Daniela Nikolaeva (Pachtrapanska) is a Department Chair of Graphic Arts and a full-time tenured professor at Laney College. She is the author of several books and has written numerous articles and lectures, but when she first immigrated to California, she didn’t speak English and was almost denied entry into the USA.
Daniela Nikolaeva is a Bulgarian-born, talented artist who has worked with great success in a variety of media: graphic design, fine art, motion graphics, and animation. Her artworks have been exhibited internationally and have received numerous prestigious awards in Europe and the USA. In 2011 Daniela presented her solo exhibit and multimedia show “Music to Your Eyes” at the Art Institute of California – San Francisco. The same year, she received The Trailblazer Award for exceptional achievements in her field.
Professional Career
Daniela holds a master’s degree in Graphic Design and Advertising from the Academy of Art in Sofia, Bulgaria. She started her career at the Advertising Department in ZUM, the largest department store in Bulgaria. There, she created advertising materials for top-notch companies such as Calvin Cline, Pierre Cardin, Seiko, Lancôme, and L’Oréal.
In her design career, she has worked as an art director, project manager, and president and founder of her own creative companies: Balkan Treasures (1995-1999), and DaNi Design Studio (2000-present).
danidesignart.com
Professor at The Art Institute of California
Daniela loves working on creative projects, as much as she loves teaching. For 15 years Daniela was a professor at the Art Institute of California – San Francisco, where she taught more than 30 classes related to graphic design, web design, drawing, motion graphics and animation.
She was actively involved in campus life and was a faculty advisor for two student clubs. Daniela organized and hosted numerous events, such as an international photography exhibit, student design competition, student animation competition, film screening, and others.
Teaching at Peralta Colleges
Daniela Nikolaeva began her teaching career at Peralta Colleges in 2003. She taught a video editing lab and web design classes at Berkeley City College (formally known as Vista College). Daniela was one of the instructors who passionately advocated for and worked vigorously to start the animation program at BCC. She developed and taught several animation classes: Drawing for Animation, Web Graphics and Animation, 2D animation, Experimental Animation Techniques. She spearheaded a ground-breaking networking program that connected BCC students with leading animation studios: Disney, Warner Brothers, Sony Entertainment through the ACME Animation Network.
Department Chair of Graphic Arts
Daniela Nikolaeva is a Department Chair of Graphic Arts at Laney College. She is a full-time tenured professor and teaches most of the graphic design classes there.
As department chair, she believes in the ability of education to transform lives and make positive changes in the world. She is focusing on increasing student enrolment, modernizing the Graphic Arts labs, and revamping the curriculum to include new programs and classes that give a competitive edge to our students. She is working relentlessly to increase visibility and lead the department to new heights.
