FutuStories - Anna Kholina

How long have you been at Futurice? How would you describe your current role and what you’ve been focusing on recently?

I’ve been here for seven years, and for the last two and a half years, I’ve worked as a Design Director. My work is still mostly client projects, but now also supervision and service line development.

What tends to motivate you day to day?

Curiosity. I’m a very curious person, and if I can feed that, I’m happy. I love learning how different organisations operate, how topics intersect, and how different people approach similar problems. For example, I get to see how different people work with customer-service-related projects in their own ways. The range of approaches keeps me motivated.

How are AI and emerging technologies affecting your work right now?

Everything is speeding up. Designers used to fully own the design process, but now anyone can generate designs or code-like artifacts. That’s powerful, but it can also make people forget about outcomes. You can get an output fast, but does it work for real people? That’s the important part. AI risks tempting us to skip foundational steps like research and validation.

I also dislike the word “revolutionize” in the context of AI. No one gets excited about AI itself. What matters is enabling humans to talk to humans when they need help. AI can automate unnecessary tasks, so real human interaction improves. It’s augmenting, not replacing.

Is there something particular about AI that excites you right now?

Definitely: it forces true cross-disciplinary collaboration. To create good solutions, we must understand each other — designers, developers, data people, everyone. And I find that fantastic. Also, AI lets us do things we simply couldn’t do before. I’m very interested in opening pipelines between competencies, like designers prototyping directly in code. It’s messy, but beautifully so.

How do you see Futurice evolving, especially in light of new technologies and markets?

When I joined, the company's diversity was incredibly rewarding, with so many nationalities, perspectives, and backgrounds. I’d love to see that grow. And I really hope we maintain strong connections between offices. One of my most rewarding experiences was working on a project in Munich for three years, where I was fully integrated into the office and built relationships that still help me today. When we expand, I hope we protect that interconnectedness.

Looking ahead five years, what kind of dream project or client would you hope for?

I’ve already had many dream clients. What I’d love now is to work with a company whose business model isn’t extractive but regenerative, where long-term sustainability is built into the foundation rather than bolted on. A client who isn’t held back by quarterly shareholder value would be a dream.

What keeps you inspired outside of work?

My main hobby is ballet, which is a bit unusual for an adult, but it’s so difficult that it completely clears your head. I’ve also done martial arts, and the mental effect is similar.

I recently joined a food cooperative. Somehow, it led me into obsessing about soil health and learning from farmers about planting cycles, microbes, and how to restore soil. I’m not a gardening person at all, but for some reason, this really hooked me. Now I’m reading books about soil and learning as much as I can.