Yana Grishchuk’s Stories, Lessons & Insights

Yana Grishchuk shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Yana, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Right now I feel called to do the things that would have terrified me early in my career. Mainly, stepping straight into chaos without flinching. I’ve learned that whether the world is collapsing like in 2020, or I’m joining a scattered team spread across six time zones, or stepping into a company mid-transformation where old processes no longer work and the new ones don’t exist yet… it’s all survivable. More than that, it’s solvable.
Somewhere along the way I developed a strange, almost serene tolerance for “everything is on fire.” I walk in, map out the mess, structure the workflow, propose changes, and slowly rebuild order from the inside.
At this point, “anti-crisis designer” could honestly be my official job title.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Yana Grishchuk. I am a multidisciplinary designer, art director, and the founder of Delicate Matter, a studio where visual aesthetics meet strategy and psychology. I started my career exploring every corner of the design world. Over the years I worked in agencies, startups, in-house teams, and long-term embedded roles, and eventually realized that my strength is not in choosing one direction but in understanding how all of them interact.
Delicate Matter focuses on marketing design, brand communication, and visual storytelling. I work with brands that care about intention, nuance, and meaning, whether it is a DNA laboratory, a luxury fashion label, a Parisian art project, or a family-run Californian coffee company. My clients often come during moments of change, transformations, rebuilds, big decisions. I help them structure chaos, strengthen communication, and guide their visual presence in a way that feels intelligent, emotional, and human.
What makes my practice unique is the combination of sensitivity and clarity. I treat design as a tool of influence, not decoration. I love understanding what motivates people, what shapes perception, and how a visual message can make someone feel understood. That is the core philosophy behind Delicate Matter and the work I create.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
A moment that shaped how I see the world happened early in my career, when I realized that design is not about self-expression but about responsibility. I came into the field with the excitement of an artist who wants to create something beautiful. Then I joined a major project during a period of intense growth. I suddenly became responsible for more than twenty projects at completely different stages of production. Deadlines were melting, communication was far from perfect, and every small decision affected timelines and budgets.
At first I was overwhelmed. I thought design lived in quiet studios and inspiration-filled conversations. Instead, I found myself inside a moving system where every choice had real consequences. That experience shifted everything for me. I understood that design is a tool of influence. It shapes perception, reduces chaos, builds trust, and helps people move forward even when the environment is uncertain.
Since then, I stopped treating the world as something stable that I can decorate. I treat it as something constantly moving that I can help clarify. It made me calmer, more strategic, and even more empathetic, I think.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could say one kind thing to my younger self, I would tell her that curiosity is not a flaw. When I was starting out, I worried that liking too many things would make me look unfocused. I tried to fit myself into narrow labels because that seemed easier to explain. Only years later did I understand that this curiosity is the reason I can navigate complexity, manage many projects at once, and work across industries without losing my voice.
I would tell her that the world is much bigger than the first job title you get. The skills you collect, the interests you follow, and the perspectives you gain from unexpected places will eventually form a very clear path. It just will not look linear on the map.
And I would remind her that sensitivity is a strength. One day it will become the foundation of a studio built on nuance, clarity, and emotional intelligence. She just cannot see it yet.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
They would probably say that three things matter to me more than anything: aesthetics, intelligence, and ethics. In my world they are inseparable. Aesthetics speak to emotion, intelligence speaks to logic, and ethics speak to conscience.
They would also say that I care about creating things that feel intentional. Whether it is a design project, a conversation, or a decision that affects a team, I want it to be thoughtful and honest. I am sensitive to details, curious by nature, and I question things until the logic feels clean. At the same time, I try to stay kind and aware of how my choices influence others.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I think I am doing what I was born to do. No one in my childhood suggested a creative career. Design was not something I was guided toward. It was something I naturally gravitated to, long before I understood it as a profession. I followed curiosity, visual thinking, and a desire to understand how people respond to images, emotions, and meaning.

The older I get, the more I see that my career unfolded because I listened to my instincts rather than expectations. Every step, from freelancing to corporate roles to launching Delicate Matter, felt like a natural progression of who I am. I did not choose design because someone encouraged it. I chose it because it feels like the place where my mind, my aesthetics, and my curiosity finally agree.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.delicatematter.studio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yankee_g/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yana-grishchuk/

Image Credits
Photographers: Irene Yakimova, Masha Goltsvard.
Designs by Delicate Matter.