Threads of Innovation: Fashion, Tech and Creative Branding | ft. Mayya Geo

In this episode of The Developing Life Podcast, Maya Geo, a leader in fashion tech, talks about her journey from art student to founder of a design studio that specializes in fashion tech and branding. Maya shares how she combines creative design with emerging technologies like AI and virtual reality to revolutionize the fashion industry.

If you're passionate about the future of digital fashion and branding, this conversation is for you!

🎨 From an art student in Bulgaria to the founder of Global Studio, Maya is leading the charge in blending creativity with technology. In this episode, she reveals how she’s building futuristic fashion experiences with virtual reality, AI-generated clothing, and more!

🚀 What you’ll learn:
How fashion brands are using AI to create customized digital products.
The future of fashion in the metaverse and Web3.
Maya’s unique journey from traditional art to cutting-edge tech.
The biggest challenges in the fashion tech world right now.

💡Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE for more inside stories from industry leaders like Maya!

Connect with Mayya

https://www.mayyageo.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayya-geo

https://geobo.studio/

Transcript

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:34:21

Unknown

Welcome to the Developing Life podcast. Today we are honored to have with us Myojo, a leader in fashion tech branding and the founder of Global Studio. From our early beginnings as a painter to becoming a pivotal figure in integrating digital technology with fashion design. Maya's career spans more than a decade of creative leadership. Before establishing Global Studio, she expanded her digital expertise, working at top design agencies and as a consultant, collaborating with iconic brands like Topshop, Rowenta, Smirnoff and McDonald's.

00:00:34:23 - 00:01:03:10

Unknown

At Giovanni's Studio, Maya continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in fashion and technology with solutions that exemplify her commitment to evolving with the industry, redefining how creativity and digital innovations are integrated into art. With Our Host Has a crank, Maya will share her vision for the future of creative technology, inspiring ways to explore and embrace how digital tools can amplify artistic expression.

00:01:03:12 - 00:01:29:06

Unknown

Hello Maya. Hi Heather, thank you so much for this introduction. Through. It's so nice to see you. As we were talking before the podcast began. It's been a couple months and there is so much going on, so let's dig right in. I think we have a lot to talk about. I think so too. Okay, so, I'd love to go back to the beginning.

00:01:29:06 - 00:01:57:11

Unknown

When you were growing up, you were really involved with painting. And I'm curious, how did you move from painting and bridge over into graphic design? Because I know you still paint. I do. Yeah. So this is something that I still do because, it really helps me connect to the physical side of doing things. Because mostly my work have been still digitally.

00:01:57:13 - 00:02:31:15

Unknown

So yeah, when I was a child I used to paint a lot and actually do some crafts, like, I don't know, I used to like building stuff out of paper a lot. And I think this really helped me create somehow a better reality for myself. So I really love those imaginative worlds and things that, could help me build up another reality for myself and how this transition to graphic design.

00:02:31:17 - 00:03:02:08

Unknown

I was, playing a lot with computers because my father was a computer engineer, and, he used to bring home a lot of games and stuff. So I remember, experimenting with some programs and, painting a little bit on paint, like the old school stuff. And I also liked sci fi movies a lot. For example, Star Wars, of course.

00:03:02:10 - 00:03:30:15

Unknown

This was one of the first movies that I watched, in the cinema as well is, Wall-E. I, I was fascinated with robots and technology in general. And I was even imagining how I could have my own small robot that would do stuff for me. Well, for example, bring me to school or help me with my homework and, something like that.

00:03:30:17 - 00:04:02:16

Unknown

And, that was also the time where I asked my father, can you show me a program or a software that I can use to professionally do something on the computer? And that was the first time where I actually used Photoshop. Maybe some of the very first versions of the Photoshop. And yeah, this is basically how the transitioning happened, because I could already experience, doing stuff on the computer.

00:04:02:18 - 00:04:35:20

Unknown

And then later I wanted to start doing art or design professionally. I wasn't sure because I was really interested in different things. And I applied to an art high school and basically graphic design and design was the most trendy specialty. And not only that, but it really aligned with my interests. And it was a very natural for me to apply with this specialty.

00:04:35:22 - 00:05:14:23

Unknown

It was a very competitive, environment though, because a lot of people wanted to, learn graphic design. But yeah, I was fortunate enough to be some of the last people accepted in this specialty. And this is how it started for me. Or my professional development as a graphic designer. And the best part was that the school where I was, studying, they used to use a program that was very inspired by the old school graphic design practices, doing handmade posters.

00:05:15:01 - 00:05:46:14

Unknown

We had a lot of, hours of illustration and painting. So it was still all of those things that I love to do before. But now I also could learn professionally, using the different programs and software to really develop my skills and learn. For example, things and is, logo design or typography. That was something that was like completely new for me.

00:05:46:15 - 00:06:19:06

Unknown

And Yeah. Oh. So, real quick, can you tell everybody where you grew up? Because I know in the United States. Art high schools are not as common. So I grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria, and in Bulgaria we have, I think, or at least the capital in Sofia we have two art schools, which were, I think almost around a hundred or more than a hundred years old, both of them.

00:06:19:07 - 00:06:55:10

Unknown

But at the beginning the program was only based on the classical arts. Like sculpture, painting, graphic, art. And I think those three were basically what you could study. And later for the school, like my school developed more like the applied arts. And then the other one, was more fine arts. So with my school, you could also study how to work with metal or wood art.

00:06:55:12 - 00:07:24:21

Unknown

Textile. We had fashion design as well. And now I think they're developing further. But it's interesting that still the graphic design remains maybe the top specialty in my school. And they have, bigger classes now. Before we were only 12 people were accepted. And I was the fourth generation of the specialty. So we were the artist more or less.

00:07:24:23 - 00:07:55:05

Unknown

So they were still developing the program. My teacher, she was leading the program. Irina was name and she studied graphic design in Poland. And basically she could bring a lot of knowledge about the old practices of doing graphic design and Boston design. And, she was the one who developed the whole program. Wow.

00:07:55:07 - 00:08:28:02

Unknown

Okay. So you're learning graphic design. You're learning typography and you're beginning. I'm assuming to learn about fashion and be involved with fashion. So how did fashion tech emerge. Were you always interested in fashion? I was always interested in fashion. Maybe not in a professional sense or, to study it. I was more interested in graphic or, graphic design or animation and web design.

00:08:28:04 - 00:08:59:18

Unknown

But fashion was always something that I personally enjoyed, and I found comfort in fashion because it not only allows us to express ourselves but also, empowers us. So I, I really feel that clothing can make a huge difference in how we appear, but also how we feel ourselves. And I think fashion for me started to be very interesting when I was a teenager.

00:08:59:18 - 00:09:31:02

Unknown

And I got very interested in Tim Burton's movies. And I loved his style. To this extent that I limited my wardrobe to three colors. I had Blake mostly, and, green and purple, like, very vivid green and purple colors. And I would experiment even with coloring my hair a little bit. So for a couple of years those were the primary colors.

00:09:31:04 - 00:10:04:00

Unknown

And I remember then I really, started experimenting with, different styles and my own developing my own style. And this is where my personal interest began in late. Or my specialization in fashion actually, started when I joined the Future Pro group. And that was in 2021. So what's. So people don't know what fashion tech is.

00:10:04:01 - 00:10:38:06

Unknown

What's a difference between fashion and fashion. Tech. That's a good question. There. I would say almost the same because of course without fashion there is no fashion tech. I think the easiest way to understand what is the difference in what what fashion is, is that basically all those are old fashion companies that used technology in either their, design process development or distribution.

00:10:38:08 - 00:11:18:22

Unknown

For example, these could be 3D created, fashion garment. Or digital fashion garments for example. Those are highly used in virtual reality or as we all know on Instagram filters when we can add some items and make our, vision a little bit more playful. And they're also used in gaming. So this is where I also started, really being attracted to fashion tech, but also, for example, fashion tech are considered, e-commerce platforms.

00:11:19:00 - 00:11:53:08

Unknown

Our online shops where we like to buy our clothes and of course also AI generated clothing. But again, this is anything that could be used virtually. So how did you get into the future Pro group. How do you find Chris. I think it was so maybe it was around 2015 or 16. And back then I used to work in advertising agency still.

00:11:53:10 - 00:12:28:02

Unknown

But I was also moving to freelance part time. So that was something I used to do outside of work. And the art director that I used to work with, at that time shared with me the channel and she said, hey, you should look at this. This will really help you develop your freelance practices and learn more about how to design your process, how to find clients, and all of the things that we don't know and we don't learn.

00:12:28:04 - 00:12:53:02

Unknown

The design school. And I started watching videos on YouTube. This is how I, how I discovered Chris. And I knew that at some point when I could afford it, I wanted to join the future Pro Group and become part of the community, which you did. And that's where we met. Yes. So I'm so glad that you joined the Future Pro Group.

00:12:53:04 - 00:13:25:08

Unknown

So when you step away from your job and you start, can you pronounce it so for me. Is it ge obio. Gabo? Giovanni. Job. Thank you. Your design studio right now where you specialize in branding, fashion tech. How did you begin that process. And how did you choose your focus instead of just fashion tech? Why did you also include branding?

00:13:25:10 - 00:14:00:03

Unknown

So basically what we do at GE who is branding and design services for fashion and creative tech companies. Basically we collaborate with fashion or fashion tech or creative tech companies and we help them develop their identity or also digital product. For example, one of the projects that we recently worked on was an e-commerce platform where we help the platform to develop there.

00:14:00:05 - 00:14:30:20

Unknown

I had both because they are currently experimenting with more personalized choices for the users, and they need to integrate it and design not only how the chatbot, behaves, but also how it looks like so that it fits to the overall branding and experience on both app and what. Wow. So that the chatbot is actually personalized to align with the branding of the company.

00:14:30:22 - 00:15:02:04

Unknown

That's really cool. Yes, I think, or in my experience is that because we we had to do an extensive research on different e-commerce platforms and how they integrate chatbots. You could see that, most of the chatbots are based on, like a general, data model that is already developed by Google, for example. But then it's being personalized for this specific company.

00:15:02:05 - 00:15:25:22

Unknown

So for example, just let's say a user asks, hey, what about this other e-commerce platform? What do you think about it? And then the chatbot has to actually say, hey, I do like then but you know, I'm AI and and this happens a lot. You could see that users are trying to push the limits of the chatbot.

00:15:26:01 - 00:15:51:23

Unknown

And it's not, of course, always used as we think that it should. Yes. But it's also why we love the internet. Yes, exactly. Okay, so you're working in your freelance business and the last couple of years, I know for a lot of people in tech, it is been rough going. We're in a phase of pretty heavy disruption.

00:15:52:01 - 00:16:28:10

Unknown

How are you navigating, this incredibly fast moving change and the uncertainty in our industry and when you come up with an obstacle, how do you overcome it? Yeah. So as we started the discussion before we, jumped into the call. It is a very dynamic period. I would say also for us and to be honest, it's not like I couldn't see that this was coming.

00:16:28:12 - 00:16:57:22

Unknown

It was already I don't know how is it for you, but, it was around 2022 and we were still together on the future group. Yes. And our cohort, we were already discussing that something was happening. And for example, I thought that I could prepare for what was coming, and that's why I joined the key Person of Influence accelerator.

00:16:58:00 - 00:17:23:19

Unknown

Yeah. Learning how to develop my business future, improve my business, and, continue building my brand, which I do. But still, it feels like this is a long term doing. It's not something that can currently help with what is currently happening. And although I really try to prepare I just I saw it coming and now I see it happening.

00:17:23:21 - 00:17:52:03

Unknown

But I'm just observing it. I cannot really impacted massively. So this is something that I would say I'm still just a human. I really try not to be hard on myself because sometimes, I just don't want to complain or say, hey, the whole responsibilities on the current market. It is, it is the markets fold. What is happening?

00:17:52:04 - 00:18:23:17

Unknown

I'm really trying and experimenting with different strategies to see what it will work. But I also must say it's quite difficult. And also with the use of AI, there is some overstimulation on the market. And from small to big size, companies are being oversaturated with, outgoing emails and, requests for collaboration or, yeah, collaborative work in general.

00:18:23:19 - 00:18:58:18

Unknown

But what we also see, because I am a teacher in an online school where we basically help people to transition from their past careers, they could have been doing everything, but we helped them transition into the tech industry because two years ago or even five years ago, there was a massive need of, new people coming into the industry, working in engineering, in, data analysis or UI, UX design.

00:18:58:20 - 00:19:31:10

Unknown

This is what I'm teaching you UI, UX design basically. And that's why I was always researching the market. So I can also share with the students what will be happening when they finish. The bootcamp, how they can find or what they could expect in the current market. And even last year the market was that there were a lot of job openings and not that many candidates applying for the jobs.

00:19:31:12 - 00:19:59:17

Unknown

And now what we see, and I'm also experiencing this myself. We can see a new job opening like just released now on LinkedIn. And in a matter of 30 minutes or an hour they're already around hundred candidates depending if it's a remote or local position. But in a couple of days, days they would be already thousands of candidates.

00:19:59:19 - 00:20:40:01

Unknown

And this really changes the whole HR process. The expectations, the possibility to be hired for project no matter freelance or, a contract position. It is quite tough, I would say, especially for the just starting designers. It was never been tougher, I believe, to to begin working in the tech industry because most of the positions opened are for, first of all, very specific profile person with a very specific skillset and experience.

00:20:40:03 - 00:21:11:23

Unknown

And also somebody who is at least three five years already with professional experience. Yes. So I have a thought about this. I have noticed that what seems like is coming is that I will automate those entry level positions and that generally traditionally is where people coming out of school cut their teeth and enter the design field.

00:21:11:23 - 00:21:42:12

Unknown

So when that rung of the ladder is removed, how do people coming out of school enter the design field, and how is that going to change our industry. Yeah. So I, I think that's a very correct observation. I see the same and not only for the junior positions. It's like for example before let's say in a corporate environment who, who.

00:21:42:14 - 00:22:17:05

Unknown

Yes. I'm so happy about corporates are using sparkly clean and sorry. No no take your time. So for example in a corporate environment there would be different themes dedicated to developing different parts. For digital product, let's say there would be a team dedicated to the website or another team dedicated to the app. Or I don't know, even going further.

00:22:17:07 - 00:22:54:15

Unknown

But now what we see is that company, the companies are really trying to cut down expenses and budgets and in general optimize their processes. So what I see is that where there were a couple of things collaborating and working together. And now there is only one big team. But with fewer people in general. So there is a lot of pressure coming into the internal teams because the expectations are getting high as well.

00:22:54:17 - 00:23:27:08

Unknown

According to the, the financial market. Yep. The people are getting less. And also the security of their role it's not is before. So everyone is overworked, a little bit stressed and also unsure about what the future holds. And then we have those people just entering the market coming out of school or from the bootcamps. And I am afraid that especially at least this year.

00:23:27:10 - 00:24:01:22

Unknown

I'm not sure how exactly. Person who is just entering the market could find the job. I think the best only way is to network a lot and already know somebody. Inside of the company. And that's actually maybe for even higher position in the design team if you already have a good connections and you know somebody this is the best possible way to at least get an interview and then prove yourself of course.

00:24:02:00 - 00:24:33:16

Unknown

And what is also interesting to see is that first of all, there is a need for specialized design, experience in general. But also the companies are expecting that designers are well-rounded. The T-shaped design, they're how they call it. So for example, you could do graphic design, but you will also know a little bit about UX UI.

00:24:33:18 - 00:25:01:11

Unknown

Or motion design or even development. And I think that's also a very good example, one of the projects where I worked on for a couple of years. They used to have a design team dedicated on building their digital product and design team, which was focusing on branding and marketing. Today they don't have any designers.

00:25:01:12 - 00:25:42:15

Unknown

They have one person who does copywriting design. Wow. And everything. So it's it's like the Canva expert of the company right. Okay. So you mentioned earlier about KPI and I just really quick for people who don't know what that is, can you explain the KPI process. So the key person of influence is program or type of development model developed by Daniel Priestley.

00:25:42:17 - 00:26:20:14

Unknown

And it basically helps any professional to somehow become a leader in their own specialty. And also to become a key person of influence. So I think the whole idea there is that there are always a few people in every industry that are always being asked for advice or to give a speech, or are already known that they are quite, knowledgeable about their domain.

00:26:20:16 - 00:26:49:05

Unknown

And what the key person of influence program does is that it helps those people shine and truly become, a figure figure in their own industry. Right? Right. The authority. Exactly. Using the authority. Building the authority. Yes. And it's literally building because they have the five steps into doing this. For example, you have to build your own profile.

00:26:49:05 - 00:27:15:12

Unknown

That's the first step, which, of course, includes, pitch. So how do you present yourself to the public, but also how you appear on different channels and in general. So what is your profile? You have to build your product. You have to think about services and in general what is your offer and what type of value do you offer to the world.

00:27:15:14 - 00:27:51:22

Unknown

You have to write a book or at least publish. Which could be online or offline. And partnerships is also a very major part of the development. So finding your people. Finding your people. Do you think now that we are tasked with taking on more and more that defining who you are in the marketplace is more challenging.

00:27:52:00 - 00:28:33:03

Unknown

I think it's not only because of everything that we have to do that is challenging, but also somehow, I have the feeling that also this space is getting a little bit oversaturated. And especially with the use of AI. If we talk about, personal branding, of course, and social media branding. We can see that although it's not all of the, LinkedIn, members that they're publishing content, it's getting more and more, content out there on a daily basis.

00:28:33:04 - 00:29:06:05

Unknown

And of course, this doesn't really help to stand out, I would say, or you have to be very intentional in the way how you build your personal brand and how you communicate about what you do. But somehow you still have to be very vocal and share what you do consistently so that you can come through the noise and somehow stand out, which I think it's getting more and more difficult.

00:29:06:07 - 00:29:35:21

Unknown

And that's why I think it's very interesting also to mention again, the use of AI and, the trend of using it for everything without, really changing any parts of it. And that's why we can also see the people who are really authentic and take the time to develop their story. How they appear and in general, their own personal brand.

00:29:35:23 - 00:30:04:21

Unknown

It it makes a massive difference in the way how they communicate and how they connect, professionally and personally compared to the AI generated content. So true. Do you feel moving forward for you. I I'm sure with. Let me just back up. With the way things have changed so quickly. What your initial goal for success or redefining creative City or where you wanted to go has shifted.

00:30:04:23 - 00:30:56:03

Unknown

And what I hear you saying is that the human empathy, communication, personality, authenticity is becoming more and more important to rise above the noise. So for you personally, what does success look like for you now, given how everything's changed? It's interesting because. I often reflect on this and in general my goals where I want to be. And I also like to look back into my previous ideas of where and how, maybe how big I would like the studio to, to grow.

00:30:56:05 - 00:31:38:01

Unknown

And it's interesting that for me success was even back then when I started the studio in 2021 was always about not only building the personal brand, but building a fulfilling life for myself. And doing something meaningful, creating some meaningful value to others and for myself. And I would say, especially in these challenging times, I feel that I'm even more connected to this definition of success.

00:31:38:02 - 00:32:10:22

Unknown

What that means is that, for example, there are always ups and downs. That's also something that I've experienced already throughout my career. But what really matters in those times is that this is where we get to build our character and decide who we want to be. How do we want to treat others, but also ourselves? Because it's really tempting to.

00:32:11:00 - 00:32:54:09

Unknown

Maybe get into a direction that it's not the right one in those times? Maybe become a little bit more negative. Basically go into the black hole and I would say it's really about staying positive and optimistic about the future. Although while it's happening because there are some researches, going out there where we can still see that although it is a very disruptive time not only for the tech industry, but also politically, financially and worldwide in general.

00:32:54:11 - 00:33:27:05

Unknown

Yes. But still, we are living longer. We are happier. Or at least that's what the research is saying. But I can also say, for example, for my parents or compared to my grandparents, I do have the feeling that now life is somehow better. But it's also about learning how to adapt fast, how to how to enjoy the journey of those ups and downs and what they were life throws at us.

00:33:27:07 - 00:33:58:14

Unknown

We should be able to to quickly adapt. Yes you're right, we should. Oh but you there because we said that. What I just get to say. Are you adapting? I am adapting. It's not been easy. Do you are you painting more now? Like is we're going into this hyper digital, hyper tech, doing less and letting I do more.

00:33:58:18 - 00:34:30:03

Unknown

Are you finding yourself going to come back into the tactile experience? I do paint. I am actually working on a collection now, which is based on the Bauhaus ballet. And I am developing this collection since I think mom more than an ear. So it's a collection of 16 artworks, different sizes. On the artwork, number six.

00:34:30:05 - 00:34:58:00

Unknown

And meanwhile I also do other smaller artworks. But what I also find is that for the last two years, I had to change and adapt very quickly in my business. So I had to do or my focus was in different places. And especially when we talk about the KPI program, there's so many different aspects that I had to focus on.

00:34:58:02 - 00:35:28:23

Unknown

I'm also currently writing a book. Maybe I will talk more about it. And this also takes quite a bit of my time and especially thinking about how to find new work and stable projects has been my main focus. I see that my creativity, creativity somehow drains. And yeah, I would say I would like to paint more.

00:35:29:00 - 00:35:59:19

Unknown

It's not that as much as I would have liked to do. But for example, what I did last year to help me break the creative block, I would say was, a personal challenge, a hundred days of designing logos. Oh, wow. Where I really wanted to experiment with, different medium, maybe try new styles and, just do something that I haven't done before.

00:35:59:21 - 00:36:33:13

Unknown

And in this period, I also experimented a lot with. I. And, I went even deeper into the fashion industry created basically every logo was based on a fashion tech. Imaginative company. And that was a great experience because I had to sit every day for at least an hour, I would say sometimes a little bit longer and develop these piece of logo and then share it.

00:36:33:17 - 00:37:07:02

Unknown

So it was something that I would continuously do. And even though there were still tough times, I knew the day I had to do my logo. So you're super disciplined. I am I would say when I have a challenge or I know do they have to do something. I am, but sometimes I'm also very emotional. So I would say so I do have some, for example social media or publishing on the social media.

00:37:07:02 - 00:37:20:14

Unknown

It's not something that I can keep consistency on for some reason. I, I really need to step back and.

00:37:20:16 - 00:37:44:20

Unknown

Do something on my own, I would say, compared to being on social media and consuming or producing. But if it's about creative work I can really see it and do it compared to those other activities. So there's a lot of change going on in social media as well. And I'm actually I'm going to ask you three questions.

00:37:44:20 - 00:38:13:01

Unknown

So feel free to answer them and whatever. Or do you want. But one. How do you feel about continuing to use social media, giving some, given some of the political environments that we as artists find ourselves on? Two what is this book? I have no idea. I haven't heard about this. And then three. Where do you see fashion tech going?

00:38:13:03 - 00:38:45:10

Unknown

Social media. I always had, I would say very interesting relationship with social media, because when I started my career in advertising agency. Which was around 2012. That was the time when social media began to explode. First it was Facebook. It was. And I used to work mostly for social media campaigns and digital campaigns for our clients.

00:38:45:12 - 00:39:14:12

Unknown

So I would develop a lot of social media content, but also there were some gamified experiences that we used to do and later with Instagram. Oh, that was so nice. At the beginning of Instagram. It was completely different and I really loved it. I then utilize it for myself and my own practice. I've created channels where I can share my work.

00:39:14:14 - 00:39:44:03

Unknown

But then later in 2019 I decided to really delete my social media. So that was the time where I basically deleted my Instagram. Since 2019, I'm not really on Facebook anymore. I still have my profile, but I'm not consuming and not sharing content there anymore. And I would say the only if but it's not a social media, it's a block.

00:39:44:04 - 00:40:07:07

Unknown

The only place where I was to be found on social media or the block was medium I used to spend. And I still spend a lot of time on medium where I can share my thoughts in articles and written format and read a lot about what is happening in our industry or it. There are a lot of interesting content shared there.

00:40:07:09 - 00:40:36:22

Unknown

But the reason why I canceled or deleted my profiles back in 2019 was that I really didn't like what, Facebook was doing in their policies. And also Instagram for example, changed a lot before it was about expression sharing ideas. But once Instagram became part of Facebook then the whole experience on the platform changed.

00:40:37:00 - 00:41:12:14

Unknown

It was much more about advertising and creating those, store experiences. Also the influencer culture and in general development was growing rapidly. And I didn't feel anymore like this was a specific place for creatives. And to be honest, since 2019 again many things have changed. I got back on the platform in 2022. So three years ago and that was I wasn't there for two years.

00:41:12:14 - 00:41:47:21

Unknown

So of course the UI have changed a lot. That was the first thing I recognized. But the way how the content, was distributed, consumed, the video content as well, and the amount of, information that you could consume was much more. And I don't think that that's really healthy to be honest. I think it's just too much maybe I assume that social media in general would change.

00:41:47:23 - 00:42:37:12

Unknown

There should be some platforms that somehow filter the content or they create very specific content for the user. And also have terms and conditions in general which are somehow more human. Because again as you said, the political situation, what happened now in the US and Trump being the president that this also changed, basically the major social media platforms and how they would like us, the users to interact with their platforms and especially the intersection between politics and social media is very scary.

00:42:37:13 - 00:43:18:03

Unknown

That's why I am personally not really there. I'm mostly on LinkedIn and medium, for example, but also LinkedIn. It's getting strange. Before it was mostly about. Sharing professional advice, experience and basically what is going on and looking for jobs. And now I have the feeling that it's really oversaturated. Maybe it's again due to the current market conditions, but also the cold which is happening on LinkedIn are pretty interesting.

00:43:18:08 - 00:43:47:12

Unknown

So before, for example, I used to get to know a lot of people on LinkedIn. I I've created actual connections. And nowadays it's not really happening. It's more about engagement. It's more about or at least my own experience is like that. So this, this is really what I think about social media and the book about this.

00:43:47:17 - 00:44:29:16

Unknown

Tell me about the book. The book? I'm already writing it. Since year I was, I started writing it as part of the Key Person of Influence accelerator. And the main idea is to basically help, creative tech and then producers and companies build their brand from the beginning until the end, or basically the whole process that we use to, to brand the company, beginning with strategy research, development.

00:44:29:18 - 00:45:02:00

Unknown

And I really hope that this book could help people better understand the branding process. And understand how this could help them develop their company in a more sustainable way, I would say. And doing branding for the right reasons, not doing branding because their competitor looks in a particular way. Their website looks as well like it looks like.

00:45:02:02 - 00:45:38:02

Unknown

And yeah. So okay so tell me what are the right reasons. How is the how would you prefer someone engage branding. I would say that the right reasons are or at least my perspective is to, to build a company that goes beyond just doing or making a profit. Of course, profit is a is a very important thing and that's why we are in business.

00:45:38:03 - 00:46:21:23

Unknown

So profit should be there and there should be a profit happening. But it's also about how we appear and what change do we make in general. We are definitely busy and there are some challenges that we have to face on a daily basis. But still we should be able to take some time to develop this idea of how do we want to appear in the world and what change do we want to make in the world, not only as people but also professionally and in the business?

00:46:22:05 - 00:46:59:05

Unknown

And I think this really makes the major difference between great companies and companies. We're really just trying to appeal to the public. No matter if this is visually or strategically. But I would say that's really my definition of branding. Just making some positive changes and thinking about what, what type of contribution do we have to society in the world.

00:46:59:07 - 00:47:20:21

Unknown

I think that's beautiful. It's so nice to hear you say it that way. I think, sometimes people think branding is sort of this dry exercise, like a costume that you put on. But you're right, it really is more about what do you stand for? And I just, I love I love the way you think. Thank you. Thank you.

00:47:20:21 - 00:47:45:08

Unknown

Heather. You're welcome. So let's also talk about where you see fashion and fashion tech going in the next year or two. I'm sure it's going through its own version of being disrupted. And I know, there is a whole phase with meta with the glasses and, you know, the metaverse. So where where is this now?

00:47:45:08 - 00:47:49:15

Unknown

What's happening now?

00:47:49:17 - 00:48:30:07

Unknown

That's correct. So fashion is definitely going through a disruptive period. And that's already for the last two years. I would say in 2022 there was already, a major boom of, digital fashion projects, but also projects related to the metaverse and, the Web3 in general with NFTs and blockchain. And that was also the period where this became more mainstream, as you said, with the development of the virtual reality headsets.

00:48:30:09 - 00:49:12:12

Unknown

And that was the premise, basically. Also, Facebook renamed themselves to meta. And this somehow gave the general public the feeling that something is happening and we are already entering the Web3 environment. And one of the first industries to follow was basically fashion and beauty, because that's something that you could experience virtually. You could go to, a gaming experience or a virtual reality like spatial, for example, where you can build your own own environment, your avatar, and you can dress up this avatar, you can put some makeup on it.

00:49:12:14 - 00:50:13:01

Unknown

You can experiment basically with your own appearance inside of the virtual reality. And those experiences were tied to NFTs. So for example you could buy a customized facial digital fashion item and use it in a specific environment. And the premise basically, or the idea of the metaverse was that we could use this item in different experiences, which would have been very cool, but technically it's very difficult because of course it's a lot about integration, how those, softwares are connected and even purely from UI, UX perspective and visually, the avatars developed from meta, for example, and the avatars from Ready Player Me, which were used on spatial.

00:50:13:03 - 00:50:52:21

Unknown

They were not, even close stylistically, like the others were small or with buckets and very strange, I would say, like they were not trying to look, like the reality. Whereas ready player me the develops very, human like avatars. Still you could be a dinosaur but you could, it's kind of animated. Cool dinosaur. So it's peculiar to think that we can develop a fashion garment for the dinosaur and then take it to later because it wouldn't fit together.

00:50:52:21 - 00:51:29:17

Unknown

Other. There. So that was also one big challenge for the development of especially the digital fashion part of fashion. Thick. And what we see and so happening for the last two years is that unfortunately, a lot of those disruptive NFT Web3 projects, couldn't make it because there wasn't the clear market fit or I mean, one of the examples that it's really painful for me to see, winding down was artifact.

00:51:29:19 - 00:52:08:22

Unknown

This was one of the, maybe the first innovative, Web3 digital fashion projects. It was a studio that started developing digital sneakers. Oh, yeah. And they were mostly inspired by Nike. So their designs, even their logo, almost looked like the Nike logo. But in the digital environment and basically they've managed to sell maybe. I'm not sure how much exactly it was, but they sold the first digital fashion sneakers for let's say around $10,000.

00:52:08:22 - 00:52:55:16

Unknown

I'm not sure but it was around this amount. Yeah. And this exploded. It was everywhere on the news. And years later, Nike acquired them. So they became an official, innovative projects under the big brand of Nike. And last December, they said to the public that they're closing down the operations, even though they were hiring because they saw open positions for, the innovative studio, maybe in November and then December, they said, no, we are closing down, which also showcased the current market conditions for the fashion and fashion tech companies.

00:52:55:18 - 00:53:30:14

Unknown

So if a major brand like Nike could not really afford to sustain this innovative project, you can imagine what is happening with the smaller creators. And brands. Some brands that we worked with I would say like just starting out or smaller companies in the Web3, they are not that active anymore since last year. We've worked with some digital fashion artists and they're all complaining that the current market condition is pretty tough for them.

00:53:30:16 - 00:54:06:04

Unknown

They still transition to doing mostly 3D work. And for example, they work more in gaming. So this is still an industry where their type of skillset is highly needed. Or education. Does it also some sector where we can see that they're shifting into and yeah it's just a very tough condition. However there's still some projects happening even from major brands where they would launch.

00:54:06:04 - 00:54:38:21

Unknown

Maybe I would call it a campaign. It's not a project anymore, but they would create an experience for Roblox, for example, or, or augmented reality experience where people can interact with their product. Also, what I shared before is the usage of AI integrated to already existing systems. This definitely has a future. I can see it, but the whole digital fashion environment, I'm not sure about that.

00:54:38:21 - 00:55:13:07

Unknown

I'm not really sure with where this is heading. I think it's mostly going to be integrated into the gaming industry. That's where we see the most usage of it right now. That's wow. That's interesting. I would have never predicted that was going to happen. So right now, what are you reading? And do you have, a favorite fashion tech person that you really follow and admire?

00:55:13:09 - 00:55:42:16

Unknown

What I'm reading, I'm very excited about the creative act by Robin Hood. Good book. Yeah. So I was really listening to his podcast and when he launched his book I thought, well, I really have to dive into into it. I have it, but I still haven't started. I just started the little bit, but I'm really, really excited to start reading it.

00:55:42:18 - 00:56:15:23

Unknown

And actually one book that I was reading was about wait, let me just check it out. What is that? It was about building a consistent practice. Because as I said. Yeah because of the challenges and everything that I had to change in my business. I really have the feeling that I had to be a little bit more disciplined, not only for my art and design, but also,

00:56:16:01 - 00:56:41:18

Unknown

In general for my business, and doing actually the things that I might not enjoy on a daily basis, but learn how to consistently do them. And that's the book that I'm really, diving into right now. Yeah. That makes perfect sense. I mean with those little niggly things that you don't want to do, but you have to do it every day.

00:56:41:20 - 00:57:21:15

Unknown

Exactly. So this is where I'm really focusing on. And I would say one book from, from last year that changed a little bit about how I plan. And, I would say my whole process of, thinking about my business long term and short term was the accidental or creative. Oh, these are work. Yeah. It was very helpful because, for example, before I would do.

00:57:21:17 - 00:57:53:19

Unknown

Like short term goals and also, maybe quarterly, yearly and then think about three, 5 or 10 years. But I was religious about this planning. So I would create, vision boards. I have some documents where I would organize everything so that I can focus on it each month and week. But at some point I realized that first of all, this puts a lot of pressure on me.

00:57:53:21 - 00:58:21:06

Unknown

I was much more focused on accomplishing the goals rather than leaving. I would say And this book changed everything. So I would say one of my major takeaways was the main three things that we have to focus on this week. So it's not about the thousand things that we can do. But you still have a vision.

00:58:21:06 - 00:58:47:03

Unknown

You know where you want to go. You know that direction. But you're always focusing on three major things every week. And you are not shifting until you get them done. And the other thing is that you have to prioritize. So you have to know which three things are the most important. But you cannot really do more than those three at the same time.

00:58:47:05 - 00:59:19:14

Unknown

Oh I like that. I like that a lot. Yeah. Yeah. It takes up a lot of the pressure and I think it's more human way of thinking about achievement and somehow balancing personal and business life. Which is super important. Yes. Well we are getting close right now to our hour mark. So if anybody has any questions for Maya your welcome to drop them in the chat.

00:59:19:19 - 00:59:42:04

Unknown

See there's one right here. Hello Daniel. I'm going do you want to speak to her directly or should I read it? I would rather hear Maya's voice. Mainly because I've had more of a firsthand feel of it. And I think she can definitely have a lot more say in the situation. Okay. So I'm just going to read this to Maya.

00:59:42:06 - 01:00:14:13

Unknown

What were the greatest benefits and challenges of mentorship that you've discovered? I especially remembered that what made ADP list a great performance or so performance platform was that I was free, and I appreciated the sense of accountability. I ask that because the mentorship changed the way I thought and approach networking on a whole new level, because it went from surface level connection to something much deeper.

01:00:14:15 - 01:00:51:01

Unknown

Yes. So thank you so much for the question, Daniel. I think one of the greatest benefits. Interestingly, when I joined ADP, least back in 2020, I believe maybe no, 22 around 2022. I joined the program because first of all, I wanted to support support other designers on their own journeys, but also do this pro-bono because I know that not everyone can afford it.

01:00:51:03 - 01:01:21:08

Unknown

And it is usually those people that cannot afford it that needs mostly this type of help and support. So that was a very, important factor for me. I was already teaching in another school, so I had the experience and I also personally wanted to be mentored. So actually I had a mentor on the platform myself, and this really helped me develop my design studio.

01:01:21:08 - 01:02:11:05

Unknown

Stay grounded, get some advice from a person who already did it. And up until this moment, I would say mentorship or teaching in general. It's maybe one of my favorite aspects about design because as you said, Daniel, we get to connect on on a different level, and it's really about the connection. It's about the connection of, first of all, understanding where this person is on their journey and crafting an advice or choosing the books and information that really would help them get to the next level.

01:02:11:07 - 01:02:41:18

Unknown

But also in this process you get to learn a lot about yourself. You get to actually learn more about the industry and the skillset. Because to be able to share it with somebody, you have to be able to articulate it, to already know it. And I also like very much this aspect. Does that answer your question.

01:02:41:20 - 01:03:11:14

Unknown

Yes. 100% I think really really killed it. Oh. So Maya as we're coming to the end here, where can people find you. If they want to know more about you, connect to you, if they like to be involved, if you're doing more in more mentorship programs as well as your book, where can we find this when it comes out where you're going to publish?

01:03:11:16 - 01:03:45:18

Unknown

Yes. Oh, that's a very, very good question. First about the book. It's not yet public. What I am doing is that, I share articles which are based on the book content on my medium blog, so you can read some of my articles there. I am planning to make it public even before publishing it. Sharing some parts of the book and also doing some interviews with, industry experts.

01:03:45:19 - 01:04:28:22

Unknown

So this is also some part of, that I am really excited about and I would like to enjoy as part of the book. So this is going to be public very soon, but it's not yet. I would say that's why the very best place to to look about the book and my content in general is medium and LinkedIn and where people can find me, they can find me on most my, my most active social media platform is LinkedIn and Instagram, my personal Instagram, Myojo and then they can also see some updates on Jio Studio website.

01:04:29:00 - 01:04:49:21

Unknown

Great. Thank you so much, Maya. It is so nice to see you. And it's wonderful to spend some time with you. It's been a while and I am so excited to see what's next for you and what's coming as this year is being, very dynamic, as you put it.

01:04:49:23 - 01:05:19:06

Unknown

This way, I still like to stay positive. This. I just feel that the choice of words dynamic, it's a dynamic 2025. I hope it's only 2025 to, I didn't even get that far. Maya. Well, thank you, everybody. Thank you so much for having me. And, thank you, Dave running through and also Daniel for being here.

01:05:19:08 - 01:05:39:22

Unknown

It was a pleasure. And, Heather, as you said, we haven't seen each other for a while, so it was very nice to catch up with you. Yes. My pleasure. And so I hope everybody will go check out my site, as well as keep an eye out for her upcoming books. Have a wonderful night, everybody or day, wherever you are.

01:05:40:00 - 01:05:48:17

Unknown

And see you soon, Maya. See you soon. Thank you. Bye.