Thought-leader Sviatoslav Karablikov takes Captiv8 design team to new levels

null

Sviatoslav Karablikov is an accomplished Director of Design who is clear about his goals for the future: “Whether it’s through mentorship, writing, or leading new product innovations, my goal is to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in design,” he says.

It’s this tenacity and focus which has earned him acclaim among industry professionals and the reason why he has been so successful at Captiv8. 

When he joined the brand-empowering company just over ten years ago, there was just one designer on the team. Today, he is not just leading a team of designers as Director of Design for the company, but also driving the international design team as a sought-after thought leader in his chosen profession.

At Captiv8, he has enjoyed multiple successes born from a passion for design. Here, he drives design innovation and shapes user-centric digital products through creating products which are both aesthetically appealing and functional. 

He has introduced structured product design methodologies, led comprehensive UX research initiatives, and developed a scalable Design System to enhance creativity while ensuring alignment with business goals. His international expertise has allowed him to work effectively with cross-cultural teams, delivering intuitive and engaging solutions for a global audience.

Taking care of teams to ensure success

For Sviatoslav it is all about humanizing the work and design process. He acknowledges technology has no power if people aren’t considered. This means that technological processes should look good and be user-friendly through impactful design implementation. At the same time, the teams behind the technology and design need to be taken care of. 

“Scaling a business is never just about increasing revenue; it’s about ensuring that teams, processes, and culture evolve alongside growth,” he says. 

He says to address challenges the company faced, he has had to establish a strong design culture within the organization, and spread Design Thinking across the company. “Each of these challenges required a structured and strategic approach to overcome.”

He has also implemented a scalable design framework. “I led the development of a comprehensive design system, ensuring that typography, colors, UI components, and interactions were standardized across the platform.”

He has set in place other initiatives: “I created a transparent growth framework for designers, defining clear career paths, evaluation criteria, and promotional milestones.” He also implemented a Peer-Led Design Review Process to ensure consistency and high-quality output. “I introduced weekly design reviews where team members can critique each other’s work based on UX, accessibility, and brand alignment.”

Challenging design stereotypes

Sviatoslav has continually sought to challenge traditional perceptions of design. “Design has often been seen as a support function rather than a strategic partner. Product and engineering teams have in the past made key decisions before design was involved, leading to misalignment, UX issues, and costly rework,” he explains. 
In his time with Captiv8, he has established design as a core pillar of the company. This he has done through integrating design into the early decision-making of the company, educating stakeholders on the business impact of design; and creating a culture of collaboration whereby designers work alongside engineers, product managers, and marketers, fostering a more integrated and iterative design process.

He also spearheads internal training sessions, ensuring designers have the necessary skills, frameworks, and confidence to take ownership of key projects. “As a result, design evolved from a siloed function into a strategic force at Captiv8, influencing product decisions, improving user experience, and driving business success,” he says.

Spreading ‘Design Thinking’ as a way forward

One of the most transformational initiatives Sviatoslav has led has been embedding Design Thinking throughout Captiv8. “I recognized that great design doesn’t happen in isolation—it requires a shared mindset across departments.”

One of the ways he has spread Design Thinking principles across the organization has been through facilitated Design Thinking workshops. Through these, he has organized company-wide sessions which have introduced problem-solving frameworks, rapid prototyping techniques, and user research best practices.”These workshops empowered non-design teams to approach challenges with a user-first mindset.”

He has also sought to embed Design Thinking into product development. He has worked with engineering and product teams to adopt a more iterative and user-centered approach, emphasizing continuous testing, user feedback loops, and hypothesis-driven experimentation.

At the same time, he has championed a User-Centric Mindset, encouraging teams across marketing, customer success, and engineering to incorporate user research, journey mapping, and usability testing into their workflows.

By embedding Design Thinking at every level, the team from Captiv8 has become more agile, user-focused, and innovation-driven, leading to better product outcomes, increased efficiency, and stronger cross-team collaboration.

It’s this kind of transformational leadership which has earned Sviatoslav international acclaim among industry professionals. He is a MUSE Creative Awards Silver Winner (Mobile App – Sports & Recreation), a member of Belarusian Union of Designers and is among the panel of esteemed judges for the Indigo Design Award. 

However, he believes there is still more to be done; and with AI now taking centre stage, he sees even more possibility for growth for the company: “The future of design isn’t just about pixels—it’s about how design integrates with AI, automation, and new forms of user interaction. I want to be at the forefront of this evolution, exploring how design can shape emerging technologies and redefine how people interact with digital products. Whether it’s through mentorship, writing, or leading new product innovations, my goal is to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in design.”

This post was authored by an external contributor and does not represent the opinions of “Stocktwits” and has not been edited for content.  The information contained above is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and nothing contained herein should be construed as investment advice. “Stocktwits”  does not make any recommendation to buy or sell any security or any representation about the financial condition of any company.<