Nikolay Ironov—5 years
Five years ago, Nikolay Ironov was born—a neural designer ahead of his time. His debut made headlines worldwide and marked the beginning of a new era of large-scale automation in creative processes. Throughout this time, Ironov has been continuously developed by a professional team at Art. Lebedev Studio. What began as a technological experiment has evolved into a powerful product that solves complex design tasks for thousands of clients around the world.
2018
By 2018, the studio had accumulated extensive design and technological expertise and was actively experimenting with modern technologies. A small research team makes initial attempts to automate complex creative design tasks.
2019
Nikolay Ironov—the mysterious employee of Art. Lebedev Studio
In its early development, the Nikolay Ironov project is top secret. An isolated team passes off generative designs as the work of a real person. A portfolio page is created for Ironov, and his visual identity is synthesized from the photographs of all studio employees.
Unusual works begin to appear, provoking strong reactions from the design community with their distinctive and unconventional style.
In his first year, Ironov completes over 20 commercial projects, including logos for bloggers (Ruslan Usachev, Yury Khovansky), cafés, bars, apps and consumer goods.
A key milestone: Ironov’s generative work gets implemented in the real world. Keeping the author’s identity secret allows the team to bypass societal bias around generative design.
2020
Ironov 1.0
On June 26, the studio publicly reveals that Nikolay Ironov is not a person, but a generative design AI capable of creating logos.
By launching the Ironov project, Art. Lebedev Studio positions itself years ahead of the global neural network boom.
Global recognition
For the first time, technology doesn’t just automate routine work—it starts collaborating with humans in the realm of ideas, taste and visual thinking. The cultural shock is immediate. People all over the world begin to ask: “What if machines really can replace humans?”
Nikolay Ironov becomes the face of this paradigm shift: not just drawing logos, but triggering a fundamental conflict: If AI can do it fast and well, where does that leave the designer?
Ironov is covered by media worldwide:
Nikolay Ironov is more than just another neural network.
RBCIt will save us a lot of time and energy, while also boosting the imagination and possibilities.
The Next WebAn AI graphic designer convinced clients it was human
The Next WebNikolay Ironov does outshine his human counterparts in a handful of ways.
Singularity HubIronov has proven that AI is not some distant future for design. AI is very much the present.
Fast CompanyAn AI logo designer can do everything a human can and more.
Medium
2021
Prestigious awards
Ironov wins top international design awards: Gold ADCE Award, Epica Awards, iF Communication Design Award, Red Dot Design Award and others.
2022
Ironov 2.0
Generative design tech takes a leap forward. The studio unveils Nikolay Ironov 2.0.
Ironov integrates cutting-edge methods and diverse graphic techniques to create even more unique logos.
A demo project option is added: anyone can now test Ironov for free.
Nikolay Ironov in real life
Hundreds of brands and projects use logos generated by Ironov. He changes the game by lowering the entry barrier for professional design, giving every business fast, high-quality identity creation.
2023
Large-scale real-world projects
By 2023, Ironov joins numerous collaborations: with the Imperial Porcelain Factory, Murmurizm fashion brand, comes up with designs for leather gloves, paper cups and Microfibrus cloths, creates a collection of prints for Russian Creative Week and draws a series of digital paintings.
2024
Ironov 3.0
The new version of Ironov acquires the ability to create complex visual communication: slogans, styles, color combinations and typefaces, enabling holistic brand design.
The proposed design solutions are immediately ready to use.
The updated version introduces a feature to create variations of the logo, which opens up many directions for design and image development.
New service: color palette generator
The work on Nikolay Ironov continues: new technological findings appear. Some of them grow into separate services. For example, the color palette generator allows to create harmonious color combinations.
2025
Ironov turns 5
Ironov’s work is now more relevant and expressive than ever. A new recurring feature presents curated logos from new clients.
Over 5 years, 62 people helped build and develop Nikolay Ironov, including:
~2,200
logos every day67,000
logos every month475,000
logos every year4,139,602
logos in total over 5 years6,382
commits1,344
branches2,857,463
lines of codeClient industries:
The Art. Lebedev Studio team continues to push boundaries, expand their technological expertise and modernize Nikolay Ironov, unlocking new frontiers in design for thousands of clients.
