Meet Mayya Geo | Creative Director & Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mayya Geo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mayya, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I come from the beautiful city of Sofia and a country known for its rich nature, tasty yogurt, and friendly people. However, growing up there was tough for me. As a quiet child, I didn’t speak until I was three years old, had no specific interests until the age of nine, and was not performing well in school. It was a challenging time for me.

Then, something unexpected happened. My painting teacher at school approached me and said, “Have you considered applying to an art high school?” I was taken aback. Why would I apply to an art school when I wasn’t good at anything?

However, my teacher insisted that she was very impressed with my painting and drawing skills and believed that art could be a possible path for my future. She provided me with promotional flyers for art schools and contacts of painting teachers I could contact for private lessons.

It was a turning point for me. I had been loving art and design all my life but hadn’t realized it. I would wake up early to paint or make jewelry, collect beautiful objects, and create small sculptures and houses from cardboard. I had a natural flair for colors, but I wasn’t aware of it. I had convinced myself that I wasn’t good at anything.

Once I realized my potential and what I wanted to do, I became a new person. I stood up for myself and what I wanted, became more present and determined. My purpose as an artist and designer had always been inside me, but it wasn’t until I discovered and believed in it that I truly flourished.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My personal mission is to inspire people to see art and beauty in every detail of life. Being situated between art, design, and technology, my career path has not been a clear, straightforward success. As part of two major communities that are not always aligned or similar, I am in-between the worlds of design and art. This has been one of the biggest professional challenges I have faced, and I am still finding ways to combine them.

Today, as the founder of GEOBO, a design studio that specializes in branding for fashion businesses, I bring over a decade of experience from senior positions in startup, freelance consultancy, and design agency worlds. I have worked with major companies such as Topshop, Rowenta, McDonald’s, UniCredit, and Smirnoff, and understand the transformative effects of a strong brand. With a broad range of expertise extending from graphic design and painting to user interface design, my brand and digital design works are known for their user-centered designs, vibrant colors, geometric forms, and well-thought-out art direction. Some of my works have been showcased on prestigious platforms such as Design Made in Germany, the International Visual Identity Awards, and Medium. It is important for me to give back to the creative industry, and I teach and mentor for numerous organizations, including D&AD Shift Germany.

In my contemporary figurative artworks, I use traditional, digital, and graphic media to tell compelling stories through visual art. I combine elements of the human and animal body, geometry, architecture, nature, and fashion to turn them into visual poetry. Through form and rich details, I work with the subjects of beauty, storytelling, imagination, and reality, depicting them in the form of imaginary, colorful portraits where people and animals are not drawn as they are, but as they could be. One of my latest works was featured in the virtual Moon exhibition by Forward Festival.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
That’s is me coming from Sofia, who’s been a Berliner for almost 10 years and now a Salzburger. Let me tell you, I’ve got the perfect itinerary. I believe that there is a beauty and charm in the spontaneity of discovering new places which helps feeling the unique vibe of every place.

Starting with Sofia, we’ll taste traditional Bulgarian cuisine and see the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the National Art Gallery, and the city center’s architecture. For a night out, we’ll visit Dada Bar and go stargazing on Vitosha mountain’s Kopitoto. In Berlin we’ll tour the East Side Gallery, have a unique dining experience at Umami, and dance at legendary techno clubs like ://about blank. In Tamsweg, we’ll take a stroll around the scenic Mur, explore the St.Leonhard church, try tasty cakes at Hochleitner and then visit the Kenn di?.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
When I was in art school and later university, the most commonly discussed topic was what we would do after finishing our education. Despite the creative industry being a tough one, I am grateful for all of my teachers who were crystal clear about the state of the market we were entering, but also showed us how we could make the most out of our creative careers.

A special thanks goes to the contemporary artist, Boris Kolev, the first painting teacher, who was brutally honest, direct enough to make it clear how I could grow my skills and challenged me to complete 200 sketches per week for four years.

On my first day of art school, I met my graphic design teacher, and I will never forget what she said, “You should never grow up. The most important skill for every designer is to remain a child and be able to laugh.” A shoutout goes to Irina Ugrinova, the thoughtful graphic design teacher, who made sure we always had a good laugh.

I am also grateful to my later mentors: Chris Do from the Futur. Also, Andy Starr, and Marty Neumeier from the Level C. They all challenged me to shape my business, brand and process in a way that stands out and focuses on finding truly creative solutions.

Website: https://www.mayyageo.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayyageo/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayya-geo/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mayyageo

Other: https://www.behance.net/MayyaGeorgieva https://medium.com/@mayya.geo https://geobo.studio/ https://adplist.org/mentors/mayya-geo

Image Credits
Andreas Ehrenreich, Monica Fabretti Bortolani