Welcome to the blog
By Maria Kalavrezou · · 2 min read
The work, the stories behind it, and the concepts that never quite made it.
Hi, I’m Maria, a senior designer and creative director working across brand, editorial, campaigns, and digital products. For over ten years, a lot of my work has lived quietly in pitch decks, brand guidelines, and folders named “FINAL_v7_actualfinal”, while some of it went on to be seen by millions of people. Today, I’m proud to finally share both. Well, most of it. A true designer’s portfolio is never quite finished.
I’ve worked at agencies such as Ogilvy, in‑house as a brand manager for Cushman & Wakefield, and freelance, both directly for brands and through agencies. Along the way, I’ve designed for clients including Oracle, BP, and Korn Ferry. Over time, I’ve discovered that the work I love the most is taking something complicated, intimidating, or exhausting and making it feel clear, human, and genuinely useful.
That passion led me to co‑found This Is Bullish, a creative technology studio where we build our own products, mainly because we kept running into problems nobody seemed to have fixed yet. Ambr was born out of my own experience of having a pitch idea taken, and it gives creatives proof of where their work came from. Cosmic Fit turns personal data into daily style guidance and makes something as simple as getting dressed fun again. What’s For Dinner?! tackles a problem almost every household knows too well: the nightly “What do you want?” “I don’t mind” loop and the invisible mental load that usually falls on one person’s shoulders. And I can confirm it has saved at least one relationship. Possibly mine.
That passion led me to co‑found This Is Bullish, a creative technology studio where we build our own products, mainly because we kept running into problems nobody seemed to have fixed yet.
My portfolio shows the finished work, but this blog is where I want to share everything behind it: the early concepts that ended up in the bin, the head-scratching briefs that felt impossible to begin with, and the lessons I’ve learned while moving between agency, freelance, and founder life.
Whether you’re a fellow designer, a brand looking for a creative partner, or just curious about what goes on behind the work, I hope you’ll find something here that inspires you, or at least makes you feel better about your own “final final” folder. Have a look around, and if something sparks an idea, I’d love to hear from you.
