Lecture Barcelona ADC*E
Fear in creative process is the thing nobody names out loud in a brief. We named it — on stage at ADC*E Barcelona, where we were selected as one of ten most promising creatives in Europe. What follows is the argument we made: that fear isn’t a blocker, it’s a signal worth reading in the fear in creative process.
I was selected by the Art Directors Club of Europe, among 10 celebrated creatives of Europe, to give a lecture at Europe’s 1st European Creativity Festival in Barcelona.



Although I love to lecture, It is still scary to stand in front of a huge crowd this time at beautiful Desiny Barcelona, trying to deliver your personal story to the audience.
I decided to talk about my inner fear. I talked about how fear gives me boundaries, and boundaries are the essence of my creativity. How to use fear to build a solution that is different, adaptive, and focused How to be bold, how to win, and how not to fail
One of the reasons I lecture is because of fear. And no, not to face fear; I learned to recognize and embrace it…
How Fear in Creative Process Becomes the Most Honest Design Tool
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Discipline vs. Talent in Design
Discipline vs talent in design is a question we stopped debating around our tenth year of practice. Not because talent is irrelevant — it isn't — but because discipline is the only thing that shows up on deadline, survives a difficult client, and compounds across twenty years of work. We've built 81 logos and earned over 80 awards on that premise, and the evidence keeps arriving.
Side projects
Designer side projects are not a break from real work — they are the reason the real work stays sharp. We have run a design studio in Ljubljana since 2004, and the projects that never had a client are often the ones that taught us the most. Side projects are where instinct gets to move faster than process.
What are you buying with a designer?
What you buy with a designer is rarely what appears on the invoice. The file is the last thing — what precedes it is accumulated judgment, pattern recognition sharpened across decades, and the discipline to reject work that almost works. We've built 81 logos and won over 80 awards not by delivering what clients asked for, but by understanding what they actually needed.
Deadlines
Design project deadlines are not the enemy of good work — they are the condition that makes good work possible. We've delivered over 128 projects across two decades, and the deadline has never once been optional. What changes is how seriously you treat it as a design constraint rather than an administrative inconvenience.
How to Be a Real Designer
How to be a real designer isn't about software or style — it's about who holds the argument when the client wants something easier. We've been in that room for twenty years. Being a real designer means resisting the comfortable solution, even when no one asks you to.
The Gap
Vanishing middle designers are the most interesting people in any studio — and the first ones the industry stops talking about. The gap between junior promise and senior authority isn't new, but it's getting harder to cross, and we've been watching it happen up close for twenty years. What follows is what that looks like from where we sit.
Why so serious?
We ditched the books, picked up a pen, and let strange creatures appear. Turns out that's not a detour — it's how branding actually starts.
When was the last time you went on a date?
Brand dating strategy is something most studios won't admit they've ruined. We've watched clients walk into pitches dressed like a corporate handbook and wonder why nobody called back. The problem isn't the product — it's that design forgot to be interesting before it tried to be impressive.