How I Work
I don’t design screens. I diagnose products. Here’s where I focus.
The Way I Build
Every problem runs through the same three moves.
01
Investigate
Every problem has a system underneath it. I find it first. Before a single screen, I map how the thing actually works — the incentives, the constraints, the points where it quietly fails.
02
Ideate
Constraints are creative fuel. The tighter the box — technical, regulatory, commercial — the sharper the thinking. I treat limits as raw material, not obstacles.
03
Invent
I don’t present concepts. I build things that work. The output isn’t a deck of ideas — it’s a system that ships, holds up in production, and moves the number it was meant to move.
Who Am I
Designer · Strategist · Maker.
I’m Zlatko Lazarov — a design strategist and product creator based in Malta.
For over a decade I’ve worked across both digital and traditional design — not just decorating screens, but finding the structural problem underneath a product and building the thing that solves it. My skill set is deliberately mixed: strategy, product, brand, systems and craft.
I’ve held senior and lead design roles, founded products, and shaped direction. The title on the contract has never been the point. The work is.
I don’t get stuck in a box. I build it.
In Their Words
A few words from people I’ve worked with.
Zlatko did a remarkable job. He is poised, prepared and a genuine designer & artist.
It is extremely difficult to find really reliable and professional designer, you can count on. Zlatko is definetly one of them. Whenever I needed web or design work, he always delivered, never missed a deadline. Working with him always a pleasure.
Zlatko has showed great creativity and excellent skills in all the design tools that are needed to perform his daily tasks that has been everything from creating new brands, videos/animation, developing web sites, to production of designs. Besides his brilliant designer skills, he also is a team player that is always there to help others with a yes-can-do approach. A problem solver!
Selected Work
A few products where the real problem wasn’t the one on the brief.
Let’s Talk
Whether you’re building a team, hiring, or sitting on a problem that needs a system underneath it — send me a message.