Mitya Kharshak’s Intensive Workshop at the International Design Week

In early March, Mitya Kharshak, head of the HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL in St. Petersburg, held a series of workshops at Holon Institute of Technology (HIT) in Israel during the International Design Week. The recognized professionals from the design industry – from Germany, Austria, the UK, Montenegro, Russia, and other countries – came together to talk with each other and with students in the shared language of visual communication.

Holon Institute of Technology hosted the International Design Week, where top industry experts and university teachers from all over the world led a series of intensive classes for students.

Mitya Kharshak teamed up with Oded Ezer, one of Israel’s leading graphic designers and a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale, to give lectures and workshops. In these sessions, students had to develop their own personal brand identity. In just five days — first starting with warm-up lectures, then moving to practical sessions — they created their own logos based on their monograms made from the first letters of their names and surnames, and designed full visual identities. They also practiced lettering, discussed personal branding and positioning, and learned how to discover their own unique selling points.

Mitya Kharshak:
«We gave intensive lectures and workshops for HIT students every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for five days. Honestly, the amount of work the students did is similar to a full-term project at the HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL — they built complete personal brand identities and positioning. Projects like the International Design Week at HIT are super important because they initiate international professional dialogue and present design as a cross-border discipline — like a bridge that connects us all. We’re speaking the same international language of visual communication, no matter what our native language is.»

The HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL is actively expanding international cooperation with top design universities all over the world. Our teachers and students work on joint projects with foreign designers, participate in global competitions, and take part in internships and exchange programs. We've also hosted lectures and intensive courses from leading design experts from countries like Israel, Hungary, Turkey, and more.

In the 2025 academic year, two English-taught programs will be launched at the St. Petersburg campus: