Versos
publication
series of three masks, 3D-printed and spray-painted

In collaboration with Sunna Orlygsdottir
Designed and produced while at Werkplaats Typografie

While researching notions of phenomenology, obstructions of light and illusion, I took pictures of insides of the Venetian masks, and presented the series as a publication Versos. Continuing with the project and contemplating on ideas of exclusivity, absence, unavailability and “intentionally left blank”, the insides of the masks were 3-d scanned and transformed into their own objects.

Neri Oxman: Material Ecology
title wall and exhibition typography
various media

Designed and produced while at MoMA
In collaboration with David Klein, Elle Kim and Claire Corey
Production and technique: Paulette Giguere

We worked with the MoMA’s Conservation Department, artist Paulette Giguere, and The Mediated Matter Group to experiment with various natural pigments to use in the title wall. Ultimately we selected two: beet and turmeric powder, which were among the dyes used in Aguahoja, a large-scale project featured in the exhibition. The pigments were affixed to the wall by applying them to wet paint. Made of organic materials, the title ages as the exhibition progresses.

As a part of material research, we also came up with a synthetic paper to use as in-gallery material, instead of laminated pages. Other exhibition didactics (labels, panels, directionals) were also a part of our contribution to the exhibition.

Songs for a Deaf Ox
exhibition identity, publication, signage and collateral

Commissioned by Dutch Art Institute
Designed and produced while at Werkplaats Typografie

Songs for a Deaf Ox was an exhibition of Dutch Art Institute summarizing artistic researches conducted during Ruth Noack’s course on non-transmittable form. I was asked to make a publication that would consist of “transmissions”—sketches artists made as responses to fellow artists conceiving the works for the exhibition. With my proposal, the publication extended its functionality to include titles of the actual works, together with sketches; and the commission extended to designing exhibition signage and collateral together with the book. The publication became the guide to the exhibition: the numbers next to each artwork were correlating with the number of the page containing its title. Participants’ uniforms were t-shirts with roman numbers, metaphorically serving as introduction to the publication, and the show. Wrapping paper for the book was proposed to function as a performance schedule. Reflective materials were used for poster and wrapping paper in reference to non-transmittability of form.

Taking a Thread for a Walk
title wall and exhibition typography
various media

Designed and produced while at MoMA
AD: Derek Flynn

There are many references to line in the show: the mesh fabric stretched next to the title wall, an animated Anni Albers drawing of a thread, and most of the art in the exhibition. The title wall design is inspired by the idea of thread in a way it’s drawn (straight lines with gaps) and it also references weaving by its scale: the closer you are to the wall, the more detail you see and the slightly less legible the entire title becomes.

Summergarden and Summer Thursdays
booklet design, 6 × 9 in, 4 × 8.5 in

Designed and produced while at MoMA
AD: Elle Kim, CD: Ingrid Chou

Design for these brochures was a result of experiments with different variations of curved lines which reference sound waves. Positive/negative space and color palette bring more references to vegetation and garden where the music performances take place.

Le Whit
identity and website

Le Whit is a multidisciplinary design studio. The duality of the identity is based on the interior vs. exterior components of studio’s projects, two partners and bicoastal nature of the studio.

Lewhit.com was built on Cargo template with customized code for styling, navigation and header, to reflect the changing wordmark.

lewhit.com

Mini Collection
lookbook, A3

Commissioned by Sunna Örlygsdóttir

Some garments from the collection are missing: they have never been produced. Together existing and non-existing outfits form the whole. Missing parts are represented in the first part of the brochure by empty landscapes where the model leaves the photographic frame: there are some traces of her, such as cropped out hair or parts of accessories. The second part of the publication is made of existing garments: starting with full-bleed full-length image as introduction of an an outfit and followed by closeups in a white frame. The images are edited to work in two ways—as series of landscapes followed by “lookbook”, and also as landscape next to a lookbook item—the pages can be separated to exist as spreads, because the publication is not bound.

Aperture Photobook Club
sub-identity

A new initiative by Aperture Foundation offering programming geared towards lovers of all things photobook-related, including a virtual book club. The sub-identity for the initiative incorporates the existing wordmark in an abstract representation of book spines.

Looking at Jerry Lewis:
The Nutty Professor Storyboards
digital title wall and exhibition design

Designed and produced while at MoMA
In collaboration with Eline Mul
AD: Elle Kim, CD: Ingrid Chou, Rob Giampietro

Video collages are alternating with stretching typography animation that references character’s transformation in the film.The stretching type treatment is applied in various forms to intro text and section texts throughout the exhibition.

Marek Meduna, Písčiny
publication, A5

Commissioned by Linda Dostalkova for Exhibition in Plato, Ostrava, CZ
Designed and produced while at Werkplaats Typografie

This publication consists of multiple versions of written biography of an artist Marek Meduna, 5 chapters in which each paragraph is a new version. The book contains one simple gesture: the type size grows with a small increment on every page, starting with the smallest legible size on the front cover, and ending with the biggest size that could fit in A5-sized book on the back cover.

Thinking Machines: Art and Design in the Computer Age, 1959–1989
exhibition title wall design, projection + silkscreen

Designed and produced while at MoMA
AD: Elle Kim, CD: Ingrid Chou

Punchcard was an important reference in this exhibition that brought together artworks produced using computers and computational thinking. The title was recreated in binary code. The typing of the title was projected in both “typing” (typography) and “punching” (binary code / punchcard).

A—Z of D-Toxing
456-page book, print-on-demand

Illustrations by Ula Movchan
Commissioned by Sophia Ruan Gushee

The concept for the book design derived from research of visual forms in chemistry, the cover and the “tips” (less academic, more accessible parts of the content) are presented in chemical formula-like way. The illustration direction derived from the form and textures of chemicals. A significant part of the project was visual editing of content and art-direction for illustrations.

Armory Party
event identity (digital invitation, social media, screens, tote bag, etc)

Designed and produced while at MoMA
AD: Elle Kim, CD: Ingrid Chou

Abstract representation of the spotlight became the identity for the event, creating a dynamic animated invitation and enhancing event’s main space.

Marie
photography book, indigo-printed, 19 × 27 cm, edition of 25

Commissioned by Marie Houttequiet
Designed and produced while at Werkplaats Typografie

The book is composed entirely from photographs of vitrine arrangements taken specifically for this publication. Artist’s process is fed by memories, previous experiences and personal research, and her body of work is composed from photographs taken with different cameras and printed in different sizes and qualities, along with found objects that are presented as parts of photographic arrangements. This publication reflects on artistic process and on the ways the work is presented in a space. Instead of occupying its own layer, typographic captions blends themselves in by also becoming objects in these photographic arrangements.

Proof
Graphic identity and website

Referencing communication- and research-based services provided by the consultancy, this identity is inspired by visual form of watermark and printing overlay.

The website was designed as a multi-layered narrative, where additional sections expand within the main content. Serif as a main typeface with italic + superscript accents for the links created a conservative typographic layer that is accompanied by contemporary animation of a sans-serif wordmark.

After a few minutes of idle time, the background slowly turns black, adding a digital screensaver reference to the initial watermark/overlay concept.

proof.consulting

Exhibition identity and collateral
Commissioned by Mishkin Gallery

The Right to the City program explores the spatial politics of belonging in urban environments. The subject for the series informed the creative approach: the line grid references city streets and blocks, and various crops of the grid are incorporated in design assets. Considering low budget for production as a restriction, booklet was designed to be easily printed on an office printer.

Curating the Library
webpage

Research project
Designed and updated while at Werkplaats Typografie

As a librarian of Werkplaats Typografie’s library, I was asked to keep track of WT participants’ book selections presented during Curating the Library sessions. I made this archive into a webpage ctl.werkplaatstypografie.org that also contained a newsletter about new acquisitions and arrivals. Each selection presented as a list that grew after each session, and all the arrivals are presented with a quote from the book linked to an outside page through its footnote.

Olya Domoradova is a graphic designer and art director based in Brooklyn. She currently maintains an independent design practice (certified WBE in New York State) and is available for projects and work opportunities (2024). Part-Time Faculty at Parsons School of Design (Core 1: Typography Studio, Fall 2024). Lecturer at Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts (Thesis & Exhibition, Fall 2024–Spring 2025). Postgraduate Teaching Fellow, Art + Design at Northeastern University (Typography I & II, Design Degree Project, 2020–2023). Critic at RISD (Grad Form II, 2022). Freelance designer at Apple Podcasts (2021-22), Aperture Foundation (2021). Senior Designer at MoMA (2017–20). Adjunct instructor at FIT (Typography, 2019). Werkplaats Typografie MFA (Netherlands, 2014–16). Designer at Pentagram (2012–13). Graduated from FIT majoring in Design, with minor in Art History (2012). Moved to New York from Siberia (2006). Email me here ♥