Ever since I was a little kid, I've been drawn to the creative world.  I remember in kindergarten, I'd get these strange looks for the stuff I drew – tons of black circles and other odd things. But by the time I hit preschool, my drawings were actually winning awards! Go figure, right?

Growing up, I was torn between two completely different paths: art school or becoming a veterinarian. I've always loved animals. I remember when I was 5, I accidentally stepped on a sparrow – I still have no idea how it happened! – and I completely freaked out. I was sobbing my eyes out, convinced I'd killed it and would end up in prison!  But art... well, that was a different story. It just had this pull on me that I couldn't ignore.

So, I ended up enrolling in to the High School of Arts, specializing in painting. It was there I met a friend and professor who would later become a key figure in my story and someone who significantly shaped my current career

Things moved fast after that. I actually started at the Academy of Arts a year early, and that's where I got hooked on conceptual and new media art. It was so different and exciting!

I just had to learn more, so I went on to get my Master's degree in New Media Arts in Novi Sad.

After all that studying, I needed a break and wanted to see the world.  I got a chance to be a model in India, which was an amazing experience.  When I came back, I needed to pay the bills, so I started making doughnuts at a friend's shop.  Yeah, a bit of a change from the art world, huh?
At the same time, I was renting an apartment that had a studio space. I thought, "Perfect! I'll finally focus on my painting career."  Well, it didn't quite take off the way I hoped.

The owner of the apartment ran an agency and offered me a job if I learned some front-end development.  I gave it a shot, but coding wasn't really my thing. It was way too boring for me.
Luckily, around that time, I bumped into an old high school friend. We hadn't seen each other in ages. He got me really interested in web design.  Honestly, back then, I had no clue what that even involved or how design turned into websites.
But I was determined!  I quit my doughnut-making gig and dove headfirst into learning everything I could about design.  I read books, watched tutorials, the whole nine yards.
Then, another lucky break!  I went to my landlord's birthday party and met a guy who owned a software agency.  They were looking for a designer, and he invited me to come learn the ropes.  After a month, they actually hired me!

And that's how my product design journey began. I spent three years at that agency. It was tough, and I felt like I wasn't growing as much as I wanted to.
So, I started looking for freelance work on the side. I landed some really cool projects, like designing a streaming platform for musicians in Thailand and working on a banking app.

Eventually, I moved to a different agency called Cinnamon.  That place was incredible!  I learned so much in just one year – workshops, design processes, you name it.  Plus, I got to work with some amazing clients.  I really needed that experience to broaden my skills.  I even ended up working on AI platforms and improving design systems for fintech companies.

My next adventure came when I was hired as a freelancer by Tenscope agency.  I started on just one project, but I guess I did alright because they made me the UX lead and brought me on full-time!
Now, besides client projects, I'm also responsible for making our design processes better.  
That means things like standardizing documentation, figuring out how we communicate design decisions, and keeping our files organized.

I'm still at Tenscope, and we're constantly trying to improve and find new ways of doing things.  Agency life is definitely challenging, but it's also a lot of fun.