Digital strategist, Consultant, Trainer
Vanja Bertalan
I’ve spent 25+ years working where business goals, product thinking, UX, and technology meet. I founded Human in 1999, built and led it for more than two decades, served on industry boards and juries, and I still enjoy getting pulled into complicated work with teams.
Highlights
Bridging roles. I work comfortably across business, creative, and technical conversations and help those worlds understand each other.
Founder & builder. I founded Human in 1999 and built it into an end-to-end digital agency doing strategy, UX, software, and creative work for complex organizations.
Community. I served on the HURA board, contributed to the MIXX Croatia ecosystem, and judged competitions from New York Festivals and Effie to Young Lions, IdejaX, and more.
Recognition. The work has won a Webby, a Red Dot, a Lovie, and multiple MIXX awards.
What I do
After 25+ years of building and leading an agency, I realized the part I care most about is helping people think better together.
I love the strategic work. I love facilitation. I love the moment when someone suddenly sees the thing beneath the thing. And yes, I like helping people avoid the mistakes I have already paid for.
I now work with:
Leaders navigating digital change
Agency owners looking for a sharper position, better decisions, or a clearer next chapter
Founders and product leaders shaping digital products
Teams that need better alignment, stronger facilitation, or new capability
Whether it is a strategy engagement, product work, coaching, a workshop, or advisory support, the job is always the same: help people understand the real problem, decide more wisely, and move with less noise.
How I think
Specific skills matter, but the way you approach a problem matters just as much. Three things define my work:
Simplifying complexity. I turn technical ambiguity, stakeholder disagreement, and too many options into something people can understand and discuss properly.
Working with uncertainty. Most important decisions get made before all the information is in. I help teams move anyway, without pretending uncertainty is not there.
Connecting disciplines. The interesting problems rarely belong to only business, only design, or only technology. I like the messy bit in the middle, where those things affect each other.
Mental models as force multipliers
Frameworks like first principles, inversion, and second-order thinking help cut through noise and focus on what actually matters.
Culture beats strategy
A strong strategy on paper will not survive a culture that cannot support it.
Human-centered first
Technology is a tool to solve human problems, not the other way around.
Good work takes time
But time alone does not make work good.
My beliefs
Human-centered first
Technology is a tool to solve human problems, not the other way around.
Mental models as force multipliers
Frameworks like first principles, inversion, and second-order thinking help cut through noise and focus on what actually matters.
Why before how
Most organizations rush into solutions. That is usually where things start going wrong.
Culture beats strategy
A strong strategy on paper will not survive a culture that cannot support it.
People matter more than ideas
I would rather work with a great team executing an okay idea than a brilliant idea executed by a misaligned one.
Simplicity over complexity
Complexity is easy. The real skill is making things simpler without making them shallow.
Good work takes time
But time alone does not make work good.
Uncertainty is an input, not an obstacle
The goal is not perfect certainty. The goal is to make better decisions with the information you have.
Mistakes are data
They are lessons and opportunities, not failures or punishments.
People matter more than ideas
I would rather work with a great team executing an okay idea than a brilliant idea executed by a misaligned one.
Why before how
Most organizations rush into solutions. That is usually where things start going wrong.
Mistakes are data
They are lessons and opportunities, not failures or punishments.
Uncertainty is an input, not an obstacle
The goal is not perfect certainty. The goal is to make better decisions with the information you have.
Simplicity over complexity
Complexity is easy. The real skill is making things simpler without making them shallow.
Story
I started building websites in 1996, when the Croatian web was tiny and half the fun was figuring out what was even possible.
Since then, I’ve had the chance to:
Co-found web.burza in 1999, which later became Human
Help build one of the region’s most awarded digital agencies
Work across strategy, UX/IA, product, software, and creative direction
Advise organizations ranging from established companies to startups
Serve on juries, boards, committees, and stages while the industry kept reinventing itself
But the important part is not the list.
I’ve made mistakes. I’ve solved problems. I’ve led teams through impossible deadlines. I’ve had to tell clients their favorite ideas would not work. I’ve watched good strategies fail because of poor execution, and brilliant products fade because they solved the wrong problem.
That real-world experience is what I bring to consulting, coaching, and advisory work now.
Media kit
Need a headshot for a speaker page?
Areas of expertise
Digital strategy and transformation
Product strategy and discovery
User experience and information architecture
Team facilitation and leadership coaching
Business and data analysis
Software architecture and scalable systems
Creative direction and brand strategy
Applied generative AI
Style
Curious, collaborative, and candid. I ask a lot of questions, look for the real issue, and say what I think clearly and respectfully. Evidence matters. So do people.
Recognition
Webby Award – Best Practices for Web and Mobile
Red Dot Award – Brands & Communication Design
Lovie Award – Website Craft: Best Practices
IAB MIXX Croatia – Digital Product of the Year, Best Tech & Innovation, and 11x Best Website
Jury Member – New York Festivals, IAB MIXX, Effie, Young Lions, IdejaX, and many others
HURA Board Member – Croatian Association of Communications Agencies
How about a chat?
Tell me what you’re working through. We’ll see if there is something useful I can do, and if I am not the right fit, I will be straight about that.