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Hackathon
Winning a Live Design Battle Before AI Made It “Easy”
In 2019, I participated in 2 Hours Design Battle, an offline design competition built around a simple but brutal constraint:📍 one real brief, two hours, one final design solution.
No AI, no shortcuts. Every decision was made manually, under pressure, in real time.
The Format
The battle took place offline in Kharkiv and gathered over a hundred spectators.Not seated. Not at a distance.They were standing right behind us, watching every move on our screens.
The setup:
- one real client brief
- multiple designers working simultaneously
- 2 hours total — no iterations, no extensions
- final designs reviewed by a professional jury
The task was to design a landing page with clear structure, UX logic, and a defensible visual concept — not just something that “looks nice.”
Pressure Was Part of the Challenge
This was one of the most stressful design experiences I’ve had — and one of the most valuable.
The pressure came from everywhere:
- extreme time limits
- constant public observation
- strong competitors working next to you
- the expectation of professional-level quality
In that environment, I quickly learn:
- how to identify what actually matters
- how solid your design thinking really is
- whether you can trust your process without overthinking
There’s no space for perfectionism — only for clarity.
The Result
I won the battle. 🙌🙀
Not because the solution was flashy, but because it was clear, structured, and aligned with the brief — and because I could deliver it under conditions where hesitation costs everything.
For me, this win was a strong validation that:
- my design process scales under pressure
- I can make fast, confident decisions without sacrificing logic
- stress doesn’t break my focus — it sharpens it
What this experience gave me:
- Confidence in rapid decision-making
- Stronger structural and UX thinking
- Real experience of designing under extreme pressure
- Trust in my process, not just individual visual skills
Takeaway
Good design is not about ideal conditions.
It’s about staying clear-headed when conditions are far from ideal.
That’s why this experience holds a meaningful place in my portfolio — not just as a competition win, but as proof of how I work when things get hard.
Back
Hackathon
Winning a Live Design Battle Before AI Made It “Easy”
In 2019, I participated in 2 Hours Design Battle, an offline design competition built around a simple but brutal constraint:📍 one real brief, two hours, one final design solution.
No AI, no shortcuts. Every decision was made manually, under pressure, in real time.
The Format
The battle took place offline in Kharkiv and gathered over a hundred spectators.Not seated. Not at a distance.They were standing right behind us, watching every move on our screens.
The setup:
- one real client brief
- multiple designers working simultaneously
- 2 hours total — no iterations, no extensions
- final designs reviewed by a professional jury
The task was to design a landing page with clear structure, UX logic, and a defensible visual concept — not just something that “looks nice.”
Pressure Was Part of the Challenge
This was one of the most stressful design experiences I’ve had — and one of the most valuable.
The pressure came from everywhere:
- extreme time limits
- constant public observation
- strong competitors working next to you
- the expectation of professional-level quality
In that environment, I quickly learn:
- how to identify what actually matters
- how solid your design thinking really is
- whether you can trust your process without overthinking
There’s no space for perfectionism — only for clarity.
The Result
I won the battle. 🙌🙀
Not because the solution was flashy, but because it was clear, structured, and aligned with the brief — and because I could deliver it under conditions where hesitation costs everything.
For me, this win was a strong validation that:
- my design process scales under pressure
- I can make fast, confident decisions without sacrificing logic
- stress doesn’t break my focus — it sharpens it
What this experience gave me:
- Confidence in rapid decision-making
- Stronger structural and UX thinking
- Real experience of designing under extreme pressure
- Trust in my process, not just individual visual skills
Takeaway
Good design is not about ideal conditions.
It’s about staying clear-headed when conditions are far from ideal.
That’s why this experience holds a meaningful place in my portfolio — not just as a competition win, but as proof of how I work when things get hard.
location
📍 Remote | Alicante, Spain
Back
Hackathon
Winning a Live Design Battle Before AI Made It “Easy”
In 2019, I participated in 2 Hours Design Battle, an offline design competition built around a simple but brutal constraint:📍 one real brief, two hours, one final design solution.
No AI, no shortcuts. Every decision was made manually, under pressure, in real time.
The Format
The battle took place offline in Kharkiv and gathered over a hundred spectators.Not seated. Not at a distance.They were standing right behind us, watching every move on our screens.
The setup:
- one real client brief
- multiple designers working simultaneously
- 2 hours total — no iterations, no extensions
- final designs reviewed by a professional jury
The task was to design a landing page with clear structure, UX logic, and a defensible visual concept — not just something that “looks nice.”
Pressure Was Part of the Challenge
This was one of the most stressful design experiences I’ve had — and one of the most valuable.
The pressure came from everywhere:
- extreme time limits
- constant public observation
- strong competitors working next to you
- the expectation of professional-level quality
In that environment, I quickly learn:
- how to identify what actually matters
- how solid your design thinking really is
- whether you can trust your process without overthinking
There’s no space for perfectionism — only for clarity.
The Result
I won the battle. 🙌🙀
Not because the solution was flashy, but because it was clear, structured, and aligned with the brief — and because I could deliver it under conditions where hesitation costs everything.
For me, this win was a strong validation that:
- my design process scales under pressure
- I can make fast, confident decisions without sacrificing logic
- stress doesn’t break my focus — it sharpens it
What this experience gave me:
- Confidence in rapid decision-making
- Stronger structural and UX thinking
- Real experience of designing under extreme pressure
- Trust in my process, not just individual visual skills
Takeaway
Good design is not about ideal conditions.
It’s about staying clear-headed when conditions are far from ideal.
That’s why this experience holds a meaningful place in my portfolio — not just as a competition win, but as proof of how I work when things get hard.
location
📍 Remote | Alicante, Spain