About me
My design journey
Stories matter. I strongly believe that people shouldn’t be hired solely for their portfolio, but for their story. So, tune in to mine.
That Photoshop copy is absolutely legit, mate. No funny business.
Recalling my earliest memory of Photoshop CS3 fills me with unimaginable joy and confusion – I mean, what on earth were all those panels for? This led to a lifelong passion that guided me into adulthood and created some of the best moments of my life. But… where did it all begin?
Getting into design involved discovering and obtaining the most ‘legitimate’ copy of Photoshop from the questionable areas of the world wide web we now call the internet.
Falling in love
Chapter 1
Comfort? What’s that?
Chapter 2
Hypergrowth
Chapter 3
Discovering true identity
Chapter 4
Grind, grind and grind
Chapter 5
Freedom
Chapter 6
Experimentation. Design became the Lego® of his teenage years.
I was one of those kids who always wanted to do good and had little to no bad intentions – at least as far as I can remember. Despite my best efforts, I often ended up causing a lot of trouble. Just ask my parents.
A major sign among many was that I was thinking ahead – not just years, but decades into my future. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when or why, but I fondly remember dreaming about what lay ahead while walking home from secondary school.
Try chatting about household responsibilities and future careers with teenage peers – I suppose I was the odd one out, not interested in early, totally alcohol-free parties, but rather in spending that time productively.
You remember me talking about having good intentions, but things usually went south? Sharing a PC with my brother was one such situation. Even though it was his PC in his room, he’d let me spend a little extra time in front of the screen.
Despite the fact share policy wasn’t treating me fairly, I enjoyed us two getting into computers together.
Dawid Kowal • My older Brother
Unwanted and laughed at, but supported by one fellow designer.
Playing around with the software without really knowing what I was doing quickly got boring. Back then, scouring the internet for bits of knowledge wasn’t easy, and finding a free tutorial in your mother tongue was nearly impossible.
Fortunately, my mum was more cooperative this time – I managed to convince her to get me a copy of ComputerArts magazine complete with CD tutorials. Digital design wasn’t exactly popular then, and most tutorials focused on retouching photos – but that gave me the perfect chance to get to know Photoshop better.
My first steps into design weren’t smooth – I wasn’t a pro from day one (duh!) – and the steep learning curve had me questioning myself more times than I can count. I churned out sketch after sketch, following the process and posting some of my early creations online, only to be met with less-than-positive comments.
There were reasons for that, of course. But then there were those who believed in me and pushed me to aim higher. In response to Cin3k’s comment, Panda stepped in with a strong defence.
Thank you, Panda – whoever you are. I hope you’re doing well. I owe you.
Are you 13 years old? :) Don’t even post that.
First, I wouldn’t call that a layout. Second, what kind of texture upscaling is that? Can’t you see the pixels? Third, a gradient running sideways through the content? Nothing’s legible.
A complete flop. (…)
Cin3k • Moderator • Graffika.pl
Judging someone’s work based solely on their age only shows what a real jerk you are. In my opinion, the initial comments prove that the motto of graffika.pl is off target, and after such remarks, the kid won’t bother taking on any other work. Is that what you intended by nitpicking him? Surely any normal person can understand that this is someone’s first work, done without any experience, so don’t judge him as if he were a professional.
PANDA • Graffika.pl
As months turned into years, I was gradually improving. I stayed in touch with Krystian and became increasingly immersed in design at every level, even taking on a few clients as an underaged freelance designer. One project marked a breakthrough, and I still keep it in my portfolio out of nostalgia – it was the first one that brought positive comments from the fellas on Graffika.pl.
You lot made me believe I could be getting somewhere, and even though it took years for me to realise that graphic design could be a career, I felt compelled to keep pushing and getting more involved. At that time, I was roughly three or four years into it – both as a passion and a side hustle.
Beautiful;)
matias. • Graffika.pl
Great logo, you’re making progress :).
krzys077 • Graffika.pl
Standing ovations ;)
pixel_crook • Graffika.pl
Good old 5 am school runs through winters and storms.
I wasn’t just going to school back then – I was moving up to a whole new league. I won’t get into all the nooks and crannies of our school system, but I was shifting over to the high school equivalent. I had a choice: either a run-of-the-mill three-year high school or one that not only covered the basics but also taught you a bit of extra domain knowledge. I decided to double down on my future and opted for a technical school specialising in marketing and design.
Over the years, our friendship deepened and endures to this day. We not only collaborated during school but well beyond that – an unbreakable duo delivering beyond anyone’s expectations. I owe you, Maciek – you’re a wonderful friend.
Funny enough, it wasn’t just me who felt our odd connection. Life has a way of proving things – we both moved across different cities in our adulthood, found ourselves in the oddest places (Łódź, chasing our own endeavours), and eventually ended up neighbours again in the lovely city of Kraków.
I met Przemek in high school, and from the start, it was clear how sharp and relentless he was – always pushing forward, always raising the bar. We started with small school projects, then moved on to real business work, but more importantly, we’ve been friends for over a decade. Przemek is the kind of person you want both in business and in life – always ready to help, challenge, and push you in the right direction. He’s up for any conversation, any debate, and when it comes to feedback, he gives it straight and expects the same in return. And that’s exactly what makes working with him so damn good.
Maciej Białek • ViDEO & MOtion Designer • My best Friend
Realising that social skills can get you further than your cave.
School time was good and refreshing – it marked the end of the old me, a time of new shoes, new looks, and finally being able to breathe deeply and be myself. All that helped drag me out of my lovely cave on journeys to big cities for design meetups. One in particular holds a special place in my heart: Dribbble Kraków.
Part time job and full time school? Yeah, sounds great!
While I still had to be up at 5 am on most days, by my second or third year my schedule changed a bit – on some days I started later, which meant I could sleep in and wake up at 6 am instead, and even skip the bus walk by getting a lift with my dad on his way to work.
That being said, right after school – roughly around 3 pm – I was back home, and after a quick dinner I’d be pushing through 4 hours of work each weekday. On top of that, I was putting in 8 straight hours on each weekend day, which, at that time, felt like juggling two jobs – one of them being school.
I initially aimed in brand design roles, but soon I realised it wasn’t my cup of tea after all. I pivoted quickly – created two interfaces and posted them on Dribbble – and that move landed me a UI Designer role at Netguru just a few days later.
Once I finished school, I landed at a fancy, modern agency that gathered top-notch talent under one roof. It was brilliant – being surrounded by so many gifted people sparked a hypergrowth phase in my design career. I was finally given more freedom as a designer, and working in multidisciplinary teams let me absorb knowledge like a sponge soaks up water.
That meant I finally left remote working behind and joined Netguru’s office. It was brilliant being around people who shared my passion – though my first day was embarrassingly memorable.
Lunch orders were delivered to the kitchen, but as a newcomer, I had no idea where they were kept. The kitchen was full of big boxes – which, not only looked like IKEA boxes, but were IKEA boxes – so I opened one, expecting to find my lunch.
One of my new co-workers then asked, “Why are you looking for your lunch in the trash bin?” I still can’t believe that happened on my first day!
As a nod to my earlier design-oriented visits to Kraków, I later discovered that Netguru was involved in organising Dribbble Kraków meetups. That year, I managed to snag tickets, and not only did my beloved event welcome my presence, but I even received a proper “team” badge.
You can’t imagine how much that meant to me. Just a few years earlier, I was attending the very first edition of the event, and now, look at me: I have the badge!
After a while, I realised my job no longer challenged me – it had become all about churning out designs at lightning speed. Even though I was in a strong position, armed with the motivation and confidence to produce work quickly, it left me feeling unsatisfied with what I was doing.
Because it was the COVID era, I think I missed out on one job because of the state of my beard and hair – I just didn’t want to cut them myself, knowing I’d do a terrible job!
I quickly recovered and picked up some freelance projects in the meantime. Then I landed a job at another startup, where I had a similar experience – the culture wasn’t great, so I didn’t stick around for long.
Not long after, I realised I needed yet another overnight career pivot. With my deep involvement in design systems over the years, I decided to put all my cards on the table.
And it turned out that this was my final, truest design identity. A few days later… you get the idea – I managed to land a job in the oddest way possible…
My way into bp was quite bizarre. I was following a recruiter on LinkedIn and reacted to one of his posts. He messaged me, and suddenly we were chatting about a role at bp.
The recruitment process wasn’t typical either. I was expecting it to be hard, demanding, and in-depth – with loads of screening calls, portfolio reviews, and design challenges (seriously, it’s 2025; enough with the design challenges already).
And guess what? It wasn’t.
It was simply a conversation with the Head of Design Engineering, and I was in. That felt insanely good – finally, one of my utopian dreams had come true. I was hired for who I was, what I believed in, and how I presented myself. I already had a strong portfolio and solid knowledge, but cutting out all the unnecessary overhead made it feel so good.
And that opened the door for me to go even further – I had an insane amount of fun building enormous libraries and often stretching beyond working hours, purely as a hobby.
My British romance story.
I’ve always fancied London – growing up, it seemed like the ideal place for design, brimming with opportunity, art, and history. Very early on, I dreamed that perhaps one day I’d land a job in London and spend some time living there.
My American… British dream was quickly fact-checked on my first visit to London as a tourist. Thanks to my brother (cheers again, bro!), I got the chance not only to sightsee but also to catch a glimpse of the city’s rapid pace.
Side hustles and new horizons.
Just like when I was a kid, I started playing around with tech – this time after work – spending a lot of time exploring no-code builders.
My brother had this idea of launching a sim racing league for companies. He kept bringing it up, and one Christmas evening, after our parents had gone to bed, we stayed up late discussing it from a business perspective. I thought, “You know what? Let’s do this.” That very night, we designed the branding.
While I handled design and my brother focused on sales, we also dove into all sorts of tasks in between: marketing, managing invoices, talking to accountants and lawyers, getting the company set up, and more. It was a lot of work.
Epilogue.
Keep on dreaming.
At the end of the day, what this journey has taught me is that staying curious really is the secret sauce. Whether you’re a 12-year-old fumbling with a stolen copy of Photoshop or navigating the bustling corridors of a London office, the willingness to try, experiment, and learn can take you places.
A little bit of luck, combined with a whole lot of hard work, goes a long way. So, as you forge your own path in this crazy, creative world, remember: never stop exploring, never stop trying, and never lose that spark of curiosity. Cheers to the journey ahead!
Projects
Coffees this year
0
cups and counting
COPYRIGHT
PRZEMEK KOWAL
PROUDLY SELF-DESIGNED AND BUILt
from KRAKóW, POLAND
50.061716835947415, 19.93736264615012
Page
EXPERIENCE
ACROSS THE WEB