Chief Design Officer Vitalii Covalenco is an emblematic figure in the world of Moldovan design. He supports community development and helps organize vocational training. Simpals has become a platform that has opened new horizons for him.

– How did you become part of the Simpals team?

– I was known as a professional, and in 2022 I was invited to join the company with my team. I found it interesting.

– Why?

– Simpals means a lot of different projects. Usually design studios work on an outsourced basis – it’s project work, not product work. I found it interesting to work with products when you can influence them from start to finish, in the long term.

 – Have your expectations been fulfilled?

– More than that. I am very interested in developing processes. Plus, in every product, you’re faced with different atypical tasks and you always learn new things. It’s not by chance that development is one of Simpals values.

– What helps you move towards success?

– Trust from the founders and the amazing team.

– And how do you create such a team?

– By selecting the right people. You can boost hard skills if you lack them, but if you have bad soft skills, you can’t really develop them. If a person can’t communicate, accept or give reasoned criticism, adapt to change and so on, they can’t work effectively in a team and they grow worse as a professional.

 – How do you see Simpals in five years’ time?

– It will be a full-fledged player in the international market.

– With what project?

– It could be some of our flagship products, but maybe something completely new will be born.

– What do your next 5 years look like?

– For now, I’m thinking 2-3 years. In that time, I want to completely get it over with the design process in the company and move from the role of Design Manager to Design Director.

– Whose projects inspire you?

– It’s not exactly the projects that inspire me. I admire companies that have built their own ecosystems – Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung. That’s a level to strive for.