Micha Nicheva
 

Making sense of complexity

 

Hi, I'm Micha. I design services and products. 

 
 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What I do

I lead cross-functional teams working across insight, strategy and UX to tackle wicked problems with no easy answers. In an increasingly complex world organisations need to adapt rapidly, without the costly risk of jumping to conclusions. That’s why my role on a project is to challenge assumptions and bring the voice of the user to the foreground of decision-making, while never losing sight of the broader business context. 

Designers have many tools in their belts, but my favourite by far is curiosity. I enjoy learning and exploring ambiguity to uncover insights - finding the right problem to solve before looking for the right solution. The goal is to build new knowledge each step of the way - experimenting, using data, rapid prototyping and testing to learn fast and deliver true value.

Over the past decade,  I've had the privilege to design the world's biggest online police station and to create tools for people to navigate the transport systems of London and New York. My work has taken me to unexpected places, designing for busy workers in Tokyo and mobile gamers in Seoul. No matter the shape or size of the challenge, I'm a strong believer in working together as a team - being hands-on, while giving the space & support to individuals to grow and do their best work.

I get excited about helping clients navigate complex challenges and plan for the future. Using sustainability & social equity as primary lenses for design, I advocate for moving towards a broader systematic approach to designing for people, society and the planet as an interdependent whole. 

My spare time is dedicated to learning languages, hiking, growing a small jungle in my home and painting murals in playgrounds. Above all, I enjoy meeting new people. Let's talk. 

Clients

 
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Selected work

 
 

Digitising Convenience Stores

Under NDA

Service Design | Product Design | Japanese Market | Digital Strategy | Organisational Change | Staff Training

Sustainable Product Growth

Google Play

International Research | Product Design | Product Management | Digital Strategy

Behavioural data for policymakers

Institute of Global Health Innovation

Research | Product Design | Digital Strategy

 

Background

 

Experience

Reason | Head of Design Strategy
2021 to present

Made by Many | Design Lead
2018 to 2021

Globant | Senior Service & Product Designer
2016 to 2018

WAE | Service & Product Designer
2014 to 2016

Freelance | Designer and Art Director
2012 to present

Freelance | Interpreter
2007 to 2014

 

Awards

BIMA

BIMA 100 (2023) - Strategists & Consultants shaping the future of Britain’s digital industry

BIMA

Grand Prix 2018 

Transformation & Consultancy 2018: Advance Award

Transformation & Consultancy: Impact 2018 

Lovie Awards

Gold Winner - Government & Civic 

Winner - Web Services & Applications 

Winner - Best User Experience Award 

Winner - Best Navigation & Structure 

Winner - Best Practices

 

UX Design Awards

UX Design Award | Concept 2017

 

Core77 Design Awards

Service Design Award Runner-Up

 

Cannes Lions

Shortlisted for Innovation

 

Public Speaking & Mentoring

Service Lab London | Speaker

Google Playtime | Speaker

Triangirls | Speaker

Seminars Lead | Oxford Brookes University

Mentor | UXPA, LCC, Central St. Martins

 

Languages

Fluent | English, Spanish, Russian, Bulgarian

Basic | French, Italian, Japanese

 

Education

BA (Hons) Advertising: Creative
Buckinghamshire New University
2009 to 2012

Foreign Languages and Linguistics
Ivan Vazov Language College
2004 to 2009

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Kind words

Micha is a genuine unicorn. She’s just as comfortable (and brilliant) defining and visualising strategy, to delivering the tactical work to make it happen…and just about everything in between. She can plan and run research of all types; from foundational discovery research through to directional usability testing. She has facilitated countless workshops with client stakeholders and customers, and is the go-to advisor for this activity in any project. She can develop concepts, create storyboards and prototypes to create excitement and bring tangibility to ideas. She can get into the detail, creating visually refined assets and working closely with developers and clients to deliver outputs of real quality.

If that’s not enough, she’s also a bloody joy to work with. Clients love her, so much so that they’re always fighting with each other to work with her again. Colleagues love her and will keep going to her for her experience, advice and generosity.

Having Micha in your team is like having a cheat code. She’s been at the forefront of many of the projects that people are most proud of. She is a selfless, passionate and funny collaborator and you should work with her.
— Joshua Stehr, Design Lead
Micha is one of those rare star-shaped UX consultants that can work as a designer, researcher, business analyst and a strategist. She combines a unique set of creative and analytical skills which makes her an essential part of any team.

Micha is an excellent and experienced UX designer and a constant source of genuine ideas when working on a project. She is usually the first and fastest to come up with creative and original ways to solve a design or a business problem. Micha is experienced with managing design teams and making sure that work is delivered on time. She is great with managing multiple stakeholders on complex projects.

Micha is an open-minded, fun, energetic and interesting person which makes her an absolute pleasure to work with.
— Zoe Yovcheva-Dimov Phd, Head of Research
Micha is a system thinker, rounded service designer, equally comfortable with facing unknown challenges and helping both clients and team members better understand their context.

During our time working together at WAE I was impressed by the breadth of skills encapsulated in one human being: not only she speaks I don’t know how many languages, but she is also an awesome service designer and team player. She is great at facilitating workshops and co-design sessions, she helps teams understand complex systems and designing solutions that make a difference for people.

She stands out for her dedication to crafting both beautifully designed, polished interactions and lower fidelity stimulus to help uncover insight. Clients love her, to the point that the Met team couldn’t function without her through knowledge. Team members love her, I love her. You will love her too!
— Lucia Turco, Lead UX Researcher and Service Design Consultant