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About

My practice has never belonged to one discipline.

My path started with a technical foundation in software engineering, moved through physical product design on healthcare projects, and arrived at strategic and service design across PropTech, EdTech, and venture work. What hasn't changed is a constant curiosity about new technology — and wanting to build things, not just theorise about them.
Based in
Milan, Italy
Experience
10+ years
Focus
Service & Venture Design
Languages
EN · IT · UKR
Portrait of Iuliia Vorobiova

Journey

From engineering roots to service & venture design.

2007—2014

Learning to see systems

I entered design through engineering. Understanding how systems are structured taught me to look beyond individual touchpoints and see how technology, people and processes influence one another.

BSc Technical Cybernetics → MSc Design & Technology → Research Assistant

2015—2019

Switching to service design & product management

Managing multidisciplinary projects across social innovation, culture and education showed me that coordination was only part of the work. I wanted to help decide what should be built, who it should serve and why.

Project Manager at CESIE, CANactions → Product Manager at BIG IDEA → Design Thinking Consultant at SUGAR Network

2017—2020

Studying user-centred design

While working, I returned to formal study to deepen my practice in research, service design and strategy. It gave me the methods to design around the people using a system, not only the system itself.

MSc Product Service System Design at Politecnico di Milano

2019—2021

Building design into product

I joined Lifeed as its first designer and later moved into Product Management. I introduced user-centred and lean product practices while creating a reusable People Analytics dashboard that transformed a week of manual reporting into an automated experience.

First Designer → Product Manager at Lifeed

2021—Present

Connecting services across markets

At Planet Smart City, I brought service design into digital product development and conducted research with residents and operational teams across Italy, Brazil and India. I connected digital products, physical infrastructure and on-site operations into services that could scale while responding to local needs.

From 2022 to 2025, my role expanded into venture design through Djungle Studio. I used customer discovery, market sizing, prototypes and live experiments to test new business models before teams invested in development.

Service Designer at Planet Smart City & Venture Designer with Djungle Studio

Interested in the details? Check my full career history on LinkedIn →

Education

2007 — 2011

Bachelor of Computer Science, Technical Cybernetics

Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies

2011 — 2014

Master of Science, Design and Technology

Tallinna Tehnikaülikool (Tallinn University of Technology)

2017 — 2020

Master's Degree, Product Service System Design

Politecnico di Milano

2018 — 2019

ME310 Program, Design Thinking & Business Innovation

Stanford University, in partnership with the SUGAR Network

Talks

Speaking at conferences

I explore how emerging technologies, new business models, and changing organisational systems are reshaping products, services, and the role of designers.

Generative UI and the Evolving Role of Designers WeMakeFuture, Bologna — 2025
Iuliia Vorobiova presenting on stage at WeMakeFuture
How Can We Reinvent Traditional Innovation World Information Architecture Day, Milan — 2025
Iuliia Vorobiova with the World Information Architecture Day Milan community

Beyond work

Tracing the past, exploring possible futures

Genealogy is where my instinct for research becomes personal. I explore archives, connect fragmented records and reconstruct the human stories hidden between them.

Living and working across four countries has made me attentive to how culture shapes everyday behaviour. Away from the screen, I discover places on foot, explore art and read science fiction for new perspectives on possible futures. I also stay connected to design communities through talks, workshops and shared learning.

Open archival record books, a handwritten family tree chart, and an old family photograph laid out on a desk

Genealogy and archival research

I enjoy piecing together fragmented archival records to trace family histories and uncover the human stories behind them.

Iuliia on a wooden swing at a mountain viewpoint overlooking a lake and the Alps

Hiking and exploring on foot

Away from the screen, I’m drawn to discovering new places, from unfamiliar city streets to hiking trails and mountain summits.

A hand pinning a sticky note to a wall covered with colorful notes and hand-drawn diagrams during a workshop

Contributing to design communities

I stay connected to the wider design community by sharing ideas and experiences through talks, workshops and collaborative learning.

Photography and visual observation

A way for me to slow down and notice the details of everyday life, from architecture and light to people, places and fleeting moments.

Working on a product, service, or venture that needs clearer direction?

I am open to senior opportunities in product, service, and strategic design, as well as selected collaborations with startups and innovation teams.

iuliia.vorobiova@gmail.com