SOFIA
MELNIKOVA
MELNIKOVA
BHSAD COMMUNICATION DESIGN STUDENT
ARTS ENTHUSIAST
PENZA SAVITSKY ART SCHOOL GRADUATE
DESIGNER
Russian – Native
English – B2
SKILLS
PERSONAL STATEMENT
WORK EXPERIENCE
CERTIFICATES
EDUCATION
Penza, Russia
Penza, Russia
September 2021 – June 2025
September 2012 – June 2021
Music School Graduate Diploma
Russian State Primary and Secondary School Programme
Penza Children's Music School №1
N.M. Pazaev Multidisciplinary Gymnasium №4
Moscow, Russia
Penza, Russia
September 2021 – June 2025
Penza, Russia
September 2012 – June 2021
September 2025 – Present
Arts School Graduate Diploma
Painter-teacher Diploma
BA Communication Design
Penza Savitsky Art College
V. E. Tatlin Children's Art School №1
British Higher School of Art and Design
Moscow, Russia
December 2025 – Present
Designer
Haute-couture clothing brand
IRINA DIDUSHENKO
Moscow, Russia
November 2025 – Present
Founder
VPN service
Shyft
Online
February 2026
Ideas from the History of Graphic Design
CalArts
Online
February 2026
Duolingo English Test
Duolingo
Advanced
Microsoft Office
Beginner
Glyphs 3
Advanced
Topaz Photo AI
Advanced
Tilda Publishing
Intermediate
Adobe InDesign
Advanced
Adobe Illustrator
Advanced
Adobe Photoshop
Beginner
PyCharm
Intermediate
Notion
Advanced
Google Gemini
Advanced
ChatGPT
Intermediate
Final Cut Pro
Advanced
Figma
Hi! I'm Den, a Communication Design student at British Higher School of Art and Design in Moscow. I thought that writing a standard, run-of-the-mill personal statement would be rather banal, so! I got here through the IB chaos pipeline where you juggle creative work, essays, and “why is this due tomorrow” energy and somehow it builds taste, discipline, and mild emotional damage 😭
Visual Arts trained my eye and taught me to think in concepts, not just aesthetics, even though sometimes I still rely on what I feel. Business and English taught me to sell an idea without sounding like a corporate LinkedIn post (sorry). I was genuinely one of the valued students in English B and Business, so I learned how to present, argue, and pitch like it actually matters (because it did). TOK and my Visual Arts EE also pushed me to question everything, which is annoying but great for my future design decisions.
I work with different mediums like sculpture, painting, performance and many-many more, but my main thing is visual design and web design. I’m comfortable in Figma and Adobe, and I sometimes use Final Cut too because I helped my friend edit their Film HL movie and discovered that “quick edit” is a myth 🎬
I also built Shyft, my VPN project focused on security, privacy, and internet freedom in countries with heavy government censorship. That (and other contract projects) gave me real marketing and SMM experience, not just theory, plus a strong sense of how design builds trust. I’ve touched fashion design too, and I'm actually thinking about starting my own clothing brand, but communication design is where I actually feel locked in 🔥
People say I’m easy to work with, good in teams, and calm under pressure. I manage time well, I don’t ghost projects, and I can turn a messy idea into something clean and convincing. Basically, I design, I ship, and I try not to lose my mind in the process 🙂🚀
Visual Arts trained my eye and taught me to think in concepts, not just aesthetics, even though sometimes I still rely on what I feel. Business and English taught me to sell an idea without sounding like a corporate LinkedIn post (sorry). I was genuinely one of the valued students in English B and Business, so I learned how to present, argue, and pitch like it actually matters (because it did). TOK and my Visual Arts EE also pushed me to question everything, which is annoying but great for my future design decisions.
I work with different mediums like sculpture, painting, performance and many-many more, but my main thing is visual design and web design. I’m comfortable in Figma and Adobe, and I sometimes use Final Cut too because I helped my friend edit their Film HL movie and discovered that “quick edit” is a myth 🎬
I also built Shyft, my VPN project focused on security, privacy, and internet freedom in countries with heavy government censorship. That (and other contract projects) gave me real marketing and SMM experience, not just theory, plus a strong sense of how design builds trust. I’ve touched fashion design too, and I'm actually thinking about starting my own clothing brand, but communication design is where I actually feel locked in 🔥
People say I’m easy to work with, good in teams, and calm under pressure. I manage time well, I don’t ghost projects, and I can turn a messy idea into something clean and convincing. Basically, I design, I ship, and I try not to lose my mind in the process 🙂🚀