Two people. Several careers. One very low tolerance for forgettable marketing.
Meet the Team
Different strengths. Better work
Founder, Creative Strategist & Web Designer
Elena Shikina
I came to web design through business management, advertising, journalism, and publishing. I also hold master’s degrees in Journalism and Accounting, proof that creativity and spreadsheets can coexist when properly supervised.
Before founding NewLook in 2018, I managed a large shopping mall, worked in outdoor advertising, and spent 15 years as Editor-in-Chief of a publishing house, while somehow also finding time to work as a radio host. Those very different worlds taught me one thing: how people notice, interpret, and respond to a message.
Today, I lead strategy, writing, and web design for NewLook. I listen closely, ask direct questions, and usually recognize what a business is trying to say before it finds the right words. Because customers rarely choose on information alone. They choose clarity, trust, relevance, and the feeling that someone understands them.
Photographer & Technical Specialist
Alex Simonov
Alex is my younger brother, although on technical matters I have learned not to emphasize the hierarchy.
He is an award-winning photographer, technology enthusiast, and the person behind much of NewLook’s photography, visual effects, and technical support. His work has been recognized in conceptual minimalism, nature, wildlife, and fine-art photography. Alex notices light, composition, texture, and the small details that separate something professional from something memorable.
I shape the strategy, language, and overall direction. Alex brings visual precision and the patience to solve technical problems that make other people reconsider their relationship with electronics.
We approach projects from different angles, and neither of us lets the other settle for the obvious answer.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
The world did not need another agency promising to “elevate your brand”
It did, however, have a surprising number of good businesses represented by forgettable websites, generic content, and online identities that no longer matched the quality of the work behind them.
I founded NewLook Social Marketing in 2018 to bring together the parts of my previous careers that had always interested me most: understanding people, finding the right message, shaping how a business is perceived, and turning complicated information into something clear and compelling.
Alex later added professional photography, visual effects, and technical expertise to the mix. NewLook became the kind of small creative studio we wanted to work with ourselves: experienced, direct, curious, and personally involved.
SMALL BY DESIGN
You work with the people doing the work
We intentionally take on a limited number of clients. This gives us time to understand each business, think carefully about the work, and stay involved after the first enthusiastic meeting has ended.
There are no account-manager handoffs and no mysterious production department hidden somewhere behind the proposal. When you speak with us, you are speaking with the people making the strategic and creative decisions.
Many of our clients stay with us for years. We learn how their businesses operate, what their customers ask, what has worked before, and where the online experience is quietly falling behind.
We also tell clients what we genuinely think. Sometimes that means recommending a stronger direction. Sometimes it means explaining why an expensive idea is unlikely to help. A smaller invoice is considerably cheaper than an impressive mistake.
Minnesota Based. Professionally Curious
We work closely with small businesses throughout Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the Twin Cities. Being local means we can meet in person, understand the market, photograph the real people and places behind a business, and create work that does not feel imported from a generic template.
We combine decades of experience with current tools, including AI, analytics, modern design technology, and evolving SEO practices. Technology helps us explore more possibilities and work more efficiently. Judgment tells us which possibilities are worth using.
