To squeeze a life of a person in these four columns was definitely a challenge.

 

Thanks for having some interest in who I am. Now my task is supposed to be to tell you about my life so that you don’t get bored after the first paragraph and that is not going to be an easy task. If you get tired of reading just leave the page I won’t get offended, I retain myself to be a terrible writer. But I hope you appreciate the effort.

 

Before moving on, I would like to tell you that if you need the conventional CV, for anything work related, you can download it here - A LIFE IN AN A4.

 

You can print it out, and don’t worry, it will not print the background and suck up your cartridges. I am not that mean. Ever.

 

I was born on the 15th of February 1983, in a small town - ex capital of Montenegro, Cetinje (“tsaeteenie”), where I spent basically all of my childhood.

 

My dad is the principal of the Fine Arts High School "Petar Lubarda" in Cetinje, Sworn to Court Interpreter for English language and teaches English at the University of Fine Arts in Cetinje.

 

My mum on the other hand, works for a local power company and she makes amazing cakes. Powered by a "green thumb" our house has plants and flowers of any kind (which doesn't make my dad so happy, but that's another story).

 

I also have a brother who is studying Photography at the moment and getting very good at it. Check out his website.

Ok, you got to know my family, now back to me. I believe to have had a nice childhood, even though the the war that struck Yugoslavia and those crazy times left a mark and made my generation grow before its time. But, let’s skip the black page of this history book, since it’s not the time nor the place. Some things are just better to stay forgotten in the cellar boxes...

 

After ending my first 2 years of High School, I got a scholarship for the United World Colleges in UK - Atlantic College. That was my first trip abroad and new horizons opened up. There were 360 people from 86 countries of the world, and I was the first one from Montenegro, ever.

As anyone could guess, the two years spent in college were an amazing experience that helped me grow, understand the rest of the world, and be who I am today.

I was lucky to have had an amazing teacher of Art and Design, Marten Post, who really believed in my potential and helped me to dare and try to do my best. He was also the head of the DCV (design, craft and video) community service which I

was part of, and where I actually had the first try at video editing and filming. Wherever you are Dutchman, thanks a million!

 

At the time, no colleges were so keen on giving the graphic design scholarships, as usual sciences have been much more important, while we were considered only “artists” doing stuff that could as well be a hobby. If there were scholarships they were partial, and way above budget of any
Eastern European.

 

Very well, I packed my bags, left the UK and went back to Montenegro. I took a gap year, opened a small graphic design studio, and set a goal for myself - earn enough money in a year to pay at least for the first year of University, doing stuff that I really want to do.

That was my lucky year - I had many clients, and being so young, I guess to many it was very interesting doing business with me... I had just enough money to pay for my first year of schooling and I chose Italy, for what it was in my mind, and came to Milan to Istituto Europeo Di Design (IED).

 

With help of my parents and with my determination and late night work at one studio, I managed to get through the first year economically. Contemporarily I was learning Italian, as when I came I couldn’t speak a word although I understood a lot of it.

 

From the second year, I was on a half scholarship by IED, and at the third year on a full scholarship. Here, among many I met an extraordinary person, Rossella Bertolazzi, Dean of the Visual Arts at IED, who really believed in me and was a great help and support. You just don’t happen to meet these people often in your life, and I am really grateful as long as I am alive for all she did for me.

 

Towards the end of my schooling, I became a Lab assistant at IED, and the year after a professor, and I still teach there. Group of my friends and I created makkiadesign, a small design studio that went on for a year after which everybody started working on their own and we still closely collaborate.

 

Starting as a freelance graphic designer was a huge step for me especially in a foreign country and in Italy you can lack anything but not the bureaucracy -It has been good so far though.

 

My clients are both small and big and lately I try to choose nice projects rather than “nice” companies. I am and have been working for: Prada, Coca-Cola, BMW, Vodafone, Viaggi Del Ventaglio, Angelo Po, TRONY, IED, UnifyMedia Group (onebip.com), Studio Mussapi, Aristolasia Design, Upside Milano, Origami Consulting and many many others.

Strangely enough, one could say, but I do have a life as well :)

 

Just before starting the University, I found my soulmate, Nela, who really means a world to me. She is at her final year of mathematics in the US (Williams College) and last year she spent in Milan with me on a study abroad program. We are engaged and planning to go back to Montenegro in the summer of 2008 and start working from there, as we have both been away from home for a way long time.

 

What else to say - I like to travel a lot and so far I’ve been in: Montenegro, Serbia, Hungary, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Hong Kong, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Spain and United States.

 

I lived in Montenegro for 17 years in total, UK 2 years and for the past 5 years I live and work in Milan, Italy.

 

Well, scrolling back, even this was going to be a normal profile introduction it kind of got out of my hands and has a subtle touch of a confession :). Well it makes it more personal, I guess so I will leave it this way.

 

If you made it to this sentence, well done... I will keep on updating the major events in my life. Stay in touch!