PORTFOLIO
EDITORIAL DESIGN
2025/26
The MEM Magazine, short for Mariana, Elisa and Merle, is an editorial design project, which we designed together in Typography as part of a Neuland magazine project. We explored how our world in the fields of technology, fashion, architecture and society might look in both a dystopian and a utopian future. These visions were translated into our individual design styles for the different themes. My focus was on fashion and architecture.
I explored questions such as: How does clothing shape us as people, and to what extent does it restrict us? Is modern architecture liberating or rather confining?
Everything round and colorful: Inspired by the costumes from The Hunger Games, Björk, and Issey Miyake, I created my utopian figure, shaped by the rounded forms of retro architecture. In contrast, the dystopian design was influenced by Rick Owens, Balenciaga, and Maison Margiela, as well as by prefabricated concrete architecture: angular, restrictive, and structured.
ILLUSTRATION
2025/26
A recipe book with a different twist: the Cooking Tarot predicts the next ingredients and steps you need to prepare the Ukrainian dish Varenyky. Using mystical creatures in my own visual style, I transformed the cooking steps and ingredients into tarot card characters. The typography adds an additional Slavic flair to the project.
FESTIVAL DESIGN
2025/26
A festival that celebrates, empowers and gives visibility to Ukraine. After four years of war, the country continues to stand for resilience, cultural identity, and a sense of belonging. Values that lie at the heart of this project.
The design is based on the key themes of home, blooming and strength. Three floral elements symbolize growth and connection, while the Ukrainian national colors create a strong visual identity. A bold sans-serif typeface emphasizes stability and confidence.
The visual identity brings together central values such as life, renewal, future and hope.
BRANDING
2025
Nosta: the pizzeria that stands for nostalgia and memories, bringing you back to your childhood through the taste of pizza. Whether it’s eating pizza at your best friend’s house or enjoying a movie night with your mom and dad. Memories come alive here, where people and their stories come together.
The mascot is the key symbol of this brand, as it is considered a nostalgic and traditional ingredient in Italy. The short name hints at nostalgia while also giving the brand a modern character.
2025
Conflict was the central theme of this project. The idea was to create posters that draw attention to social issues, provoke discomfort and encourage reflection. The work explored political topics, social criticism, feminist content and criticism of patriarchy.
My focus was on the conflict between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Why don`t you wear a suit?), as well as on housing issues related to rising rents and discrimination due to descrimination.
2026
K-pop has been one of my most important sources of inspiration for many years, whether through the music itself or the creative personalities behind it.
COLLAGE AND ILLUSTRATION
2025
AS A PIERCING
A signature I have developed for myself is bold, experimental art. Big eyes, long lashes, full lips and a safety pin as a piercing. They share my own features: a large lower lip and a lip piercing. I find works especially inspiring that attract attention, provoke irritation and at the same time spark curiosity. This is something I wanted to create here as well.
2025
In typography, we took part in a workshop where we explored grid layouts to design engaging magazine pages. We worked with images, text and symbols, focusing on what combinations work well in a layout and which do not.
let’s work
together!
Mariana Gerzhova
Communication Design Student
mgerzhova@gmail.com
I bring things together and pin them in place.
My name is Mariana Gerzhova and I study Communication Design at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg. Born in Ukraine, raised in Mainz and now living in Augsburg, my work is shaped by different perspectives.
I move between origin, experience and memory. I collect meaning and translate it into visual fragments. Each project follows its own concept, carried by the people, stories and situations that surround me.
The safety pin has accompanied me as my symbol since the beginning of my studies: small, nondescript, yet the element that holds everything together.
10/2024 — today
Communication Design
Technical University of
Applied Sciences Augsburg
09/2015 — 03/2024
High School Diploma
Rabanus-Maurus-Gymnasium
Experience
03/2025 — today
Marginal Employment
Pandora
11/2024 — 02/2025
Seasonal Christmas Employment
Pandora
01/2023 — 08/2024
Marginal Employment
Theatre Mainz
01/2022 — 02/2022
Internship
Landesmuseum Mainz
InDesign
Illustrator
Figma
Artlist
Photoshop
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Bridge
Mirosoft Office
Soft Skills
Branding
Festival Design
Layout
Visual Identity
Editorial
Generative AI
Illustration
UX Design
instagram: mar_____com