Our Pioneer in Moscow, Russia: Jerry Lieveld

We’re heading to Moscow this week to find our Pioneer, Creative Strategist and UX Designer, Jerry Lieveld. Having moved to Moscow earlier this year, we find out what drove Jerry to make the move, what makes him feel at home, and what stands out there the most. In this format, created in collaboration with Nils Adriaans, we get back in touch with members of the Dutch Creative Community living abroad and ask them to send back some personal messages in a bottle about what life is like living where they do.

How did you end up in Moscow? What drove you to move there?

I'm in Moscow because of love. I met my wife while I was in Lisbon, and after I moved back to Amsterdam, we lived there together. She had to go back to Russia for the family business, and I decided to follow her. I sold my last agency (DIFR) and thought it would be a perfect moment to take a sabbatical for three months. Then Covid-19 prevented us from returning to Amsterdam, and my sabbatical got extended :) So we decided to stay in Moscow till everything settles down again. I picked up strategy, UX, and design assignments from Amsterdam and London, which was great but I missed the buzz and vibe of working in a creative environment, and I wanted to do some local work. You know, while in Moscow :)

So I reached out to a few people to get into the Moscow scene and see if there were things that we could work on together. I'm incredibly grateful for the help of Justin Thomas-Copeland, CEO of DDB Worldwide North America, and Eric Grouza, Creative Director at TBWA\Moscow. They introduced me to a lot of great people in Moscow.

I was able to work on an organic water brand, a redesign of an electric car charger, a jewellery brand, and soon some cool stuff with autonomous vehicles. I also started sallome.com, together with Arthur Schotsborg (Amsterdam), to extend to a global and remote collective with a retail focus.

What makes you feel at home?

I feel at home pretty much anywhere, but having my coffee machine, my favourite baron tumbler glasses, and Sonos here makes my morning routine feel like home.

I dearly miss my mom's Suriname food. I haven't mastered the full fusion galore that makes up that cuisine, but I ordered some scorching Madame Jeannette peppers from the Netherlands, which took months to arrive but are well worth it :)

The area around Patriarch's Ponds (Russian: Патриаршие пруды, Patriarshiye Prudy) gives me a European feel and reminds me of a mash between Amsterdam and London. And my three favourite restaurants: Sakhalin, which has stunning views of Moscow and incredible good seafood; Turandot, which has over the top scenery (as you step into a fairytale); and KM20, which has excellent vegan choices and a cool crowd. These places make me feel at home.

What stands out the most there (professionally)?

I get challenged and surprised every day by how different, and by how the same, the cities are. My Russian language skills are still very elementary, learning every day, but I love how much, unapologetically, can be expressed without it. A smile goes a long way :)

One of the things I was blown away by is the subway. I actually think that Moscow has one of the most beautiful stations I have ever seen!

In addition, the Russian creative and tech industries are growing rapidly and not only within Moscow's confines. I wish brands would challenge themselves more and have local teams make more original work with less adaptation. The talent, the intelligence and the innovative drive are all here.

What is your Random Pic(k) Of The Week?

Many things in daily life inspire me. It could be from simple interactions between humans and tools to complex interaction systems. But what inspires me most is emotive design and art, particularly in music and mesmerising flows that put me right in the zone. I love these topics a lot that deconstruct parts of that.

In particular how J Dilla humanised his MPC3000 and how the triplet flow took over rap.

One of my favourite designers/artists that brings that emotive bridge from art and design with music must be Ruffmercy.

I also love looking at the hypnotic movement and flow of Oumijanta – I could watch that for days. That feel, emotive construct, flow, and movement is what I want to bolster in all my work. And life, for that matter.

What’s the most radical piece of work you’ve seen over there?

I’m not that deep in Russian creative culture yet, but these stood out to me:

STRUCTURED Magazine created a new contest for artists and the winner was Alik Keshishyan. I like the piece, ‘Erotic Drama’, a lot because it is an interesting way to capture attention for ‘news’.

I also like ‘AI Versus’. In partnership with TV Rain, the last of the opposition media outlets to be taken off the air, Voskhod Agency developed a pair of AI twins — identical in code but fed information from TV Rain and the leading, state-ran TV channel. Users could ask anything and get back answers from each of the twins.

I guess I have a thing for Russia and news.

What 'souvenir' would you bring home?

If I go back, I will bring home my wife, family, and our naked sphinx :) Before I came here, I had a particular bias and view considering Russians, but I have always felt incredibly welcome, and they can be hilarious. Both within my international circle as well as in the Russian tusovka* (тусовка) I've been invited to.

I am fortunate to have met some very smart and creative people. I would also want to bring back some delicious recipes from the Caucasus cuisine.

*Explanation of ‘tusovka’:

Curiously, there is no word in other languages that could be considered the equivalent of what new Russians call "тусовка" (to get together). It is used to describe people gathering, mainly for entertainment purposes, and can also express the idea of a group of people united by similar interests.