I got my first computer at 18. I taught myself design and illustration from a small city in Romania, and learned English partly from Cartoon Network.

Somewhere in between, I trained as an actor. It's the most useful line on my CV, because building a character for a stage and building one for a brand are the same job: decide who someone is, then stay consistent about it under pressure. I also have a business degree, which is why my proposals come with reasoning attached rather than just a number.

Fifteen years later I work with clients from independent founders to Johnson & Johnson, Mars, On and RubyCup. Somewhere along the way I became a Top 1% illustrator on Upwork and Fiverr with a 100% Job Success Score — which mostly means a lot of practice at the unglamorous half of this work: scoping properly, hitting dates, and telling clients what their briefs are missing.

What I actually build: illustration systems, mascots and character worlds that give a brand a personality people recognise on sight — across product, packaging, campaigns, merch and social. Systems your team can run, not isolated assets you have to keep re-commissioning.

That matters more than it did five years ago. Everyone has the same tools now, so most feeds look the same, and audiences have got quick at spotting it. A brand world is the part nobody can generate. Which is exactly why it's the part people trust.

Based in Bucharest. Working internationally.