuable across both enterprise platforms (Adidas, Duracell, TUI, EasyJet, Paragon, Redstor) and early-stage startups.
I'm equally comfortable leading design strategy, conducting research, and delivering polished, accessible interfaces. I also completed the Design Thinking program at Stanford d.school, which continues to influence how I approach problem-solving and collaboration.
Based In
Ukraine (Kyiv, Dnipro) digital nomad, open to remote
Languages
English (Upper-Intermediate), Spanish (Intermediate), Italian (Pre-Intermediate), Ukrainian (Native)
Education
Kyiv Academy of Media Arts (2025) · Stanford d. School (2020) · MA in Theory and History of Art (2019) · MA in Spanish Philology (2011)
Off the Clock
Art Studio — paintings, sculpture and mosaics. Art history and architecture lover. Sanskrit, yoga, squash.
Feedback
"
The past months Olga was challenged to understand a completely new subject matter that is not trivial. Her positivity has helped her to not be put down by all new things she had to learn. She was very open to any feedback she received which made working with her an absolute pleasure.
Adidas PO
"
Excellent work and attention to detail. Olga is a qualified UX designer and a person with good soft skills. It's always a pleasure to collaborate with her.
Redstor UI Designer
"
Olha's empathy goes beyond the work space, Olha is reliable, professional and a high cultural person.
Redstor acting Head of PD
"
Is smart and innovative, a real pleasure to work with her.
Redstor PO Backend Lead
"
Great work, well prepared, great client response and solid communication/presentation.
Ciklum Chief Technology Officer
"
Olha is a great teacher and very pleasant person. This is the most clear and comprehensive design course I've been looking for a long time.
Student