Stela Bonova

Stela Bonova – Designer

Friendly digital illustrator with a passion for bright colours and diverse characters, with a focus on adolescent and young adult audiences.

Overview

Hello, I am a freelance illustrator and designer, originally from Bulgaria, lived in Paris, the South of England, currently enjoying the digital nomad lifestyle, travelling around Europe.

I love drawing diverse characters, using bold, bright colours and creating worlds with fun, busy compositions. My style is very playful and I believe suitable to brighten serious topics. I would love to talk about mental health, and social and environmental issues with my work in a light way that brings awareness and curiosity.


I have selected a few of my favourite genres as a reader and based on projects I've worked on in the past. I would be thrilled to work on projects for children and teens, as well as young adult reads. I also love drawing food and drinks and it's a dream of mine to illustrate a cookbook or a cocktail guide!

However, I am very open to other opportunities and genres as long as my style aligns with your vision please don't hesitate to reach out!


I have experience as a freelancer creating illustrations in Procreate and Adobe Photoshop for print, web and social media, as well as in-house experience working as an Artworker and Social Media content creator which developed my attention to detail and design skills.

If you have any questions I'd be more than happy to answer - let's chat! 😊

Services
Fiction
Coming of Age Social & Family Issues
Non-Fiction
Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits Parenting & Families Sex & Relationships
Languages
English
Awards
  • Creative Conscience Bronze Award 2020
Certifications
  • Adobe Certified Associate in Visual Design Using Adobe Photoshop

Work experience

Self-employed

Nov, 2019 — Present

Creating bold and bright, captivating illustrations for print, web and editorial. Working with individual clients and companies across the world.

designstripe

Apr, 2021 — Feb, 2023 (almost 2 years)

Reviewing and correcting vector SVG files in Adobe Illustrator and Figma. Working in multiple illustration styles. Preparing files to be exported to designstripe's internal tools and published on the platform. Helping with production tasks such as Quality Assessment, Reviews, creating guides and helping new team members.
Supporting the Social Media Marketing team with visuals, ideas, video content for TikTok, brainstorming and scheduling content on multiple social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest).
Working in an asynchronous start-up team across several time zones, using excellent communication in English. Strong focus on honesty, productive feedback and proactivity while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Group Greeting

Mar, 2021 — Present

Creating digital greeting cards on different topics such as holidays, anniversaries, birthdays etc. Implementing illustration and typography using Procreate and Photoshop.

Freepik

Oct, 2020 — Apr, 2021 (6 months)

Creating vector images for Freepik with Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Fresco. Working within tight weekly deadlines. Providing polished vector elements or whole scenes ready for use.

BUMF Magazine

Nov, 2019 — Sep, 2023 (almost 4 years)

Working on creating design layouts and illustrations in-house for BUMF magazine, ran by AUBSU.

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