Kesten Co.

Kesten Co. Bosnian-American Designer
illustration ¦ lettering ¦ sign painting ¦ murals That's because I enjoy doing what I do. To je zato jer uživam radeći ono što radim.
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Today this is what I do as a summer hobby, and I don't consider it work as outsiders may see it. I liked the idea of promoting handmade work and boosting the talent Bosnia encompasses with our post-war young adult generation. Many photographers have also posted their work online, such as Azra Šahinović, Aida Đapo, Maja Topčagić, etc. and I find it wonderful to know that the youth of our country is

excelling with their passions and sharing them with the rest of the world. Thinking there were too many photographers, I decided to claim myself as an art hobbiest and start something completely new. Danas je ovo ono što radim kao ljetni hobi, i ne smatram to poslom kao što bi neki možda pretpostavili. Svidjela mi se ideja promocije rukotvorina i podržavanja talenta koji Bosna posjeduje među poslije ratnim generacija mladih osoba. Mnogi fotografi također postavljaju svoje radove online, poput Azre Šahinović, Aide Đapo, Maje Topčagić itd. i mislim da je divno što mladi u našoj zemlji ispoljavaju svoje strasti i talente i dijele ih sa ostatkom svijeta. Vjerujući da postoji previše fotografa, odlučila sam da počnem nešto potpuno novo i postanem hobi umjetnik.

09/05/2026
03/05/2026

Join us on Monday for a creative conversation with Laila — she brings creative experience from living in the USA.

We’ll speak, draw, and design — a relaxed English hangout through creativity, ideas, and fun interaction.

See you in American Corner Mostar.💬

01/05/2026

Ovako se gradi lokalna kultura.

Kada sam prvi put učila inženjerstvo u prvom razredu srednje škole u SAD-u, moja prijateljica Alyssa i ja bile smo jedin...
25/02/2026

Kada sam prvi put učila inženjerstvo u prvom razredu srednje škole u SAD-u, moja prijateljica Alyssa i ja bile smo jedine dvije djevojke u razredu od oko dvadeset učenika. Naša profesorica Symonds otvorila mi je potpuno novi svijet. Skicirale smo, dizajnirale, modelirale u 3D softveru, gradile, lijepile, brusile, i testirale ideje dok nisu funkcionirale.

Voljela sam matematiku i voljela sam crtati. Sjećam se da me brinula ideja da moja budućnost mora stati u strogu podjelu između logike i umjetnosti, da moram izabrati jedno ili drugo. Upravo kroz inženjerstvo prvi sam put shvatila da kreativnost i znanost nisu odvojeni svjetovi.

Četiri godine kasnije i četvrt svijeta dalje, tokom prve godine studija elektrotehnike u Sarajevu, ponovno sam bila jedna od rijetkih djevojaka u svojoj generaciji. Opet manjina. Ipak, tokom svog obrazovanja u Bosni upoznala sam nevjerojatne žene koje su nastavile studirati na institucijama poput Harvarda, objavljivale znanstvene radove, postale majke, ili su svoje znanje usmjerile u potpuno drugačije karijerne puteve.

Kritičko razmišljanje, logika, inženjerstvo, i znanost nikada nisu pripadali samo jednom spolu. Zastupljenost je važna: ne zato što žene moraju dokazivati da to mogu, nego zato što djevojke zaslužuju vidjeti da su dobrodošle u tim područjima.

Iako danas ne radim kao inženjerka, to obrazovanje i dalje oblikuje način na koji stvaram. Interdisciplinarno razmišljanje donosi preciznost, eksperimentiranje, i znatiželju u sve što radim, uključujući i lettering i dizajn.

Na Međunarodni dan žena i djevojaka u znanosti (11. februar), ovaj rad je mali podsjetnik da se inovacije događaju kada se susretnu različiti načini razmišljanja— i da djevojke nikada ne bi trebale osjećati da moraju birati između analitičnosti i kreativnosti. ❤️💜

12/02/2026

Hvala Heinken i Studio Club na povjerenju! Block lettering, bijelo na crno, oslikano prije skoro dvije godine; prvi put na ljestvama u zatvorenom prostoru!

Detail shot of watercolor illustrations from my submission for the theme "Fauna: Snails", as part of the Hrvatska pošta ...
25/01/2026

Detail shot of watercolor illustrations from my submission for the theme "Fauna: Snails", as part of the Hrvatska pošta Mostar competition for the design of commemorative postage stamps for 2025. 📨📮

Although the work did not pass the competition, I really enjoyed the challenge of painting these and getting the Fibonacci spirals just right! I think the watercolor medium helped me achieve the perfect level of detail, color, and contrast to express the uniqueness of each snail. 🐌⊹₊⟡⋆

Watercolor illustrations and graphic layout submitted (not printed) for the theme "Fauna: Snails", as part of the Hrvats...
23/01/2026

Watercolor illustrations and graphic layout submitted (not printed) for the theme "Fauna: Snails", as part of the Hrvatska pošta Mostar (Mostar Croatian Post) competition for the design of commemorative postage stamps for 2025.

The designs feature four snails native to Bosnia and Herzegovina:

1 / Grove snail ➼ found in diverse areas like woodlands, grasslands, coastlines, and urban gardens, with a diet of primarily dead and living plants.

2 / Roman snail ➼ native to Europe, it lives in both forests and shrublands, and is popular in French cuisine (escargot)!

3 / Giant tun ➼ a very large snail (with an average shell height of 15 cm!), its shell is often sold as a souvenir although it is a protected species since 1994.

4 / Triton snail ➼ one of the most common land snails in Europe, and one of the largest in the Adriatic Sea, it feeds on starfish!

Since I didn't paint the snails within their natural habitats, I struggled with thinking up a graphic design for them, until I decided on... the circle. The circle framing around the head draws subtle attention away from the shell and acts like a gentle portrait marker, suggesting that snails, too, are beings with their own quiet character, just like us. 🐌⊹₊⟡⋆

➼ and a Happy New Year ⊹₊⟡⋆🎊❄️☃️
29/12/2025

➼ and a Happy New Year ⊹₊⟡⋆🎊❄️☃️

➼ Custom hand-drawn lettering, digital illustration, and graphic layout created for the theme "Protected Agricultural an...
17/12/2025

➼ Custom hand-drawn lettering, digital illustration, and graphic layout created for the theme "Protected Agricultural and Food Products of Croatia", as part of the Croatian Post competition for the design of commemorative postage stamps for 2026. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

The designs feature two protected Croatian products:

Lički škripavac 🧀 ➼ a soft, cow-milk cheese from the Lika region, known for its distinctive squeaky texture

Slavonski kulen 🥩 ➼ a cured and aged pork sausage from Slavonia, seasoned with paprika and garlic

I enjoyed creating these and exploring how to translate food heritage into typography! ⊹₊⟡⋆

Dodala sam svoju čarobnu preciznost zidovima, prozorima, šoljicama za kafu... i baš kad sam pomislila da je slikanje na ...
06/11/2025

Dodala sam svoju čarobnu preciznost zidovima, prozorima, šoljicama za kafu... i baš kad sam pomislila da je slikanje na AUTU bilo najluđe, početkom ove godine imala sam čast da uradim lettering na ove VRLO premium boce tekile, za neke vrlo posebne pjevače! 🎶🎤

Nervoza je bila tu, ali ruke su ostale mirne. Uspjela sam uredno ispisati imena koristeći font Freestyle Script Regular (po izboru klijenta). Boce ručno oslikavaju majstori iz Santa Maria Canchesdá, Meksiko.

Veliko hvala klijentu na povjerenju i prilici da radim na ovom projektu! 🪄✨

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Sarajevo

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