Biography
Michael SaganowskiPractical art always appealed to me... Even from a young age I wanted to delve into it. Designing furniture or cars were on the short-list too. I settled however for the more down-to-earth domain of internet and media design, where trends come and go every season and designs are stale in two years.
The place I came from has educated and nurtured great film-makers, artists and architects. But when you want to use a computer mouse instead of a camera lens, brush, or an HB pencil, you’re left with a choice: learn on your own or go find a school overseas. I decided to mix learning with what I thought would be a tropical adventure. I chose Sydney, Australia.
I moved Down Under from Poland in 2004 to begin a multimedia course at
the Computers Graphics College (CGC now named Qantm). There I had the opportunity to learn from industry experts in diverse fields such as motion
graphics, photography, computer design, web programming, 3D, video editing,
print and sound engineering. It was while working on countless assignments
that I discovered, and began to appreciate a value of T. Edison’s said:
“ Design is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration ”
I ended up completing my stint with CGC with a student work distinction and a Diploma of Multimedia.
My first major break in the design space was a scholarship at Canon Information System & Research Labs (CISRA). I had the pleasure of working with - and learning from - the best user interface (UI) designers in Sydney. I was involved with a project aimed at creating a user interface for the new LED Canon printer display. The brief taught me precision and a ruthless approach to downsizing files. All graphics had to be lean as bones, in order to be loaded to the printers’ firmware. That’s contributed to why I’ve become a zealot of size optimisation and fine-tuning performance.
In 2006 I concluded my formal education with a Bachelor of Arts from the Middlesex University in the UK. Since then I try to stay up-to-date by enrolling
in industry courses focusing on Flash, web standards, CSS and usability.
After graduation, I worked as a freelance designer. Some projects evolved into semi-permanent design projects. Some of the work of that time that stands out includes:
- the redesign of the corporate theme (stationary and logos)
for the real estate company, Aviate.
- the creation of a website for the trade consulting firm, Nova-Consulting,
- the work I put into my demo CD and game called Sydney Skates.
The variety of briefs mixed with conflicting timelines and competing priorities became my daily feed.
The broad range of topics and styles was relentlessly pushing me out of my comfort zone. One minute I was tinkering with the ‘about us’ section for a consulting company, while the next saw me fine-tune a beef-pie promotional mega-poster.
As if that wasn’t diverse enough, I also co-founded a web-based political group jestnamwstyd.com whose manifesto was the overthrow of the Polish Government
(I’m not sure how much praise it should accept for the toppling of the old regime!)
The last two years has seen me working for a tier-one computer distributor,
Express Data, lending my services to the marketing departments of brands such
as Telstra, Cisco, Microsoft and Apple. I’m also involved with the online travel
e-commerce site HotelClub designing banners, ads, landing pages and EDMs.
As I’ve come to notice, doing stuff pro-bono sooths my Gen ’Y’ ego. I occasionally help out non-commercial projects such as the latest BeachCamp logo for the guys back in Gdańsk.
The last two projects I’ve been busy with were for start-ups from Poland: Pstro.pl and PanKlient.pl. They’re turning the corner, so I’m hoping my work will live and evolve with the wider audience of web communities they build.
I greatly enjoy doing what I’m doing and I am always looking for new innovations and interesting opportunities.
Below are some of my areas of expertise:
Branding
Identity, Names, Logos +I design names, logos and other stimulating imagery to create positive feelings
and attitudes about your company.
Things I can do for you:
Design or redesign corporate identities; Select corporate colours, fonts, imagery, sounds, icons; Research, consult and advise on branding.
What you can get from me:
Logos Products or company names; Corporate Identify Shop-front designs ; Powerpoint templates; Identity collateral (business cards, letterheads);
Trade-show reels
Websites
Valid Markup, XHTML & CSSI build simple, good looking and effective websites.
Things I can do for you:
Build your online presence; Design usability and user experience; Basic usability testing; Design information architecture ; Wireframe, mock-up and prototype content; Code your pages in valid markup; Viral advertising
What you can get from me:
Websites; Landing pages; Micro-sites; Newsletters & EDMs; Intranets
I design and oversee production of tangible marketing materials.
Things I can do for you:
Design any printed marketing material; Prepare and oversee production of such materials; Prepare a points of sale; Prepare materials for a trade-show / fair
What you can get from me:
Brochures, leaflets, flyers; Mailing and direct marketing; Posters and billboards; Letterheads, business cards, with compliment slips; POS (stands, wobblers, booth); Annual reports; Manuals; Press advertising
Extras!
SEO, Websites Statistics +Some things are best done together. So I often advise to undertake complementary jobs based on the same design theme. It saves money in the long term.
Things I can do for you:
Draft basic SEO strategy; Setup Google Analytics; Advise on hosting;
Advise on online marketing and much more.
What you can get from me:
Valid Markup for XHTML / CSS; SEO optimized website, usability studies.
