I was recently interviewed by a large Swiss pharmaceutical company for a design role, and for the first time in my career, I wasn’t asked questions like, ‘Did you really study chemistry?’ or ‘How did you shift from chemistry to design? They’re not even related.’ Although I didn’t get the job, it made me revisit a blog post idea I’ve had for almost three years—my full story of how I transitioned and why it actually made sense to me.

Me and Chemistry

Chemistry is truly a magnificent science. It picks up where physics leaves off, diving deep into the world of molecules. It’s the science of interactions.

People usually view chemistry from two different angles: the exciting, experimental side and the theoretical side, which is often seen as boring and hard to understand.

The biggest issue with chemistry is that, unlike physics, (at least classical mechanics) or biology, 99% of the time it deals with incredibly small particles, often represented as colorful balls that we cannot see, that somehow forms so called bonds, often represented as sticks, and then cause things to blow up. That seeks a lot creativity and imagination.

I was lucky to have an excellent elementary chemistry teacher, who recognized my ability to grasp complex things, and visualize them in my head, and explain them in simple language. My drawing skills also helped.

I chose my high school because my chemistry teacher recommended me to a colleague there. Luckily, it had a strong natural science program—some even called it the best in the country. I regularly competed in chemistry competitions and attended advanced classes, which I later taught while at university.

Most of my classmates pursued medicine, law, business, or computer science. Although I enjoyed programming (Pascal, Java, QBasic) and was good at it, I felt I wasn’t smart enough compared to the other super smart people at school. So, I didn’t include it in my university applications. My parents wanted me to be a dentist, so I initially applied to medical school. I passed the entrance exam but didn’t get in. I decided to study chemistry instead, which I had no trouble with, given my background—and to be honest, it wasn’t a very popular field back then (though I’ve heard that’s changed now).

University: Early Years

The first year was tough—almost half of the students either dropped out or had to repeat the year, struggling with subjects like mathematics, physics, and stoichiometry. This trend continued in the second and third years, so out of the original 80 students, only about 20 of us remained by the end.

The lab exercises, or ‘Praktikums,’ were super fun, and the best part was being able to work at my own pace. I usually finished an hour or two ahead of schedule, giving me plenty of extra time for other activities.

Since there weren’t many of us, the professor knew each of us by name, creating a familial atmosphere. Students were encouraged to follow their curiosity and engage in scientific work from early on.

In the second semester, I joined a crystallography lab where I began working on ‘real science.’ Growing crystals was both fun and fascinating, but it mostly involved a trial-and-error approach. My theoretical knowledge was lagging behind the experimental work, so I spent the next two years studying books on supramolecular chemistry, hydrogen bonds, and crystal growth.

In the first semester of my final year of bachelor’s studies, I took courses in molecular modeling and biochemistry. This piqued my interest in quantum physics and structural biology, and I began spending more time on my laptop writing bash scripts and running simulations rather than conducting experiments in the lab.

The last semester I spent doing internships in various branches of pharmaceutical industry, from R&D to regulatory affairs and pharmacovigilance.

At the end of that year, there was a logo design contest for a prestigious chemistry conference in Croatia. The winner would receive a "free ticket" to the event. That was the first time I used Adobe Illustrator.

My first logo attempt was a complete disaster—I wouldn’t even call it a logo. The second logo was an improvement; I was so confident that I would win that I was a bit shocked when the winners were announced. Fortunately, my colleagues, who were organizing a student symposium, liked my work and asked me to join the organization team and design their logo. That logo is still in use today, even after seven years.

And that was my entry ticket to the world of design.

University: Final Years

For my master’s studies, I specialized in biochemistry and inorganic chemistry. I started my thesis early, focusing on bio-inorganic chemistry, but the project proved too ambitious for the limited timeframe. After six months and over a thousand failed experiments, my mentor and I agreed it was best to change topic.

Feeling burnt out I decided a take a safer route and returned to work with my previous lab group, To add complexity, I decided to incorporate computational analysis alongside structural analysis. This reduced the time I spent in the lab conducting experiments, so I mostly worked from my laptop, running simulations and writing bash scripts.

This choice also freed up a lot of time for my new hobby: design. I first joined eStudent, the largest Croatian student association, as part of the ‘Visual Communications’ team. Initially, they were skeptical of my joining, as I wasn’t a trained designer like the rest of them. However, my skills proved convincing enough. I began spending more time with the team, attending design meetups, and soon became fully immersed in the world of design. I started regularly posting m work on dribble and even scored few freelance gigs.

I even took an extra semester to finish my thesis and join the startup incubator, Spock. There, I worked with friends on my first real app as a UI/UX designer. The app used neural networks to predict whether a melanoma was benign or malignant. Working with cutting-edge technology and creating solutions with immediate real-world impact made me realize that I needed to pursue design more seriously.

Post Graduation

On the day I defended my thesis, I received an offer to stay at the university as an assistant. The next day, I had an interview with a Danish pharmaceutical company for a role in regulatory affairs and design labeling.

I turned down the university offer because I wanted to try something new, the salary was quite low, and I was certain that if I pursued a PhD, I would do it outside of Croatia.

The design labeling role seemed like an exciting opportunity, combining design and pharmaceuticals. However, it turned out to be the complete opposite—more of a boring administrative job with no real connection to design or pharmaceuticals. It was the first time I, along with the interviewer, agreed that the role wasn’t a good fit for me.

Unsure which PhD to pursue, I spent the next few months taking time off and preparing job applications. A few months later, I received a DM on Instagram from a client for whom I had done some freelance work, asking if I would like to join them as a digital designer ‘instead of lounging on the couch all day.’ Since I needed the money and enjoyed designing, I accepted the offer while continuing to search for a PhD program or a role in pharmaceuticals.

Over the next year, I went on countless interviews in the pharmaceutical industry, but gradually realized that design was a better fit for me at the time, as it offered more flexibility to explore my curiosity and see its immediate impact.

What About Chemistry?

Chemistry is still a significant part of who I am. It taught me everything I needed to kickstart my design career, such as:

• “Double Diamond Method” - I practiced it daily in the lab. My process hasn’t changed much, even though I’ve shifted fields.

• "Attention to details, patience for craft"- Think I developed it by scaling really sensitive compounds on microgram scale.

• It showed me that my strongest skills are creativity, curiosity and sketching.

• There's a reason why Atomic Design method has that name.

With the current state of the tech industry, have I thought about returning to chemistry? Sure. Will I? Probably not just yet. I might pursue a PhD later, likely in structural chemistry—something that can be done remotely.

Long-Term Goal?

I vividly remember watching the Apple Design Awards in 2018, as if it were yesterday. They announced the winner—Agenda, a note-taking app created by a biologist, a mathematician, and a physicist.

At that moment, a thought sparked: That could be me. I realized I could design and build software for scientific communities—a blend of my passion for science and design. It felt like the perfect dream, combining both worlds to create tools that truly make a difference.

And that's why "transition" from design to chemistry made perfect sense to me.

Until next time!