I'm Michael Kulesza, a Senior Product Designer with 10+ years in product design.
My story with graphic design started around 2008/2009, when I was having fun creating space art and collages, sharing my work on DeviantArt and the iconic Polish site Digart.pl. Later that year, I got my first paid design work: a t-shirt print and a few projects for print
In 2010 I started studying Graphic Design at Bialystok University of Technology and worked part-time at my first agency. The course was mostly about working by hand: drawing, painting, linocut, aquatint, analog photography and even sculpting. Those techniques boosted my creativity. I learned digital design at work.
In 2013 I started working with large clients such as Netia, BNP Paribas, Nikon and TUI, as part of large teams with people in different roles. I designed websites, brand identities and print materials, along with my first interfaces, still using Photoshop and Illustrator.
In 2015 I started my first business and worked on freelance design work across different industries. I helped create tookapic, a photography platform, including parts of its brand. I also experimented with photography through a daily photo project, recreating everyday objects in Lego and following the life of a Lego man. It became my most shared work: Mashable, Designboom and Fubiz wrote about it, and it also appeared in print.
In 2017 I continued freelancing under a new name, KUL Studio, with a stronger focus on product design. I started using Sketch, tried Adobe XD along the way, and later moved to Figma, which I’ve used ever since.
From 2018 to 2024 I worked with EYEDEA, an Oslo-based software company, and between 2020 and 2022 also with Silevis Software, mainly designing software products. I built design systems from scratch, ran user research and gained experience developing products over the long term.
Today I work as a product partner for founders and their teams, from the first idea through long-term product development. I use AI to turn ideas into working prototypes faster, while keeping product and design decisions in my hands.
I've always wanted to understand how things work underneath, and “it works” was never enough of an answer for me.
My manifesto
The rules I stand by.
I’m a product partner for people who believe in what they’re building, who carry an idea and need someone to make it real with them. Founders, product owners, small dev teams, investors - whoever puts their hope in what we build.
Founder first. I work side by side with the person who owns the vision. What gets built is our shared responsibility.
Prototype over brief. I show a working prototype early. A decision you can click is easier to make than a document nobody reads.
Brand and product, from 0 to 1. I design the first version and the identity around it, for early-stage products.
Evidence I can show. I only claim what I can prove. Untested ideas are hypotheses, and I say so.
What keeps me going is the satisfaction of building something that works and has a real effect. It’s strongest when a product can really help someone and change how we act day to day. I’m drawn to the inner layer of a product: the logic, the flows, the parts that hold it together. When I see how they could fit, leaving them broken bothers me more than the effort of putting them right.
Systems that outlast me. After the first version, I build the rules and components that the team and its AI agents can keep using and building on.
Teams design what they are. I look for people whose values I share - empathy, clarity and partnership, built on honesty and trust. Then the work follows.
Schedule a call
Michael Kulesza, Senior Product Designer. 30min design clarity call about your product. No prep needed, just bring your questions.
Projects
Brand and product, from 0 to 1. I design the first version and the identity around it, for early-stage products. Evidence I can show. I only claim what I can prove.