Who am I
Master in: product /service/system design, design thinking, visual thinking
Focus on: project and training facilitation, idea generation, concept development, visual thinking, prototyping
Number of trainings: > 15
Number of sprints: > 20
Industries: sustainable development, healthcare, public services, interior design, product design
I am Maya and I feel I have my roots in design back from early age. While I was growing up I was always observing and drawing the world around me, experimenting a lot, finding unexpected relationships between things and creating positive and fun experiences for my local community.
My passion today is using my design skills for environmental and social impact. For the last decade, I have evolved as a professional from designing the spaces and objects people use, to the services and experiences that make up their lives.
I see the design discipline as a potential driver of transformation for everything tricky that challenges our modern world.
What I truly hold on to in the redesign process is the magic of its two key moments - the co-creation - when people collaborate successfully using the right tools and - the Aha! moment of trying out a prototype to change it into something more meaningful.
And these two can be applied in any context.
My three most important professional projects
A new service-system to transform the clinical education and practice of general physicians and emergency doctors in Austria. It was co-created with doctors from the departments of all state hospitals and the executives of the organisation.
A crash course of visual thinking and sketching for idea generation which was taken by people working in different industries. 6 full weekend sessions of theory and practice. I designed and facilitated the whole program and made sure everyone took what they needed.
Being part of a team upcycling furniture and objects and transforming the urban environment in Sofia - later sold for charity purposes. This creative endeavor later grew to open many more opportunities.
As a product designer I have been awarded multiple times for my work: furniture (Bulgarian Furniture of the Year, 2015), spatial planning (Sustainable Housing Competition, Finland 2013 ), sustainable packaging (LEGO and SCA Packaging, 2012), product-service innovation (Juniour Achievement Bulgaria, 2013) etc.
My biggest failure and lessons learned
My biggest failure is the lack of inconsistent efforts in a unique direction to create change. I have started a lot of projects and am getting demotivated by the lack of resources. I never worked hard enough to see the implementation of great ideas.
Lessons that I learned- Trust your gut and be patient
On Sunday I get up early to...
I have a kid and so I wake up early every day. Especially on a day off. We enjoy being outdoors - practicing adventure sports or just taking our nature therapy. If a sketchbook comes along - even perfect.