I’m an independent graphic designer working out of Duke Studios in Leeds. I love getting up to my elbows in interesting projects for awesome clients. I love the kind of design problems that make my brain fizz and my fingers tingle. The projects that have me waking up at 5am with an idea that’s clawed its way out of my subconscious.*
I also love bringing together teams of freelancers for jobs that need more than just a graphic design solution.
In my 15 years as a designer I’ve worked in-house, for agencies, at agencies (I was head of design at magpie before I went solo) and as an independent. I’ve done high-profile branding projects, packaging, design for web (and, yes, a bit of UX), campaigns… all of it, really.
It’s diving into a brand, puzzling out their identity and then setting off creative fireworks that I love best, but I’m not afraid to roll up my sleeves and graft away when it’s time to get the roll-out done.
When you get right down to it, it’s all about finding creative ways to solve problems. If you have a problem that needs some creative energy zapping at it, get in touch.
COLLABORATIVE WORKING
Agencies are great. I’ve done some brilliant work with agencies. But you don’t always need an agency. When you’re an agency everything can start to look like a multi-pronged focus-tested blah-de-blah, and you end up with overheads oozing out of your eyeballs. Sometimes you just need the right team of creative freelancers to get in, do their bit and get out again.
I love working this way, bringing together a few brilliant people who fit the job spec, doing some ace design and a bit of project management for the client, then getting out of the way. It’s agile, it keeps things fresh. No faff. No bullsh!t. It allows you to do powerful work for great clients who don’t necessarily have the budget to work with a massive agency (or maybe just want that budget to go further). And, let’s be honest, a lot of the best people are freelancers!
*No, I don’t actually want to be awake at 5am thinking about design. But it happens ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I’m working on it!
To view my work visit: czykdesign.co.uk
Projects
- The Dots x Pinterest - Reimagining ChristmasOur idea was chosen as one of the Top 5 ideas submitted for The Dots x Pinterest - Reimagining Christmas Campaign. It’s fair to say that 2020 has been an unusual year. A time of speculation and insecurity for so many of us, with a global pandemic and the climate crisis (amongst other things) turning the world on its head. Now is the time for optimism, welcome distractions and playful advertising. Lockdown or not, you can still have a Christmas dinner…and you can darn well still have peas! THE
- Luminate re-brand and websiteLeeds City College Group is a conglomerate organisation of several education institutions founded by Leeds City College, one of the largest FE colleges in the UK. The college covers three central campuses: Park Lane; Technology; Printworks and a fourth Quarry Hill Campus which is opening in 2019 as well as community centres. Other institutions in the group include White Rose Academic Trust (Secondary Schools); Leeds College of Music and Keighley College. The lead of the group and CEO of LCC, Co
- Chorley BunceChorley Bunce is a catering business for the film and TV industry, catering for productions such as Game of Thrones. The company wanted its brand to be unlike anything else in the space – something distinctive, original, and fun. The end result needed to be a mobile-first website which displayed the brand’s personality, as well as communicating the quality of the service and food. This project had to reflect the manic mixed-up musings of the businesses co-founders, Chorley and Bunce, and the po
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Projects credited in
- Created Motion Design Foundation ShowreelOur first Motion Design Foundation cohort graduated in September. These budding motion designers spent 3 months learning motion design. They got their hands deep into After Effects, C4D and worked on some pretty spectacular stuff. Check it out.2
- Reimagining Christmas with Pinterest: Winners AnnouncementWe’re thrilled to share with you the top 5 winning concepts of our ‘Reimagine Christmas’ campaign with Pinterest! This year has been challenging for so many, which is why we teamed up with Pinterest to create paid work for our brilliantly talented community, commissioning them to create festive ad campaign concepts for the platform. With household names like Topshop, Birdseye, MADE and British Airways on the billing and the exceptional insight from our expert judging panel (see list below), w
- The Dots x Pinterest - Reimagining ChristmasIt’s fair to say that 2020 has been an unusual year. A time of speculation and insecurity for so many of us, with a global pandemic and the climate crisis (amongst other things) turning the world on its head. Now is the time for optimism, welcome distractions and playful advertising. Lockdown or not, you can still have a Christmas dinner…and you can darn well still have peas! THE IDEA: The One That Got Away There’s always a pea that manages to escape, and Peter the Birds Eye Pea is an expert i
Work history
C
C
Independent Graphic & Motion DesignerCZYK Design
Leeds, United KingdomFreelance
I’m an independent graphic designer working out of Duke Studios in Leeds. I love getting up to my elbows in interesting projects for awesome clients. I love the kind of design problems that make my brain fizz and my fingers tingle. I also love bringing together teams of freelancers for jobs that need more than just a graphic design solution.
In my 15 years as a designer I’ve worked in-house, for agencies, at agencies (I was head of design at magpie before I went solo) and as an independent. I’ve done high-profile branding projects, packaging, design for web (and, yes, a bit of UX), campaigns… all of it, really.
It’s diving into a brand, puzzling out their identity and then setting off creative fireworks that I love best, but I’m not afraid to roll up my sleeves and graft away when it’s time to get the roll-out done.
When you get right down to it, it’s all about finding creative ways to solve problems. If you have a problem that needs some creative energy zapping at it, get in touch.
COLLABORATIVE WORKING
Agencies are great. I’ve done some brilliant work with agencies. But you don’t always need an agency. When you’re an agency everything can start to look like a multi-pronged focus-tested blah-de-blah, and you end up with overheads oozing out of your eyeballs. Sometimes you just need the right team of creative freelancers to get in, do their bit and get out again.
I love working this way, bringing together a few brilliant people who fit the job spec, doing some ace design and a bit of project management for the client, then getting out of the way. It’s agile, it keeps things fresh. No faff. No bullsh!t. It allows you to do powerful work for great clients who don’t necessarily have the budget to work with a massive agency (or maybe just want that budget to go further). And, let’s be honest, a lot of the best people are freelancers!
M
M
Head of DesignMagpie Creative Communications
- Leeds, United KingdomFull Time
As the Head of Design at Magpie, a full-service creative agency, I took a strategic and critical view of our creative output. I helped the designers achieve more from their design, nurtured them and helped them grow. I was a key partner in the success of client briefs and contributed to business growth.
Key Responsibilities
• Developing and delivering creative approaches to excite Team Magpie and clients from start to finish, pre- and post-project.
• Growing Magpie's creative reputation.
• Reviewing team performance, recognising training and development needs in others and the need to recruit future team members to support business growth.
• Being a positive, inspirational and motivational influence for designers at Magpie.
• Ensuring design solutions were always on brief and rationalised back to the client's objective.
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Skills
- Graphic Communication
- Graphic Design
- Marketing
- Advertising
- Branding Design
- Editorial Concepts
- Branding Identity
- Brand Activation
- Brand Communication
- Brand Campaigns
Education
U
U
BA Hons 1st Creative Imaging: Graphic DesignUniversity of Huddersfield
- Huddersfield, United Kingdom