Greater Pittsburgh Region
Nina Zivkovic is a multi-disciplinary design leader with 15+ years of experience shaping brands across the food, beverage, entertainment, and wellness spaces. Currently the Design Director at Ready®, one of America’s fastest-growing active nutrition companies, she leads a high-output in-house team driving packaging, retail, digital, ecomm, and DTC design for their Protein-Centric Lineup and campaigns seen in Walmart, Amazon, Sam’s Club, and beyond. With a foundation in graphic design and a personal flair for bold illustration, Nina brings storytelling to life through distinctive brand systems, emotionally resonant creative, and a relentless focus on craft. Her design DNA blends CPG savvy with pop culture sensibility—built from years of designing for iconic names in sports, music, and lifestyle including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, Women Who Rock™, Actor Alan Ritchson, Live Nation, and Stage AE. Previously, Nina served as Associate Creative Director at boutique agency Prizum (formerly ocreations), helping emerging brands scale their identity across packaging, publications, print, content, and experiential touchpoints–including 360 marketing campaigns—in a variety of industries from CPG to Health and Tech as well as Entertainment, Restaurants, HVAC, Festivals, and more. Whether mentoring new designers, partnering with cross-functional teams, or developing high-performing visual systems, she leads with curiosity, collaboration, and consistency. Outside of her in-house role, Nina continues to illustrate, consult, and connect with the next generation of creatives. She’s a Distinguished Alumni of CVCC, serves on design advisory boards at La Roche University and CVCC, and is a proud member of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators.
Ready®, co-owned by Aaron Donald and Giannis Antetokounmpo, is one of America's fastest-growing active nutrition companies. It was founded in 2012 by Pat Cavanaugh, a former University of Pitt basketball team captain. Ready®'s all-natural portfolio includes super fruit-based sports drinks, protein bars, protein water, plant-based functional snacks, and protein powder. Its products are currently available in over 44,000 retail outlets. Learn More @ TeamReady.com As Ready®'s Design Director, involved in all aspects of design, including: • Research, Industry Trends & Insights • Package Design & Strategy • Brand Design & Identity • Print & Collateral • Decks, Presentations, Docs • Marketing (OOH, OTT, Digital, etc.) • Point-of-Sales, Displays, Vehicles • Events, Equipment, Signage • Photography (+ Photo Editing, Retouching) • Video Editing, Animation • Physical & Digital Mockups/Renders • Social/SMS/Email/Digital • Illustrations • Infographics • Web/UI Designs • Merch, Apparel Additionally: • Creating engaging and creative designs to represent the brand visually • Work closely with Marketing & Operations Teams • Curate a network of partners, including printers, specialty creatives • Creating processes to adhere to project timelines, budgets • Continued Education in Food, Beverage, and Sports Industries, as well as Design • Staying up-to-date on CPG Trends, Regulations, Sustainability • Provide leadership, mentorship, and guidance to interns and team • Striving for continued excellence both personally and collectively through innovation, leadership, continued improvement, and the brand's mission & values Have worked with the Ready® brand since 2016.
Utilizing my most valuable skills such as illustration, branding, packaging, and publication design, I’ve created many unique design solutions for the Entertainment, Arts, & Food Industries. Live Nation • The MET Philly Mural, 2200+ sq.ft. Women Who Rock™ Poster, Digital Ads, Specialty Marketing, Merch • 2025, Jessica Simpson • 2024, Melissa Etheridge • 2023, Ann Wilson of Heart • 2022, Jordin Sparks • 2022, Aimee Mann • 2020/2021, Rita Wilson Pittsburgh Steelers x Commonwealth Press: Gameday Poster Series • 2025 Buffalo Bills • 2024 Season Long Poster • 2023 vs New England Patriots, Special Edition • 2023 vs Baltimore Ravens • 2022 vs Tampa Bay Bucs • 2021 vs MNF Chicago Bears P3R/Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon • 2024 Marathon Poster Melinda and the Night Sky (Band) • "Say What You Mean" & "Say It’s So" Single Cover Illustrations • Beer Can Design & Illustration, Named Top 10 Beer Labels of 2020 by ThirstyBastards Alan Ritchson (Actor, producer, writer, director, singer) Poster, Branding & Identity, Pledge Merch, Merch Post-KS Blue Mountain State, Kickstarter Campaign (Lionsgate) • Top 10 Most Backed (23.9K) & Funded ($1.9M) Film Projects Michael Bakkensen (Singer, actor) Album Covers & Physical Album Design + Social Graphics: • 2021 "Tamala" • 2021 "Circle Kiss" • 2018 "Sekara Grace" • 2014 "Lionize" The Fred Rogers Co. • WordPlay! Branding, Illustrations, Campaign Additional and Notable Clients: • “ANTIfest 2020*” Poster Illustration; A-F Records x Anti-Flag • Chris “Romanski” Romano (Producer, writer, actor, director), Beer Label Design • House Tiger (Musician) - Illustrations for EP • VisitPITTSBURGH's "CHAIR-ity” Painting • Birth of Hibiscus Poster Illustration (Drag Queen based in NYC) • "Hobocop" a Stand-up Comedy Show at The Grisly Pear in NYC • Sammi Sanchez (Singer, actor), Branding & Merch • Conrad Studios (Indie Film Co), Movie Posters • Judy Bednarak (Screenwriter), Movie Posters
• Oversee all client projects in a variety of industries and deliverables • Provide Creative, Design, and Art Direction–stylistic and conceptual–to the creative manager and creative team with great attention to detail, and organization • Continued hands-on graphic design with several clients and projects ranging from branding and packaging to web, social, print, POS, OOH, digital marketing, and illustration design • Social media manager and designer for ocreations social profiles, primarily focusing on Instagram. Includes copywriting, scheduling, comments/replies, analytics • Create and sustain processes for both internal design teams and client teams for seamless and efficient workflow • Refining internal communication and project management, including project briefs, timesheets, timelines, budgets • Curated a network of partners, including photographers, printers, specialty/creatives • Sourcing and working with outside partners for staffing needs, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, training (interns, freelancers, in-house) • Providing mentorship, guidance, and continued education for all levels of designers – incorporating trends and insights in regular communication and meetings • Striving for continued excellence both personally and collectively through innovation, leadership, continued improvement, and the design studio's mission & values
Notable Clients & Industries – CPG & Retail Brands: • Ready® • Calithea Skincare • Cornerstone Wellness • Copper Coast Confections • Dimetapp, Campho Phenique • Geno Levi Salon, Packaging • Glen's Custard • Hemp Heaven Farms • Nutritional Frontiers • Parker’s Real Maple • Pasta Too Sauce • Sarris/Gardeners Candies • Sabika Jewelry • The Maple Lodge LLC • Vu Skin System Sports & Entertainment • 90.5 WESA • 91.3 WYEP • Cello Fury • Pittsburgh Irish Festival • Rostrum Records (Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, Vali, Donora, Teammate) • The Vault Recording Studio • Wiz Khalifa Under the Influence Tour • PLB Sports & Entertainment Design & Direction -- DeAndre Hopkins, HopBox (Cereal) -- Stefon Diggs, Diggs 14 (Hot Sauces, Blue Cheeses, Seasonings) -- Shadeur Sanders, #2 BBQ (BBQ Sauce) -- Lisa Frank (Pitch Phase) -- Dua Lipa (Pitch Phase) -- Luke Bryan (Pitch Phase) -- Josh Allen (Pitch Phase) Direction -- Snoop Dogg/Brodus Foods (Cereal) -- Kane Brown, Kane Krunch (Cereal) -- Alvin Kamara, Kamara’s King Crunch (Cereal) -- Trevon Diggs, Pick & Dip (BBQ Sauces) -- Marcus Smart, Wicked Smarts (Cereal) -- JuJu Smith-Schuster (Cereal) -- Barstool Sports, Pardon My Flakes (Cereal) Education & Non-Profits • Carnegie Mellon University • CMU ETC Press • Fred Rogers Company (Mister Rogers / Daniel Tiger) • National Aviary • PAART / No Dog Left Behind • Superheroes Believe in Miracles • University of Pittsburgh Corporate, Travel, Healthcare & Tech • Argo Ai • Giant Eagle, Inc. • Highmark Health & AHN • Matthews International • Perillo Tours • Shanahan Transportation • Target Freight Management • UPMC Health Care • VisitPITTSBURGH Food/Beverage Trucks & Restaurants • Just Roll’d Up • Pasta Inc. • Primanti Bros • Richard DeShantz Restaurants • The Cork & Bubble Machine
• Managed and worked with in-house designers and freelancers on projects as Art Director and then Senior Art Director • Continually gaining knowledge in the field to further assist in both personal growth and agency growth • As an art director, oversee projects in development • As a designer, retain several ongoing clients and new client projects • Managing internal social media platforms – planning, creating content, copywriting, and scheduling
Designing and conceptualizing exclusive concert poster illustrations for PromoWest Live's Stage AE venue for various bands/singers/musicians/events: • Dark Star Orchestra • The Raconteurs • Third Eye Blind / Jimmy Eat World • Coheed & Cambria / Mastodon • Women Who Rock™ • more coming soon!
Designing and conceptualizing exclusive concert poster illustrations for PromoWest Live's Stage AE venue for various bands/singers/musicians/events: • Cheap Trick • Soundgarden • Halestorm • The Head and the Heart • Fall Out Boy • Rancid • The Joy Formidable • and more!