​Graphic Designer / Small Advertising Agencies 2000 – 2007

My early professional experience began in the early days of the advertising industry. During this period, I worked in several small advertising agencies.

Some of these projects were for large corporate clients at the time, such as:
“Samokovska Komuna” – textile factory, “Velbazhd” – yarn manufacturer, “Verila” – manufacturer of lubricants, “Sopharma” – pharmaceuticals and medicines, among others.

I had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects – from advertising materials and outdoor campaigns, logo design and packaging, to more unconventional tasks such as creating a pattern design for a children’s blanket in mass production. 
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Graphic Designer / Casino Technology 2007 - 2009

I was part of the advertising department, working closely with the marketing team and senior management.
My work included creating advertising materials for two casino brands with locations across Bulgaria, including campaign-based event promotions.

I also designed marketing materials for the parent company – a manufacturer of games and slot machines – for international trade shows. At the time, the company’s head office consisted of approximately 200 employees, including production staff.
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Graphic Designer / Publicis Groupe 2009 – 2010

I mainly worked in a team with a copywriter, art director, and creative director on a major client – Vivacom.

Working with such a major client provided a challenging variety of projects and large-scale campaigns across BTL, TVC, ETL, OOH, and non-standard media. My role included conceptual and creative thinking, design, and art direction.

In addition, I contributed to internal company projects to generate ideas and concepts for international advertising competitions.
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Graphic Designer → Art Director / GRAFFITI BBDO Sofia 2010 – 2018

I worked in a team with copywriters, designers, a producer, creative director, as well as account, PR, digital, and media departments.

Again, I worked on a major client – Postbank – handling a wide variety of projects and large-scale campaigns across BTL, TVC, ETL, OOH, DM, WEB, Corporate Branding, Brand Identity, Events, and non-standard media.

My role included conceptual and creative thinking, design, and art direction for annual platforms and regular campaigns. I also managed a creative team of designers and oversaw the work and coordination of external contractors on set for TVC shoots, photoshoots, and other productions.

The campaigns we executed for Postbank were often recipients of Effie awards.
During these years, I also worked on additional clients of the agency, such as Dr. Oetker – specifically on the Special Pudding campaign, which won an Effie in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods category.

I was the Art Director for the OmegaPrim project for Walmark, which received a nomination for art direction at the international Epica Awards.

Over nearly eight years, the list of clients and projects is extensive – a mix of major global brands like Pepsi and Mars products, as well as large and small local clients and NGOs. Projects ranged from designing advertising materials for a children’s diaper brand, to a photoshoot involving 30 newly hatched chicks, to elite corporate programs for a bank.


In parallel, I developed several independent projects, including:

Nina Zee Fashion
Unique handmade hats & jewelry over a period of six years.

Nina Zee Fragrance
Unique line of handmade luxury car accessories over a period of two years.

Nina Zee Digital Art
Digital templates for Etsy, Instagram, Facebook over a period of two years.

During this time, I also explored and gained hands-on experience with platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Etsy.
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Creative Director / Furniture Videnov 2018

My role as Creative Director was a new and sought-after position within the company.
For Videnov, this marked the beginning of a renaissance period – a transition from the old generation of owners to the younger generation. In business terms, this meant leaving behind old methods and creating new processes in a company with nearly 2,000 employees, which at that time ranked second in sales after IKEA.

Two A4 pages would not have been enough to describe all the changes across projects, channels, structure, and ways of working in various aspects of such a large organization, in which I participated.
Most illustratively, this period represented Videnov’s shift from occasional designs with religious motifs and “sofa-as-surf” style, to comprehensive creative concepts with art direction, implemented in campaigns that speak a new, contemporary language and embody this modern image.

The responsibilities were extensive: reporting to senior management and collaborating with the marketing team, managing and training the creative team, attracting new talent, implementing and aligning changes with other departments. And not least - achieving tangible business results from these changes.

One of my personal initiatives was creating an inspiration newsletter for the management office, featuring examples of the best in interior design and other fields.
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Head of Art / GRAFFITI BBDO Sofia 2020 – 2021

I was approached by the CEO to take on the Head of Art / Creative Lead role.
Later, following the departure of the Creative Director, I also took on the responsibilities of that role.

The main challenge was managing an entirely new team during a critical period, maintaining a major client, and navigating the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The entire team worked remotely under these unprecedented circumstances.
Despite the challenges, I streamlined processes, and work began to run consistently and effectively even in this new remote setup.
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