Something about me
Story Time
As the agency was a high paced environment with a little room to grow I saw a job posting online for a Junior UI designer. I haven’t had any previous experience in the field then, so I sent my work and made it my priority to get there (but seeing my first designs now, I think our owner took a huge leap of faith) and fast forward, number of years later I am now part of the great team of professionals and I am fully responsible for the UI interface in the international b2b CRM application where I participate in the creation of user stories, technical specifications, wireframes and making usability enhancement pushing the product forward.
I believe that collaboration among product and development team members, coupled with user feedback, is the alpha & omega in crafting the optimal product design — an idea consistently demonstrated throughout my career.
What’s my story? How did become someone who will be a strong ally on your design journey?
Well, it all started in small kitchen-adjacent office space on a computer of my childhood friend who after playing some old games showed me a now prehistoric graphic design software the Photoshop CS3. He gave me his copy to try it out at home as I was really impressed seeing it for the first time. Little did he know that I spent a lot of free time learning out what can I create through it and luckily became a little obsessed with it in a process. As a kid with strong imagination I was creating a lot of images, ornamental texts without any prior design background whatsoever but the intention and desire to get better was there. Since this moment, I was always inclining to the more creative type of challenges so I joined a web design course in high school.
However, as life isn’t always a straight line but often it’s a road full of crossroads, pitfalls and occasional peaks, I didn’t know which way to pursuit. I was in a pitfall of sorts so I decided that I was going to be a scientist, a researcher with a power to explore how the world works on a molecular level, what are the processes in nature that makes us what we are. My creative side had to be pushed on the sidelines, for the time being. As that’s what I thought. But as I was preparing my presentations, research posters and doing various schemes. my early developed skills in designing surely did come in handy. In the end, when things you subconsciously love, they will always come back to you in waves, you just have to reach out for them and ride with the flow.
Then as I was going through last year in university, I was on the crossroads of sorts:
Do I want to pursue this career of researcher what I love on a fundamental level, as the analysing comes natural to me or do I want to embrace my creative & visionary side? During the time I was finishing my master’s degree, I got a chance to embark on a journey towards the graphic design, idea making, product design, and branding as an Intern in the little design studio named Litchi where I met my first mentor Matúš. Since Matúš, being a minimalist, his design coaching served as a wakeup call for me, as I tended to overcrowd my designs, neglecting the value of white space.
After this experience my motto became the quote from the famous Massimo Vignelli :
"If you do it right, it will last forever",
During this time, I had the opportunity to work with brands such as Powerlogy, Diva’s Water, and DETVA Industries where I learned about participating in branding projects and honed my skills in logo design. Reigniting my passion for all things creative, I completed my master’s degree in natural sciences and started out a career as a full-time graphic designer in a PR agency.
My responsibilities lay in complete planning, preparation, and execution of the social media strategy (FB, IG, YT). Arrangement of the campaign visuals and subsequent creation of creative content - including photography, graphics, posts & social media copywriting. My presentation skills were often put to the test in reporting the results of our campaigns (KPI’s, ROI’s) to clients that included brands such as Pepsi Co., Alpro, Novofruct, Bramac and many more.
There was a point when I sought to specialise, and UI Design appeared to be a fitting choice as all the skills that was required aligned with the ones which I wanted to hone, being it researching, analytical thinking, or a strong sense of hierarchy.
Lastly, I'm grateful for my lovely wife, who supports me on this journey, providing inspiration and strength when I need it most.
