Aleksandra Melnikova is the founder and CEO of DRĄSA Studio, a London product design and research studio built around the idea of Courage by Design. DRĄSA brings together a collective of senior researchers, designers, strategists and developers across two strands: the Product Experience Lab (UX research, product strategy, UX/UI design, prototyping and design systems) and the Behaviour Experience Lab (leadership coaching, team development, design training and facilitation). Inclusive research and accessible design run through all of the studio’s work. DRĄSA is the evolution of Cosmic Velocity, the inclusive design studio Aleks co-founded in 2022.
Aleks brings 18+ years of experience in service design, UX leadership and ethnographic research. She has held senior design leadership roles at leading London agencies, including Foolproof, BIO Agency, Radley Yeldar, Publicis Poke and Inviqa (formerly Webcredible), leading design teams of 20 to 30 people. She is also an AoEC-accredited coach, working with leaders and design teams on how they think, decide and work together.
Her client list spans cultures, continents and problem spaces. Aleks has delivered successful digital experiences and services for the likes of VISA, Lloyds, TSB, SKY, Aviva, VSO, GSK, British Airways, EE, Virgin Voyages, Virgin Atlantic, Avios, Tesco, Pearson Education, Handelsbanken, Avanti West Coast, OSB Group and many others.
She has facilitated innovation and design thinking workshops for the likes of HMRC, Moonpig, Kingston Uni and Merlin Entertainments, and speaks regularly at conferences including UX London, Leading Design, Interaction23 and UX Nordic.
Being trained in Arts and Product Service Systems design is a combination that enables her to make any project her playground by creating new methods, tools and approaches, frequently challenging the existing structures and status quo. She’s an advocate for inclusion and diversity in the most active way: by coming up with (and building) tools and services that open up participation to people from all walks of life and all backgrounds.
Tools she has created include:
Finding books for kids with diverse representation
Supporting mental health of agency employees
She loves using game theory and mechanics to enable learning within the field of design & research:
UX London 2022 “Design Your own Inclusive Research Method” game
