UMBA — Award Winning Military Accelerator Website

UMBA is a Ukrainian military business accelerator that started actively supporting defense-focused developments after the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The organization worked on military solutions and innovations aimed at helping the army and strengthening the country’s defense capabilities.

What made this project especially meaningful is that UMBA operated as a non-profit initiative, funded through its own resources and donations from investors who helped support research, testing, and production.

The project was built completely from scratch, including the website design, Webflow development, 3D elements, and motion design.

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One of the biggest milestones for me was that alongside the purpose behind the project, the website also received a Website of the Day award from CSS Design Awards. Honestly, that recognition felt like a huge personal win and one of those moments that reminds you why all the effort was worth it.

My role in the project combined both web design and overall creative process management. I was responsible for shaping the visual direction of the website, coordinating the creative side of production, and making sure the final experience stayed consistent from concept to launch.

The main goal was to create a website that could attract investor attention on a larger scale and help generate funding for military developments, production, and the long-term growth of the organization during an extremely important time for Ukraine.

From the beginning, the website was built around a strong “wow-effect.” The idea was to create an image-driven digital experience rather than a heavily functional corporate or sales platform. A lot of inspiration came from brands like Cartier and Dolce & Gabbana, where companies often separate their experience-driven brand websites from more functional user-oriented platforms.

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The goal here was similar — to create a strong emotional and visual presentation of the organization through digital design.

During the process, I built the visual direction around Ukrainian symbolism, national colors, strong typography, and an overall military-inspired atmosphere that matched the mission of the organization.

The final result was a fully custom Webflow website that became a strong digital representation of UMBA and helped contribute to raising around $500,000 in investments during active marketing and outreach.

Moodboard & Visual Direction — The process started with defining the overall visual direction of the project. I curated references across layouts, typography, interactions, military aesthetics, and premium brand-inspired experiences to establish the tone and emotional feel of the website from the very beginning.

Concept Design — Based on the approved direction, I developed several homepage concepts focused on creating a strong “wow-effect” and a memorable first impression. The goal was to make the platform feel impactful, cinematic, and visually different from traditional corporate or nonprofit websites.

3D & Motion Design — A separate part of the process was dedicated to researching and developing the 3D and motion direction for the experience. The main visual symbol became the Ukrainian coat of arms. From there, the idea with the light bulb was developed and storyboarded through multiple iterations. The final interaction showed a finger press activating the light and revealing the glowing Ukrainian emblem inside — symbolizing innovation, military development, and the power of Ukrainian people and ideas coming together.

Full Design (Desktop & Mobile) — After finalizing the visual concept and motion direction, I designed the full set of pages and adapted the layouts for mobile devices. The focus throughout the process was keeping the experience visually immersive while still feeling structured, clear, and easy to navigate.

Webflow Development & Finalization — Once the design phase was completed, the project was fully built in Webflow with all animations, interactions, and transitions integrated into the final experience. The goal was to make sure the final website preserved the same level of impact and atmosphere as the original design concepts.

Design & Creative Direction — Danylo Druhov

3D & Motion Design — In-house team

Development — Made in Webflow.

Open to new projects and collaborations. Have something in mind? Let’s break it down and build it right.

Contra / LinkedIn / Behance