The Croatian TikToker: Mia Nemčić [inside my journal]

Former tattoo artist, graphic designer and now TikTok video creator – Mia Nemčić – has built a serious audience from her sharp critiques of logos, billboards and branding. Now companies are lining up to get her opinion on their ads.

We talk about her journey from graphic designer to TikToker, how her journal helps with her autism, and how to build your own successful TikTok channel.

You have worked in several artistic fields, including graphic design and tattooing. How did you get into it?

I graduated as a graphic designer but quickly realised that client work annoyed me. There’s a lot of pushing and pulling; I found it very difficult to be on the same page. I’d always wanted a tattoo, so decided to give tattooing a go instead. It was the perfect job for me… for a while.

After four years, I knew it was time to move on to something new. Because I was never interested in sticking to one thing for too long. I wanted to go wider, not deeper. I wanted to try more things.

In 2024 you started a TikTok channel. You now have thousands of followers and some of your videos have over half a million views. How did it start?

The idea behind the TikTok channel started when I was kid.  When I was with my dad, driving in the car, we were both constantly commenting on and critiquing billboards because both of us are wired to see the mistakes and where these advertisements could be improved.

I thought it would be a fun idea to make it into a commentary channel, where I would look at a design for a food product, or a logo, and say: “This doesn't work because of X, Y and Z. And this works because X, Y and Z”.

I know nothing about branding but, but it was just common sense. Lots of people found it hilarious and the reception and feedback was amazing. The views and fans followed. 

I have now diversified the channel and talk about lots of different things: art, food and fashion for example. Creating content for public consumption was the easiest way for me to force myself to do more things. Because whatever I do, I can now justify it, by filming it, and creating content about it.

You speak beautifully fluent English but your channel is in your native Croatian. Have you considered an English version too?

I have thought about it. But if I switch to English, I’d just be a small fish in a big pond. If I stay in Croatian, I think it's more authentic. It’s my mother tongue and my own culture. So it's easier to connect with my audience. I just want to keep it real. People often say in the comments that my videos feel like a video call. That's exactly what I want: a personal and genuine feeling. 

How do you decide what ad or logo to critique next? 

People now send me ads and logos to critique from all over Croatia. They’re like:

“I saw this billboard – what’s your opinion?”.

Then brands started reaching out to me asking for my take on their product labels and packages. Then I started getting media coverage about my videos. So it really snowballed from there because people are now curious to see if my opinion is the same as theirs.

Are your critiques negative or positive?

The way the TikTok algorithm works is that negative sentiment gets more attention than positive. If you just go around saying “I love this, there’s nothing wrong with it,” no one will react or care. 

But being critical doesn't mean being completely negative. It just means I'm noticing the issue, which means I'm looking for a solution. I see what's wrong because I want it to be better, not because I think everything is wrong.

Some people misread that because they think my energy is negative, but I am not being negative for the sake of it. I’m highlighting design shortcomings in a light-hearted way, which could lead to improvements.

Two years ago, you were diagnosed with autism: how does this come into play with your note taking habits?

Everything I write is a list and everything has to be numbered. So, I write down my ideas in list form (I’m up to 220 with my TikTok ideas list) and see how they evolve. If I change my mind later, that’s fine.

But I need to have my ideas written down. Many ideas start off mediocre but evolve into much better ideas with time. I hate the feeling that I might lose a good idea because it wasn’t good enough to record in the moment. I am constantly jumping out of bed to write things down. And the list just keeps growing. 

How does paper republic’s journal system help with that?

One of the ways my autism was manifesting itself, was that I felt compelled to archive everything; to record everything I did. I wanted to plan things for the future, but I also had to record the past.

This was really a challenge for me. Because if you have an archive, you can't carry it with you, and if you have a planner, it's not an archive. I tried so many ways to make it work over the years; digital notes on my phone, digital notes on my computer, but whatever I tried, it never worked. 

I admit I was somewhat sceptical about the paper republic system at first. I didn’t like how temporary the book refills felt. But I can honestly now say it’s the best system that I’ve found. Because you can use different notebooks to create different departments but have them all together in one leather journal. And when I’ve filled a book, I can put it in a box, and it's there; it's an archive.

For me, it makes perfect sense, because when you're thinking, you're changing your mind. Ideas constantly evolve and progress. I really didn't think I would like the paper republic system as much as I do.

What’s your journal set up?

I have a pocket portfolio in a limited edition burnt orange. Inside, I have several different book refills and notebooks, where I keep my areas separate. For example, I have a diary for my personal thoughts.

I have a ‘to do’ list for things that have no time limit, because I have to get these things out of my head, and onto paper. If anything is in my head, I feel like I'm constantly repeating it to myself. So I have to put these items somewhere. I also have book for my TikTok content ideas and one for work.

I love the dotted paper. It’s amazing because you have a guide. But the dots are only faint, so from afar, they’re not visible and you only see writing.  

What’s your advice for someone who wants to start a TikTok channel and build a following?

Firstly, you have to be consistent, and you have to post a lot of content. By that I mean posting daily because TikTok likes numbers. It that regard, it can be quite unforgiving; it’s like a job. It’s ok to miss a day now and then. But you have to listen to the algorithm and give it what it wants.

Secondly – for me at least – just being authentic worked. Don’t try and make your content too polished, or scripted. I enjoy talking about things and making the videos. If you worry too much about posting something too perfect, it won’t be authentic.

In order to be authentic you have to pretend like you're alone. But of course you're not alone. One of my videos has been watched over 650,000 times. But you can’t think too much about the numbers, or you’ll never hit record. 

And keep going. At first your skill probably won’t match your ideas. But by posting consistently, you can practice your content creation, improve your videos, and build a following.

What’s the video you're most proud of?

Probably one I recently made on the topic of ‘art therapy’ where I talk about ‘art block’ and use some marker pens to draw a picture live. It seemed to hit a chord with my viewers and is one of my most popular videos.

Would you like your Tiktok channel to become a full time job?

I think that's where it could be headed. But to say that out loud comes with a bunch of stigma. People think that if you do video creation full time, you sell out and the quality drops.

But I am attracted to the idea of having financial freedom from something that’s not connected to a physical location. Plus you're your own boss. And your job is to have fun. So, yes, getting paid just to be myself and make videos about things that interest me.

That's the dream job. 

When she's not TikToking, Mia is part of our wonderful stock team. Interested in joining us? See our open positions here.

What's inside YOUR journal? Share your story with us! How? Email: sam@paper-republic.com with a brief summary of how you use your journal, adding 'inside my journal' to the email subject line.