Przemek Kowal

design systems lead

Przemek Kowal

design systems lead

Przemek Kowal

design systems lead

Przemek Kowal

design systems lead

Przemek Kowal

design systems lead

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Product Design

110 days of joy designing for ASAN market

110 days of joy designing for ASAN market

110 days of joy designing for ASAN market

110 days of joy designing for ASAN market

Innovative rebranding and digital transformation amid COVID – built with a friend.

B2-SIM website showcasing a bold racing-themed design with monochrome backgrounds, orange accents, and Polish headlines promoting a worldwide sim racing challenge.
B2-SIM website showcasing a bold racing-themed design with monochrome backgrounds, orange accents, and Polish headlines promoting a worldwide sim racing challenge.
B2-SIM website showcasing a bold racing-themed design with monochrome backgrounds, orange accents, and Polish headlines promoting a worldwide sim racing challenge.
B2-SIM website showcasing a bold racing-themed design with monochrome backgrounds, orange accents, and Polish headlines promoting a worldwide sim racing challenge.

WEEVS

interview

How did this project start?

Much like many others, Pedro reached out asking for a quote, but unlike many clients, he didn’t vanish after the initial conversation. Things moved quickly – I remember we exchanged a few emails, then I was added to the Slack workspace, and we jumped into work almost immediately. It’s important to note the worldwide context – we began roughly when COVID hit our world, at a time when most were pulling back from investment; Pedro, however, did not.

Timeline

2020

Team size

2

My role

Lead Designer : Brand & Web

Close-up of a racing simulator steering wheel with illuminated buttons and a blue geometric logo, held by hands in white racing gloves.
Close-up of a racing simulator steering wheel with illuminated buttons and a blue geometric logo, held by hands in white racing gloves.
Close-up of a racing simulator steering wheel with illuminated buttons and a blue geometric logo, held by hands in white racing gloves.
Close-up of a racing simulator steering wheel with illuminated buttons and a blue geometric logo, held by hands in white racing gloves.
Close-up of a racing simulator steering wheel with illuminated buttons and a blue geometric logo, held by hands in white racing gloves.

What was the scope?

It was a major brand redesign focused on the specific ASAN market, alongside a website and a few smaller deliverables. Right off the bat, I knew that Pedro and I spoke the same design language, which gave me the confidence to kick off this project. Pedro proved to be an ideal client – he knew what he needed, was direct, and provided responsive feedback – but there was one major challenge: I was in the CEST timezone while Pedro – based in Singapore at the time – was in SST. That meant we were 7 hours apart.

It was a major brand redesign focused on the specific ASAN market, alongside a website and a few smaller deliverables. Right off the bat, I knew that Pedro and I spoke the same design language, which gave me the confidence to kick off this project. Pedro proved to be an ideal client – he knew what he needed, was direct, and provided responsive feedback – but there was one major challenge: I was in the CEST timezone while Pedro – based in Singapore at the time – was in SST. That meant we were 7 hours apart.

How did you overcome this challenge?

We tackled it with an open mind and a strong willingness to deliver. Pedro and I were both on board with remote working 101, so we mostly communicated asynchronously – Loom was a real lifesaver. Rather than spending endless hours on calls at inconvenient times, I’d send video updates and wait for feedback the next morning. However, some days stretched quite late on my end – around 3 am – so we ended up with more overlap than expected. More on that later!

Racing leaderboard showing a yellow sports car for ‘Endego Kraków’ with lap time of 2:21:032 on a black background.
Racing leaderboard showing a yellow sports car for ‘Endego Kraków’ with lap time of 2:21:032 on a black background.
Racing leaderboard showing a yellow sports car for ‘Endego Kraków’ with lap time of 2:21:032 on a black background.
Racing leaderboard showing a yellow sports car for ‘Endego Kraków’ with lap time of 2:21:032 on a black background.
Racing leaderboard showing a yellow sports car for ‘Endego Kraków’ with lap time of 2:21:032 on a black background.
B2-SIM brand design with bold typography, racing red and black color palette, and minimalist logo on a dark background.
B2-SIM brand design with bold typography, racing red and black color palette, and minimalist logo on a dark background.
B2-SIM brand design with bold typography, racing red and black color palette, and minimalist logo on a dark background.
B2-SIM brand design with bold typography, racing red and black color palette, and minimalist logo on a dark background.

On with the basics – what about the design process?

Right, this is what we’re meant to be talking about: the design process! Knowing that the scope was quite broad, I realised I could use some extra help in sorting things out. I needed an additional designer on board, ideally someone strong in both branding and web or product design. Thankfully, by keeping in touch with friends from past lives and beyond, I knew a guy – Krystian, whom I met at the very beginning of my design journey. He was keen to help, and just two days after the initial email we had a brief, the team and project were set to go

Right, this is what we’re meant to be talking about: the design process! Knowing that the scope was quite broad, I realised I could use some extra help in sorting things out. I needed an additional designer on board, ideally someone strong in both branding and web or product design. Thankfully, by keeping in touch with friends from past lives and beyond, I knew a guy – Krystian, whom I met at the very beginning of my design journey. He was keen to help, and just two days after the initial email we had a brief, the team and project were set to go

Was it fun to design with your friend?

Absolutely. As far as I remember, it was our first opportunity to design together for a client. We got the basics sorted, with me taking the lead on the project and Krystian acting as the supporting designer.

Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.

How did you approach branding?

Since both Krystian and I are experienced brand designers – and I grew up alongside him – we followed a similar process. To provide Pedro with two strong yet distinct directions, we gave ourselves a couple of days to develop separate proposals while remaining in sync, of course. To kick things off, we presented two directions using mood boards, and it became clear that we were aiming for something minimal, elegant, and powerful. While I focused on an extremely minimal, typographical-based style, Krystian delivered a slightly more visually complex approach. Armed with two solid proposals assembled into a presentation PDF, I sent a video walkthrough to Pedro – and he loved it!

Since both Krystian and I are experienced brand designers – and I grew up alongside him – we followed a similar process. To provide Pedro with two strong yet distinct directions, we gave ourselves a couple of days to develop separate proposals while remaining in sync, of course. To kick things off, we presented two directions using mood boards, and it became clear that we were aiming for something minimal, elegant, and powerful. While I focused on an extremely minimal, typographical-based style, Krystian delivered a slightly more visually complex approach. Armed with two solid proposals assembled into a presentation PDF, I sent a video walkthrough to Pedro – and he loved it!

Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.

Was there anything specific about the website you’ve designed?

To some extent I believe it was quite specific. Based on the branding we knew we’ll be following minimal style visually speaking, but translating branding to a website design wasn’t as easily, as in your typical project I suppose. However, conscious of the process we didn’t jump ahead of ourselves. While I was scratching my head coming up with the visual style, Krystian was hard at work creating website journeys, wireframes and – generally speaking – making things fall into place. Reflecting back on this project, we were steaming ahead quickly, working hand in hand and meeting occasionally… as Figma cursors, that is.

To some extent I believe it was quite specific. Based on the branding we knew we’ll be following minimal style visually speaking, but translating branding to a website design wasn’t as easily, as in your typical project I suppose. However, conscious of the process we didn’t jump ahead of ourselves. While I was scratching my head coming up with the visual style, Krystian was hard at work creating website journeys, wireframes and – generally speaking – making things fall into place. Reflecting back on this project, we were steaming ahead quickly, working hand in hand and meeting occasionally… as Figma cursors, that is.

Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.
Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.
Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.
Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.

How did you end up taking pages ideas to final design?

You might not be surprised – it was all about trusting the process. By adding a dash of colour and letting ideas simmer for a while, we cooked up some decent subpages, frequently updating our client on our progress and keeping the energy high. That marked the end of our baseline design – the website was minimal and elegant, but we felt it wasn’t powerful enough. To complete it, we implemented a few small microinteractions, such as a confetti blast on successful form submission. And that was it!

You might not be surprised – it was all about trusting the process. By adding a dash of colour and letting ideas simmer for a while, we cooked up some decent subpages, frequently updating our client on our progress and keeping the energy high. That marked the end of our baseline design – the website was minimal and elegant, but we felt it wasn’t powerful enough. To complete it, we implemented a few small microinteractions, such as a confetti blast on successful form submission. And that was it!

Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.
Red sports car with number 12 and ‘STAG Racing Team’ branding on a racetrack, featuring a large rear wing and black rims.

What about the “few smaller deliverables”?

Oh, right – the smaller bits. The initial scope extended a bit – I’d assume Pedro was happy to see two energetic youngsters working in perfect synergy, often fueled by one explicit hip-hop song on repeat, so we kept going. To wrap the project up nicely and ensure the brand could outlive our cooperation (just in case Pedro couldn’t stand that one song for too long), we added a small style guide and brandbook as a finishing touch. Just like an artist signs his painting – though, as Krystian’s motto goes, “ain’t an artist” – trust me, he’s!

Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.
Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.
Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.
Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.

How did you end up taking pages ideas to final design?

Right, that’s a good question. Yes and it’s all in the story behind the screens. It was the very beginning of COVID, and to be honest, I was quite scared. But it felt magical to chat with Krystian each evening, syncing up on the project, replaying that one hip-hop song, smiling, and just keeping on designing. The project we delivered perfectly met the needs of Pedro and his company, but for us – Krystian and I – it was a playground built on trust. We genuinely enjoyed working long hours, even if Krystian was a bit more conscious of his time. I’d often send him a message, screenshot, or photo of the latest iteration deep into the night – sometimes around 3 or 4 am. It was beautiful.

Right, that’s a good question. Yes and it’s all in the story behind the screens. It was the very beginning of COVID, and to be honest, I was quite scared. But it felt magical to chat with Krystian each evening, syncing up on the project, replaying that one hip-hop song, smiling, and just keeping on designing. The project we delivered perfectly met the needs of Pedro and his company, but for us – Krystian and I – it was a playground built on trust. > We genuinely enjoyed working long hours, even if Krystian was a bit more conscious of his time. I’d often send him a message, screenshot, or photo of the latest iteration deep into the night – sometimes around 3 or 4 am. It was beautiful.

29 May 2020, 4:03:22 AM

29 May 2020, 4:03:22 AM

29 May 2020, 4:03:22 AM

29 May 2020, 4:03:22 AM

4:03:22 AM

Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.

My work setup from that time period

Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.

My work setup from that time period

Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.

My work setup from that time period

Group of colorful racing cars competing on a track, led by a red car with black racing stripes under a partly cloudy sky.

My work setup from that time period

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Design system powering 150,000 interfaces for bp

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bp

•

design systems

•

team leadership

•

product design

bp

•

design systems

•

team leadership

•

product design

bp

•

design systems

•

team leadership

•

product design

bp

•

design systems

•

team leadership

•

product design

Przemek Kowal

design systems lead

Przemek Kowal

design systems lead

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Every project is a unique story.

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a unique story.