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2025 Year in Review
2025.zaytsev.io
Each time I use this dryer, I find myself looking at the neat pictograms in the corner.
It's a brilliant execution of an idea that might sound crazy: "Let's advertise our other products on the dryer." What nonsense! How arrogant! Yet this is exactly what happened, and it's done perfectly. Top-notch design.
Enjoyed "Writing That Works" recommended by David Ogilvy. It's short, practical and pleasant to read.
A missing "no". A missing "that's not how we do things here".
ALT Passenger occupancy display on a German train, using vertically split male and female passenger pictograms
Connected Claude to @Affinity via MCP to do some design automation.
Watching the changes appear live on the canvas was very impressive! And it's so cool to control it with natural language.
Here's a short warm-up run. I tested whether it could number the tickets and create a few new rows with incrementing numbers. It passed the test, and afterwards I created 300 tickets in two languages.
Claude handled all my further requests, including quirky ones like "Use O instead of 0 when numbering."
Read the full story of making and printing these tickets: cv.zaytsev.io/projects/child…
I collect albums I enjoy from start to finish (zaytsev.io/lists/favorite-al…), and out of curiosity asked Fable to recommend something that might fit.
It suggested Moon Safari by Air, and nailed it. I knew a few songs but had never listened to it fully. It's a match! Love this album. There's no song I'd skip.
ALT Album cover: Air - Moon Safari
Designed new tickets for the Children's Railway in my lovely hometown, Dnipro. This railway turned 90 today, so I wanted to bring a gift.
Printed on thick paper in a traditional Edmondson design. These tickets will replace plain paper receipts for a little while, and hopefully make nice keepsakes.
ALT Four neat stacks of freshly printed cardboard rail tickets on a wooden table. Each is cream-colored with a hole punched in the middle, printed in the traditional Edmondson style. They read "Dnipro Children's Railway — Single Ticket" in English and Ukrainian, with prices in hryvnia (UAH) and serial numbers. A metal hole-punch lies in the foreground.
ALT A hand holding two of the cream-colored Children's Railway tickets up beside a train window, with railway tracks visible outside. The nearest ticket reads "Dnipro Children's Railway — Single Ticket, Child, 70 ₴."
The full story of this little project is now on my website. Day by day, from idea to delivery in Dnipro.
cv.zaytsev.io/projects/child…
A rare chance. Give Basecamp a shot!
Over the next 90 days I want to work directly with 5 brand new Basecamp customers.
This includes a call every other week, helping you set up and structure your account, live walkthroughs of our Basecamp account showing you how we work, and any other personal and direct support you need via email. Further, you have to be open to me sharing screencasts or walkthroughs live here on X.
Just a few rules:
1. You have to have between 5 and 25 employees.
2. You have to sign up for a Basecamp Pro Unlimited plan.
3. You have to be within 3 hours of the US Pacific time zone (GMT -7).
4. You're committed to truly giving Basecamp a shot. Maybe you're trying to switch away from a messy collection of separate tools, or some other tool you've been using that hasn't been working. But this isn't just a toe dipping exercise — you're ready and able.
5. You're the decision maker at your company. Either the owner, CEO/COO/CTO, or someone who can make the decision to roll Basecamp out at your company.
This is for new customers only. That means anyone who's signed up from, say, June 20 onward.
If you're interested, and you meet the criteria, please email me directly. My email is in my profile.
Looking forward to it!
Book notes → The Meaning of Your Life (Arthur C. Brooks)
zaytsev.io/lists/books/the-m…
It was 2016, and I had just moved back from Kyiv to my hometown, Dnipro.
I was eager to contribute to my city and make something useful. I didn't have to wait long. One day, while walking in a park, I noticed a timetable... 🧵
There were some other changes. For example, we added the English version of the timetable and replaced the old carriage number plates with the new ones (Sorry, Impact font!)
The Children's Railway continues to operate, even during times of war. We keep in touch and I occasionally help them with design. This project was completely non-commercial, but it gave me much more than money can give.
This year, the railway celebrates its 90th birthday. I miss it dearly, and can't wait to ride this train again.
