In this edition of “Meet the Team”, we introduce you to Genadi. He has been drawn to design since he was a kid, and he managed to fulfil his dream of working for the company that created his favorite financial app. Today, together with his team, he follows the principles of UX design and constantly improves the functionalities of iCard digital wallet and iCard for Business. Find out what Genadi shared with us, and see what one of his closest friends in the company said about him at the end of his interview.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to drive. My dad sparked my interest in automobiles and motorsports when I was little. He took me to go-cart racing and to see different races such as “Rally Bulgaria”, rally “Old Bulgarian Capitals”, and others. I was so passionate about it that when he went to a Formula 1 race in Istanbul and did not take me with him, I was very mad at him. My dream is to one day attend a Formula 1 race in Qatar. I am partial to the Arab states, which is precisely why I would like to enjoy that unforgettable experience there.
I enjoy listening to podcasts about design, entrepreneurship, and astronomy. The design-related one I follow in Bulgarian is “The Design of Things” since one of the podcasters was my UX/UI design professor, and I was very impressed with his knowledge. I also listen to “Money Talks”, “Day”, “The Voice of Capital” (in Bulgarian), as well as “Huberman Lab” by the American neuroscientist Andrew Huberman and “Superhuman” by Georgi Nenov. I listen to them for inspiration while I work, in the evening before going to bed, or in the car while driving.
My girlfriend Hristiana and I love going to the mountains, hiking, and climbing peaks. I like the nature and the views in the Rhodope Mountains the most. I think it is Bulgaria’s most beautiful mountain. The feeling when you’re so high up in nature is indescribable, and the experience of conquering a peak is priceless. It is where I feel freedom, and I’m happy. Sometimes, we take our dog Mayra, who is a Pomeranian. We were a huge attraction when we were hiking in the Seven Rila Lakes because we mostly carried her in a dog sling – the hike for an animal her size is difficult. A group of tourists even stopped us and asked to take a picture with the dog in the sling carrier.
What’s your favorite place?
Like most people, I, too, like to travel. I like visiting Türkiye, and we’ve been to Istanbul about 20 times now. It’s like a tradition to go there at least once per year. I often joke with friends that I can be their personal tour guide there. I know the city so well that I have a better chance of getting lost in Sofia than in Istanbul, despite its great size. My favorite place is in the Asian part, near the Bosporus. It’s especially beautiful and wonderous at sunset when you can see the whole city, the Bule Mosque, and Hagia Sophia, from the European side, lit in orange sunshine rays while listening to the musical sound of the water.
A few years ago, Hristiana and I visited the OAE. We didn’t just go to Dubai; we toured almost the entire peninsula, including Oman and OAE. In terms of design, I was very impressed by a sculpture in the middle of an intersection. It was designed so that whichever angle you viewed it from, you’d always see the likeness of Sheikh Zayed. I took to the modernistic design of the Museum of the Future from the very first sight. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open for visitors yet, and we could only enjoy its architecture from the outside. I like Arabian architecture, which has not crossed the line to kitsch. In general, I am a fan of the more simplistic design.
From a UX design perspective, it’s interesting that Arab people prefer using English. I noticed that they predominantly send each other voice messages in Arabic, but when they need to write something on their phone’s keyboard, they do it in English. I suppose it’s due to the fact that Arabic is written from the right to the left, making it more difficult to type on keyboards.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
I would like to be able to teleport so I can visit many new places and save time otherwise spent traveling and sitting in traffic jams. I try to optimize my personal and professional time to the maximum. I love to travel, but until now, I haven’t had the opportunity to visit many foreign destinations. One of my dreams is to visit the Scandinavian countries and see the Northern lights, to go to Switzerland and enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery, and to experience Japan’s unique and captivating culture. I would love it if I could be invisible, too. I can isolate myself rather successfully from my surroundings. Still, sometimes people interrupt me, and it would be great if I could isolate myself completely.
What inspires you?
I believe that we creatives can be inspired by almost anything. I am inspired by beautiful things, architecture, successful people, and most of all, those who do everything in their power to achieve their goals. I believe that nothing is impossible and that anything can be achieved as long as you wish for it and work hard.
I follow Don Norman – the father of UX (user experience) design. While working for Apple, he introduced the term for user experience with which he attempted to describe the user’s interaction with a specific product or service, including design, graphics, interface, and physical interaction. In time, the role of UX design became more important, especially in the digital world. The main goal of UX design is to ensure a pleasant, helpful, and accessible experience for users – whether they are visiting a website or an app or using an online product or service. When I create my designs, I try to follow the basic rules of UX design. To that end, one of my favorite Don Norman quotes goes something like this:
“You always have to be aware of the big picture and the end result you want to achieve. The most important thing to keep in mind is the user experience. Let’s take the camera, for example. What is it used for? All the functionalities that control it are unimportant. It’s just a tool that helps with the user experience – to enjoy the film, video or photo. It’s the end result that matters. That’s why we must focus on making the camera easy to use, so the desired result can be easily achieved.”
What challenges do you face as a designer?
The biggest challenge is to make the design of the products we develop easy and intuitive for the users. It must correspond to their expectations and work seamlessly. But that’s not all – the design we create should then be implemented by our developer colleagues, who sometimes are short on time. It’s necessary to be aware of the technical requirements of the programs, the systems, and the products we work with. It’s clear that every designer wants to create something very beautiful and suitable for their portfolio, but design should have a particular function and a goal that we must keep in mind.
Every designer has to be able to receive criticism and even self-criticize. I learned this from my lecturers: If you create a design you like at the moment, that’s fine, but wait a few days, and if you then see something that you don’t like, change it. If you’re still pleased when looking at it, you’re on the right track.
How did you get into UX/UI design in the first place?
I have been interested in design ever since I was little. I loved to draw cars, and at one time, I was doing graffiti. Then, I was into architecture. My aunt has a furniture company, and it was very interesting for me to see how interior design projects were being made. In time, I learned to use the program, and as early as middle school, I was creating projects for her clients.
I graduated high school as a specialist in system programming at the Vocational High School of Electrical Engineering in Varna. I had decided to become a front-end programmer. I liked making different websites, or more precisely – “drawing” them. I remember my first website – it was for my favorite football team – Barcelona. However, in time, I realized this was not my calling. The main reason for that was the fact that, for the most part, we were “coding” on paper while the computers were turned off behind us. Still, I studied “Computer systems and technologies” in the Technical University of Varna. I continued to feel that that was not the direction I wanted to pursue, but I truly believed that the studies would be useful to me one day. And so they were.
Meanwhile, SoftUni released its “Creative” module for the first time. The only thing stopping me from signing up for it at first was the predominant belief that to be a designer, one must be able to draw, and I don’t believe I can. Regardless, I decided to try it and successfully went through the entire program. The education included all design aspects – graphic, web, UX, UI, and 3D design. Getting to know all the modules, I realized that UX/UI design was my thing, and I began to specialize in it. I signed up for a few master classes and started working on my own made-up projects to hone my skills.
What was your career path before iCard?
Initially, I worked as a freelancer and mainly did projects for friends and acquaintances, who then recommended me to others. My first project was a website design for a cosmetic studio. Then, I made another website and brand identity of a similar studio. I created an online clothing store for a friend, and then I registered for the online freelance platforms and started taking on larger projects with more variety. Mainly, I designed mobile apps for the financial sector, B2P services, healthcare, and travel. I managed to level up my skills, and the joy of the work was immense because I was creating projects for clients with specific requirements, and my ideas were being realized in foreign markets.
How did your journey in iCard begin?
I wanted to work in a corporate environment for the social contacts I was missing as a freelancer. I dreamed of working precisely for iCard because I have been a client of the company ever since it developed its first mobile apps. I had already created a few financial app designs and enjoyed working in this sector. I am especially grateful to Gabi (Gabriela Atanasova, Head of Product Definition Department) for recognizing my potential, believing in my abilities, and giving me the space to develop my skills.
What types of projects does the Product Definition department at iCard work on?
The Product Definition department is responsible for developing new functionalities and maintaining the iCard digital wallet (mobile app and web platform), iCard for Business, and all other company products. Together with Gabriel, we create the designs and ensure they look good, are consistent with the existing ones, and work seamlessly for the customers. It’s essential to be well aware of the technical requirements of the service/functionality we want to integrate, and we also work closely with the “Mobile Applications” and “Software development” teams.
I am proud of many of the projects we developed with the team over the past few years: integration of the investment module, the ability to purchase bus tickets, e-vignettes, insurance, the option to make donations, sending money to cards, and many more. We try to update the app functionalities constantly and to meet the expectations of the users and the fast-paced financial market. We’re currently working on a big project, which I believe will be very successful and a positive surprise not just for our colleagues, but for all our clients.
Working together has brought some of us team members closer, which is precious to me. We try to organize surprises and gatherings at the office for different occasions and to get together outside of work as friends. Almost the entire team and I went to Odrin, while Vanessa, Pesho and I were together in Istanbul. I believe many more unforgettable emotions and projects await us.
Vanesa Mircheva – Senior Product Definition Specialist: “Genadi and I have been working together for almost 5 years now, and I can confidently say that he is an extremely dedicated professional and a pronounced perfectionist. When creating product interfaces, he aims to be as precise as possible in his designs and actively assists our colleagues in the development of the functionalities so we can achieve the best possible results in terms of design and user experience. Undoubtedly, he is the most organized and straightforward person I know. An example of this is his perfectly organized desk, the meticulous organization of all of his work files and his strict task management principles, which he follows both in his professional and personal life.
Experience the power of intuitive UX/UI design with iCard digital wallet:
