Shortly after the 1905 Russian Revolution, with which he flirted, although his radicalism was very superficial, he turned to graphic design. At first he worked as a cartoonist in a satirical magazine between 1905–06, and then began designing books, which brought him considerable success. In the 1910s, he was considered as one of those artists whose work defined the high level of Russian book art. His life became even more intense after the events of the February Revolution of 1917. He was then engaged in social activities, served as artistic director of the State Porcelain Factory in Leningrad in 1918–1923, and again in 1925–1927, respectively.