Gennady Kurushin

photo by Aava Eronen

About

Hi! I am Gennady, a graphic and web designer from Helsinki with 15 years of experience. I hold dual master’s degrees in Management and Information Systems. I run Cobalt Studio, a one-stop creative agency specializing in branding, websites, and digital marketing. Check out my services to learn more about what I offer.

I began my career in 2008 working in marketing and business analytics. Today, my goal is to create visual content that helps small to medium-sized businesses and non-profit organizations grow and connect with their audience. I offer a full range of services, including graphic design, web development, and photo and video production. I believe in a collaborative process, working closely with clients to build strong brands and deliver a positive impact. Learn more from my CV.

In my free time, I am a lifelong learner who enjoys taking on new personal projects. My latest achievement is a personal photo exhibition and video short premiere. “Instinct and Intimacy” is a two-part exhibition featuring a photography installation and the premiere of a video short. Read more in the News.

Photography has also been a passion of mine for years. I specialize in landscape and night photography. My work has been featured in several exhibitions and recognized with awards, including the Adobe “Suomi100.”

CV

Summary

A Helsinki-based graphic and web designer with 15 years of experience in digital marketing. I run Cobalt Studio, where I provide a full range of creative and consulting services. With dual master’s degrees in Management and Information Systems, I combine visual design with strong technical and analytical skills. My goal is to build lasting partnerships with my clients by working as a reliable, flexible, and hands-on consultant.

Education

Master of Science, Electronic and Mobile Commerce
Åbo Akademi University, 9/2012 – 6/2014
Major: Information Systems. Graduated with exceptional honor. Thesis received the grade of Eximia cum laude approbatur.

Master’s Degree, Business Administration and Management
Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics, 9/2005 – 6/2010
Major: Organization Management. Minor: Management Consulting. Graduated with honor.

Tech Skills

Web Design, Accessibility Audits, Cross-team Collaboration, Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Front-End Development, HTML5 & CSS3, Online Advertising, Project Management, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Web Performance Optimization, Website Security & Maintenance, Website Administration, WordPress Design

Languages

English: full working proficiency
Finnish: limited working proficiency
Russian: native proficiency

Work Experience

Graphic Designer, Web Designer, Marketing Consultant
Cobalt Studio, 9/2015 – PRES.
I provide branding, web design, and digital marketing consulting services, with a portfolio of past and current clients including Soft Protector Oy, Recover Nordic Oy, and UNA Oy. I design clear, high-quality visual materials for both digital and print channels and build fast, responsive websites, managing the entire process from visual design to technical administration and SEO.

Co-Owner
Six Pieces Oy, 9/2025 – PRES.
We provide design and marketing services to support business development. Our work focuses on creating brand identities, building websites, and planning digital marketing campaigns.

Business Development Manager
BFIX Oy, 10/2014 – 10/2015
I analyzed and developed sales strategies while researching and building relationships with new clients. I identified new business opportunities, set sales targets, and negotiated commercial agreements.

Marketing Manager
Tespack Oy, 3/2014 – 7/2014
I managed product and concept development, and designed print and digital marketing materials. I utilized digital marketing to improve product placement and brand performance.

Senior Business Analyst
Blackwood Real estate, Ltd., 10/2011 – 6/2012
I gathered and evaluated data to support project planning and business concept development. Additionally, I produced detailed industry reports and developed comprehensive financial, marketing, and sales forecasts.

Marketing Manager
Hitek Group, Ltd., 3/2010 – 3/2011
I conducted market analysis and customer surveys to support new product launches and evaluate product portfolios. Additionally, I created visual assets, managed social media, and developed detailed reports and forecasts.

Consulting Analyst
Penny Lane Realty, Ltd., 1/2008 – 1/2010
I supported project development through data collection, market research, and financial valuation. Additionally, I produced comprehensive industry reports and drafted corporate press releases.

Recommendations

Many clients and former colleagues are recommending Gennady. To see the original references, please visit Gennady’s LinkedIn profile and scroll down until the Recommendations section appears. Here are the latest recommendations:

Asiakaslähtöinen ja joustava palvelu niin suunnittelussa kuin nettisivujen ylläpidon osalta. Yhteistyö toiminut todella hyvin! Suosittelen isommille mutta myös pienemmille yhteisöille, sillä henkilökohtainen palvelu helpottaa arkea.

Elisa Selinummi, Johdon assistentti at Eduskunta

I would highly recommend Gennady for any freelance or full time work – it is hard to find a more trustworthy and skillful person who can control various projects at the same time while providing fantastic results. Additionally, he is an expert in many aspects such as taking photos, designing visuals (such as labels, posters, banners etc.), understanding SEO+SEM and creating websites – just to name a few.

Sini Lehtonen, Digital Advisor at EY

Gennady helped us with the blog and website renewal. Gennady coordinated and conducted the project carefully on schedule. He is enthusiastic, very dedicated to his work and easy to communicate with. He is also well aware about the latest regulations and recommendations concerning privacy, google searches etc. Our organization highly recommends!

Elina Turjanmaa, Postdoctoral Researcher

For a longer period, Gennady has been assisting Recover Nordic Oy with design (print and web), photography and media visibility & analytics. We have been very pleased with Gennady’s work! Gennady is a true professional who handles every project with the same enthusiasm and with a great eye for detail. He is able to deliver top quality even in very tight deadlines. Our collaboration has been much appreciated!

Minna Somersaari, HR Manager Finland at Philips

Gennady has created for our project a multilingual website ulkosuomalaisetvaaleissa.fi aimed at educating Finnish citizens about remote voting. The services provided by Gennady were according to our requirements and the development project was successfully completed in time. Gennady was very professional, efficient and flexible. The final result exceeded our expectations, and I would warmly recommend Gennady to any similar projects!

Johanna Peltoniemi, Postdoctoral Researcher

Gennady truly has a broad experience in design and digital marketing. He is very easy to work with and he easily understands our company’s needs, sometimes even better than we do. Gennady is quick, precise and has very good visual eye. For our company Gennady has provided both printed and digital materials, brochures, roll-ups, adverts, product displays, in-store materials, labels, product and event photography, for example. We are very happy to have him in our team and would recommend him highly.

Päivi Fogelberg, Hallintopäällikkö at Suomalaisen Työn Liitto

Gennady on mahtava tyyppi, jonka kanssa oli ilo tehdä yhteistyötä. Asiantuntevalla, innovatiivisellä ja osaavalla otteella hän loi uuden markkinointimateriaalin ja vielä täysin mahdottomassa aikataulussa. Olimme hyvin tyytyväisiä hänen työnsä lopputulokseen.

Annika Jurvanen, Director Consultant at CGI

Gennady has been doing the maintenance of the anthropology blog/website allegralaboratory.net for several years, to the extent that we came to consider him as the ‘managing editor’ of the site. Allegra is a collective non-profit initiative with no vertical structure, which means that decision-making is always achieved through consensus. The transformations on the blog are therefore the result of long discussions, in which Gennady’s technical expertise is crucial to guide us toward solutions best adapted to our needs. Gennady is not only a reliable person but also an extremely flexible and accommodating professional. The website could simply not exist without him!

Julie Billaud, Associate Professor

Luotettava, luova, nopea ja työnantajansa toiveita tarkasti kuunteleva toteuttaja, jolta saa kätevän keskitetysti kaikki graafisen-, websuunnittelun, yms. palvelut. Tietää miten pientä budjettia voidaan hyödyntää parhaiten yleishyödyllisen toiminnan puitteissa. Täydellinen paketti!

Suvi Jaakkola, Editor In Chief at AntroBlogi

News

Jun 2025
Personal Photo Exhibition and Video Short Premiere

“Instinct and Intimacy” is a two-part exhibition featuring a photography installation and a directed video short. The event took place at Kalliola as part of the Helsinki Pride Programme.

Jun 2025
Apr 2021
Winner of Uutisraivaaja Media Innovation Challenge

Winning project archi.tours – a new format of digital journalism. Project team: Marianna Wahlsten, Nikhilesh Haval and Gennady Kurushin. The award is issued by Helsingin Sanomat Foundation.

Apr 2021
Apr 2021
Documentary Premiere

The first screening of “Kappa, a River Child” documentary at CULTUREELS film festival, the project funded by The Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation. Project team: Suvi Jaakkola and Gennady Kurushin.

Apr 2021
Apr 2021
Documentary Premiere

The first screening of “Songs of Helsinki” documentary at CULTUREELS film festival, the project funded by Uudenmaan kulttuurirahasto. Project team: Suvi Jaakkola and Gennady Kurushin.

Apr 2021
Apr 2019
Documentary Premiere

The first screening of “My neighbour, the polar bear” documentary at CULTUREELS film festival in Helsinki, the project funded by the Finnish-Norwegian Foundation. Project team: Suvi Jaakkola and Gennady Kurushin.

Apr 2019
May 2016
Photo Publications

Multiple publications in the Historical and cultural journal LiteraruS.

May 2016
Apr 2016
Conference

One of the core organizers of WordCamp Finland 2016 and designer of the logo for the event.

Apr 2016
Dec 2014
Master’s Degree

Completed second Master’s degree, thesis received one of the highest grades – Eximia cum laude approbatur (approved with exceptional praise), graduated from Åbo Akademi University.

Dec 2014
Dec 2013
Academic Publication

Article “Application of the method Canvas for development of business models of real estate projects” in the journal “Management in Russia and abroad”, ISSN: 1028-5857.

Dec 2013
Apr 2013
Academic Publication

Article “Analysis of the life cycle of real estate projects” in the journal “Ekonomika, statistika i informatika. Vestnik UMO”, ISSN: 1994-7844.

Apr 2013
Mar 2012
Academic Publication

Article “Improving the recruitment system by implementation of e-learning” in the journal “Open education”, ISSN 1818-4243.

Mar 2012