Interview with Ilya Derzaev | The Head of Development for Akademia Studio

My name is Ilya Derzaev, a media artist at Akademia Studio. I got my degree in software engineering and possess fifteen years of working experience in motion designing in televisions. From 2015 to 2020, I was a media artist, an interactive developer of TouchDesigner and Ventuz, a teacher, and a digital producer.

After graduation from the Faculty of Programming, I realized that creativity is something I'm interested in. After trying different types of creative directions, I settled on generative graphics, which combines what I loved most.

I am the head of the development department at the Akademia Studio, the studio creates content for interactive installations and media art. In my work, I combine modern IT solutions and generative design.

To me, design is development. What is beautifully arranged from the inside is beautifully displayed outside.

My most consistent and used type of design would be generative graphics, as I have a programmer's background and logical way of thinking that fits my style.

Relevance makes good design when the focus shifts from excessive decorativeness in favor of functionality.

My style in design is determined by the tools that I use in my work, combined with my understanding of the aesthetic ideal. This is a parametric generative graphic based on mathematical principles. Simple geometric shapes in black and white design help to create an understandable minimalistic image.

The process consists of two stages. It all starts with the collection of tools, the selection of methods for processing an array of data. After the craft part, you can start the creative part. And there are no strict regulations here, the starting point is the event for which the content is being developed. The context of what is going to happen becomes the inspiration, and the logic and visual concept of the installations are built on this basis.

There is a powerful technical education in Russia. Since my work is based on the basics of logic and programming, I think that the era in which I grew up significantly influenced my transformation as a specialist.

Any award is recognition, and we are pleased that our work has been recognized by the authoritative jury for this award in the international community.

In this project, I was given full carte blanche, on one hand, such freedom of action sounds attractive, on the other hand, the difficulty lies in the fact that in the absence of a framework, it is difficult to independently measure how good this result is and whether it meets the specified criteria because there are no clear criteria, you set them yourself.

Generative graphics is a rather narrow field, recognition from the award shows that it is in demand and interesting, it stimulates development more and more, and inspires the creation of new ambitious projects.

This is high automation, parametricity, and the use of AI to create basic circuits regularly. An average neural network will give average results and for their work to have individuality, you need a person who can properly train it. It is these people who, in 5-20 years, we will call the authors.

I dreamt that my music would be performed by a symphony orchestra.

Inspiration is an emotion, and music influences a person's emotional state best of all. I listen to a lot of different directions, and it serves as the best fuel for creativity.

At the Yandex Secure Future project, I created a track specifically for the event. In the process of preparing the installations, I realized that I needed musical accompaniment that would fill the space and immerse visitors in the atmosphere of the event. The best solution was to create it yourself.

In my case, it's a combination of healthy curiosity and a strong educational base. My path was formed from the experience I gained in another field and applied it to a new activity.