Maksim Silantiev

Available to hire

I’m a creative and art director with 22+ years of experience building brand identity, design systems, and visual communications for major financial brands.

About

I’m a creative and art director with 22+ years of experience building brand identity, design systems, and visual communications for major financial brands. Over the last decade, I’ve led full rebrands from the ground up—turning complex business content into clear, persuasive visual stories—and I’m comfortable working both strategically and hands-on, from visual strategy and team leadership to producing key deliverables myself.

I’ve directed global brand work across banking and investment contexts, designing brand architectures, unified communications systems, and corporate web concepts, while also improving efficiency in approvals and revision cycles. Earlier in my career, I built and scaled an in-house design team for publishing, managed high-volume editorial production, and supported fast-paced agency print production—so I bring strong quality control, process discipline, and a design-first mindset to every project.

  • Joined September 2026

Industry experience

  • Financial Services
  • Media & Entertainment
  • Professional Services

More experts in Moscow, Russia

Projects · 8

Forshtadt Bank — Rebrand of a Regional Bank

A full rebrand of a regional Russian bank, replacing a 1990s legacy mark that no longer matched how the bank wanted to be seen. I developed the new logo concept and mark, a colour system, Cyrillic and Latin versions of the logo, and applied the identity across branded materials, stationery and signage. The exploration stage covered several directions before the final teal mark was chosen. Role: Art Director / Brand Designer — concept, logo design, identity system, applications.

  • Art Director
  • Brand Designer
Bank Otkritie — Animated Social Content (Motion Reel)

A 40-second cut from a dedicated line of animated social content for Bank Otkritie: videos with the bank's Vzhuh mascot, product and brand animations, special project teasers and animated infographics. In the reel: Vzhuh New Year 2020, a toucan brand video, Cosmonautics Day, gamification explainer, Travel card, a winter animation and more. The same characters and visual system ran across the feed, animated greeting cards for the internal corporate portal and the employee "Thank you" service. Role: concept, design and animation, as part of the bank's social media creative concept that lifted engagement by 40% in six months.

  • Art Director
  • Graphic Designer
Bank Otkritie — Social Media & Communication Design

Visual communications for Bank Otkritie, one of Russia's largest banks — from the social media creative concept to internal communications, merch and mascots. Challenge: make the retail (open.bank) and business (open.delo) social feeds recognisable despite a high volume of regular content. Solution: a modular visual system that builds a consistent, recognisable feed, plus product and brand content cards for regular posting. Around it grew separate lines: corporate values story cards and office elevator branding for employees, branded apparel (cap, football kit, hoodie and T-shirt capsules), and mascots — the Vzhuh character with a life-size costume, messenger sticker pack and comics, and angel characters for the SKY office opening in Kazan. Result: +40% social media engagement in six months. Role: Design & Brand Communications Expert — author of the creative concept and modular system; design and illustration; all graphic work for internal communications.

  • Art Director
  • Creative Director
  • Graphic Designer
BCS CIB / BCS PIB — Rebranding the International Business

BCS Global Markets became two new BCS Group brands: Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) and Private Investment Banking (PIB). The business had split into two lines with different audiences, and the old name and visual language fit neither. Both brands had to read as part of BCS Group while speaking to institutional and private clients. Solution: one architecture — the group mark plus a business descriptor. CIB carries a strict institutional tone, PIB a restrained premium one. Shared typeface (Suisse Int'l), palette and rules, so both brands are built from one system. Guidelines v1 (Q4 2022) cover Russian and English logo versions, light and dark variants, a gradient-free mark for print, and an AA-checked CIB Gray / Red / Light Gray palette. For PIB: product sheets for the Elite and Ultra premium tariffs and client event invitations. Result: the guidelines became the standard for in-house designers and contractors, and both brands launched across the website, board and client presentations, and marketing. Role: Creative Director — brand architecture, identity concept, art direction, presenting to leadership, leading roll-out by a team of 3 and contractors.

  • Art Director
  • Brand Designer
  • Creative Director
Investor & Client Presentation Design — Investment Banking

— charts, tables, forecasts — into slides a client can read in seconds, with one chart language and layout system across every deck. I produced 50+ board-level and investor presentations and built the templates behind them, cutting approval time by 30%. Role: Art Director — deck design, data visualisation, template system.

  • Art Director
  • Presentation Designer
BCS Global Markets — Brand & Marketing Communications

An ongoing body of marketing work for an investment bank: campaign posters and A4 collateral for fixed income and currency analytics, client mailings in Russian and English, private banking product sheets, a branded wine campaign and team merchandise. Everything sits on a modular visual system, so a small team could turn out a high volume of on-brand pieces quickly — which cut late-stage revisions by 25%. Role: Creative Director — visual system, art direction, key visuals, production.

  • Art Director
  • Creative Director
  • Graphic Designer
BCS Global Markets — Investment Bank Website Redesign

Art directed the redesign of the corporate website for the investment banking arm of a major Russian financial group, rebuilt around the new brand concept. I designed the full page system — home, global markets, investment banking services, structured products, securities operations, news and contacts — on one grid, with a consistent photography treatment and component set. That let a large content team add new pages without the design drifting. Role: Art Director — visual concept, page design, design system, developer handoff.

  • Art Director
  • Creative Director
THE Ultima Global Markets — Brand Identity & Guidelines

Created a new international brand from scratch for the premium arm of a major investment bank: naming lockup, logo, colour system, typography and a full set of brand guidelines. The identity had to read as restrained and premium across print, digital and client-facing documents, while staying legible at the small sizes financial materials demand. I delivered the logo system, the brandbook, and the templates the in-house teams use to apply it — so the brand stays consistent without every piece coming back through design. Role: Creative Director / Art Director — concept, identity system, brandbook, rollout.

  • Art Director
  • Brand Designer

Work experience· 5 roles

Art Director / Creative Director · BCS BankSep 2022 – Present · 4 yrs 3 mos

Led the full rebrand of the international business at BCS Global Markets → BCS CIB and BCS Private Investment Banking. Designed brand architecture and visual identity for both new brands, created the visual concept and communications system for THE Ultima Global Markets, and directed corporate website redesign around the new brand concept. Produced 50+ board-level and investor presentations, cutting design approval/proposal time by 30%.

Creative Director · BCS Global Markets (BCS Prime Brokerage)Apr 2021 – Sep 2022 · 1 yr 6 mos

Built the visual language and unified communications system for the international division. Developed a marketing materials library for international clients, reducing late-stage revisions by 25%. Enforced consistent brand standards across all channels.

Design & Brand Communications Expert · Bank FCOtkritieApr 2018 – Apr 2021 · 3 yrs 1 mo

Created the bank’s social media creative concept, driving engagement up to 40% within six months. Built a modular visual system that enabled regional teams to produce a single recognizable feed. Designed materials and executive presentations for internal and external communications.

Art Editor (2010–2018) · Designer (2008–2010) · Renaissance Life InsuranceJul 2008 – Apr 2018 · 9 yrs 10 mos
Lead Designer · Advertising agencies (Saratov)Jan 2003 – Apr 2008 · 5 yrs 4 mos

Education

Radio engineering · Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov (Saratov State Technical University)2003

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