Ljubljana to do
Ljubljana is a small, beautiful, and walkable city where everything unfolds at a human pace. This is my short list of what’s a must if you’re here for a day or two — from the riverside stroll along the Ljubljanica, to the layered architecture shaped by Jože Plečnik, to the mix of cafés, galleries, and hidden courtyards that reward slow exploration. It’s not about rushing between landmarks, but about taking time to notice the details that make the city quietly unique.
Where I go for a coffee:
Črno zrno
Tiny, almost hidden. Coffee as ritual, not product. Minimal space, maximum focus — you go here to reset your senses.
Cafetino
More classic and layered. A place to sit longer, observe people, and feel the city’s rhythm.
Čokl
Just watch a man who loves his coffee.
What you don’t want to miss:
Tiporenesansa
A working letterpress studio. Pure tactile design — ink, paper, craft. A reminder of where typography comes from.
Cukrarna
Contemporary art in a raw industrial shell. Big, quiet, and spatially powerful — more about atmosphere than objects.
Ljubljana Castle
Not just a landmark — a viewpoint to understand the city’s scale and structure.
Gornji trg
One of the most beautiful streets. Slow, historic, almost cinematic — details everywhere. And my studio is there.
Center Rog
New creative hub. Makers, labs, exhibitions — where contemporary Ljubljana experiments.
Where we go for a beer:
Tozd
Hybrid café/bar. Relaxed, slightly rough around the edges — creative crowd, no pressure.
Beli Volk
Natural wine, intimate vibe. Feels like a secret you share with a few people.
Lajbah
Craft beer spot with a local pulse. Social, unpretentious, always alive.
Daktari
A bit eclectic, a bit nostalgic. Music, atmosphere, and a slightly chaotic charm.
Some really good food:
Veganika
Playful vegan comfort food. Bright, casual, and surprisingly indulgent.
Maha
Calm, mindful, almost spiritual approach to food. Slow eating, clean ingredients.
Breg
Right by the river. A balance of location and solid cuisine — easy, reliable.
Moji Štruklji Slovenije
Traditional Slovenian dish done right. Simple, authentic, rooted.
Gostilnica 5–6 kg
More contemporary, slightly elevated. Good example of modern local dining.
A little bit of shopping:
Oliviers & Co
For ingredients — olive oils, flavors, sensory details. Design through taste.
Gud Shop
Curated Slovenian design objects. A small window into the local creative scene.
Probably I forgot something and will add it later. Feel free to remind me 🙂
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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.
Pitch
Design pitch process is where most projects are quietly won or lost — long before any visual work begins. We've spent twenty years watching good briefs collapse under vague expectations, misaligned goals, and the false assumption that both sides are speaking the same language. Getting the design pitch process right isn't a formality; it's the actual work.
Do What You Don’t Know
Do what you don't know — this is the only instruction we've ever given ourselves that consistently produced something worth keeping. Doing what you know is maintenance; it sharpens the tool but never changes the hand that holds it. We've built 25 years of work, 128 projects, and every award worth mentioning by leaning into the thing we hadn't yet figured out how to do.
Hell Yes
Hell yes creative approach is how we decide what to make — and what to walk away from. If a project doesn't produce that immediate, visceral pull, we don't take it. That filter, applied consistently since 2004, is the reason our work holds together as a body rather than a portfolio of compromises.
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.
Vibe coding
Vibe coding design is not a shortcut — it's a discipline we've been practising long before anyone named it. We let visual instinct drive technical decisions, the same way we've approached every identity and interface since 2004. When feel and function collapse into a single gesture, that's vibe coding design working as it should.
The Worst Kind of Project
Unrealized design projects are, without question, the worst thing that happens to a studio. Not the difficult client. Not the impossible brief. The work you believed in completely — refined, presented, defended — that simply never saw the light. We've built 81 logos and collected over 80 awards, and still, it's the unrealized design projects that occupy the most space in the room.
A healthy brand
Healthy brand design starts with honesty — not aspiration dressed up as values. We've watched too many briefs arrive wrapped in sustainability language that dissolves the moment you press on the strategy underneath it. A healthy brand isn't greener or louder; it's structurally coherent, and that coherence is what we've been designing for since 2004.