Why we created a national platform for Design Agencies in Bulgaria

A few years ago, my good designer friend Gabriel Atanassov and I set ourselves a fun challenge: how many design agencies do we actually know in Bulgaria? What began as a casual list quickly turned into a shared Google Sheet, organized by service categories, and even including salary insights for some agencies… but we’ll save that story for later!

As the sheet grew, it became a resource of its own — a detailed snapshot of Bulgaria’s design industry. It was then that our friend Hristiyan “Harry” Yaprakov stepped in with an idea. He saw the potential to transform our spreadsheet into something more dynamic and accessible.

With me handling the design and Harry working his magic on development, we rolled up our sleeves and transformed that humble spreadsheet into a compact, snappy, and user-friendly website. We called it BDA — Bulgarian Design Agencies.. we accept new naming suggestions.

We hope that our platform becomes the go-to resource for designers across the country, making it easy to explore the vibrant design landscape in Bulgaria, discover potential employers, and connect with the creative community!

For some interesting reason, I’ve just found out that the website is only in Bulgarian. Whoops.

The Mission: Showcasing Bulgaria’s Thriving Design Scene

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with many people across Bulgaria’s design industry, gaining insight into the range and depth of creative talent here. It’s frustrating when people say, “There aren’t enough agencies to work with in Bulgaria,” or “I can’t find a design job here.”

Harry and I saw this as an opportunity to tackle those misconceptions. Our platform’s core goal is to show that there is a thriving design scene in Bulgaria. Not only does it help designers see the range of agencies they can work for, but it’s also a networking tool for agencies to connect with each other and explore potential partnerships.

Simple, Clean, and Focused

From the start, we wanted the website to be intuitive, clean, and focused. Our goal was simplicity, so we only included what was necessary — just the essentials to help users navigate the design landscape in Bulgaria without distractions. Here’s what we built:

• A Catalogue of All the Agencies: The main feature is a complete list of the design agencies we know across Bulgaria. By sharing this in a centralized format, designers can browse opportunities, and agencies can discover each other’s services.

• Filtering Options: We added a filter system to sort by the type of service each agency offers, making it easier to find exactly what you’re looking for, whether that’s brand design, web design, UX, or other specialties. We also added the agency’s location, so you can search geographically.

• Two View Options: To enhance usability, we designed two views — catalog and list. The catalog view shows a visual grid with screenshots of each agency’s website, while the list view presents the information in a more straightforward, text-based format.

The Process: Screenshotting 80+ Websites, Manually adding their services and location, and Curating Visuals

In the catalog view, we wanted each agency’s website to truly shine. Yes, you read that right — Harry and I manually screenshotted over 80 websites! Behind each screenshot, we added a beautiful 3D render from Unsplash, creating a subtle visual touch that enhances the design without distracting from the agency’s own look and feel. Clicking on any thumbnail opens the agency’s website in a new tab, making it easy and intuitive for users to explore each agency directly.

But our work didn’t stop there. For each agency we featured, we manually uploaded their information onto the platform. This involved reading through each agency’s website to understand their services, specialties, and unique strengths. We then carefully categorized each one by service, making sure the filtering system would be as accurate and helpful as possible for users searching for specific types of design expertise.

This thorough process of manual curation allowed us to bring out the best in each agency and ensure that our platform not only looked good but served as a genuinely useful resource for Bulgaria’s design community.

Creating a Useful Resource for the Community

With this platform, our hope is that designers, students, and professionals in Bulgaria will see how many opportunities exist within our borders. By unifying the design agencies into one easy-to-navigate site, we’re showing that there’s a lot happening in Bulgaria’s design world — if you know where to look. It’s also a tool for agencies to connect, build partnerships, and contribute to a stronger design community here.

In the end, this project has been a rewarding experience and a true labor of love for Harry and me. We’re thrilled to have built something that supports the design industry we’re both passionate about and to give back to the creative scene in Bulgaria.

You can follow me on Instagram, Behance, or visit my website — stoyanov.works.

You can find Harry on Instagram and his website — www.gluhar.co. He has a really cool logo that he designed himself. Pretty neat for a web developer.