I am a designer, maker, and problem solver. I love to craft solid and scalable frontend products with great user experiences.
Born in New York, but moved to sunny Florida at the ripe old age of 7.
For the past 20+ years, I've enjoyed turning complex problems into simple, beautiful, and intuitive designs. What excites me the most about working as a visual designer is being able to design and create things that have a purpose and solve real problems. I am passionate about building digital products that help people experience everyday life, not endure it.
I am experienced in leading cross-functional teams to complete large projects on schedule and within budget. I strive to be an empathetic leader, taking a genuine interest in the people around me. I hope to inspire them to become the best versions of themselves.
When I'm not pushing pixels, you'll find me spending time with my amazing family usually hiking, biking, or kayaking. And of course, I am a Star Wars nerd.
Senior UI/UX Designer responsible for crafting accessible and impactful websites that resonate with our clients’ audiences and support their business goals. My primary duties involve conceptualizing, designing, and implementing user interfaces for custom websites, as well as creating cohesive visual elements that align with client branding. I specialized in using Webflow for development, effectively translating client needs into engaging digital experiences while leading branding initiatives to establish powerful and consistent brand stories.
Direct functional supervision of a talented group of designers & web developers to deliver amazing lead-generating websites as well an array of digital marketing products. Oversaw dozens of projects at a time, from conception to implementation, designing and developing web architecture, and providing guidance on technical issues.
Senior project leader responsible for creating great accessible websites for our clients, and crafting powerful brand stories to compel customers to take action. Primary duties include conceptualizing, designing, and implementing creative ideas for client custom websites, as well as creating visual elements that are in line with our clients' branding. Directing our content and web development teams to ensure proper and hassle-free marketing and development implementation.
Design and develop custom responsive WordPress websites, from the earliest conception to the final release. The goal was to create intuitive, attractive user interfaces to engage customers that would generate leads. Duties included taking requirements, creating mock-ups, and designing layouts while balancing the usability, visual appeal, and technical feasibility of the designs. Responsible for both back-end and front-end development including the implementation of WordPress custom themes and plugins as well as site integration and security updates. Other duties included:
My first order of business called for the research & development of a new company name along with the design of a new corporate brand identity and website. We wanted a name that represented a unique, beneficial, and sustainable story that resonates with our customers, investors, and employees. My job was to then translate a new brand strategy into creative and brand-right marketing collateral and campaigns for our company and to support our sales staff while maintaining a consistent image of the company throughout all promotional materials, campaigns and special events.
Responsible for new business development, including market evaluation, validation of technology and value proposition and commercial launch preparation; driving improvements in business intelligence (markets, competitors, technologies, customers) to facilitate improved decision-making, innovation and growth; and increasing the usage of value-selling tools throughout the company.
Oversaw all advertising, promotional activities and campaigns including: print, online, email, digital media, trade show and direct mail. Lead a team of marketing professionals and staff members in their daily roles to fulfill obligations. Managed vendor relationships for services. Managed the department’s budget including developing budgets, allocating expenditures, pre-approving and monitoring expenditures. Assist with responding to Requests for Proposals and negotiating vendor agreements and contracts. I was also in charge of developing, growing and managing the marketing database, which includes customer information, mailing lists, etc.
Establish workflows and creative direction for the company's entire line of products, services, and programs while working within budget and scheduling requirements which include but not limited to:
Hire, train and direct staff members to develop design concepts into printing, online, and email layouts. Formulate basic layout designs or presentation approaches, and specify material details, such as style and size of type, photographs, and graphics. Review and approve proofs of art and copy materials developed by staff members.
Lead creative sessions for project kick-offs. Managing multiple projects from concept through completion. Providing quality control over concepts and projects. Developing creative programs and design concepts that meet the business objectives of the organization and that advance our brand strategy.
Working with the sales, copywriting, editorial, and production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts, and to coordinate creative activities. Liaison with printers, vendors, and freelancers.
Managing the art department and staff while needing to communicate effectively to ensure a winning team attitude. Assigning daily workload priorities in the art department. Working with the Editors and Copywriters to keep the publication flow of ads moving swiftly through the department. Ensuring the magazine production schedule is kept timely and each publication is sent to the printer on time.
Reviewing problem ads that are rejected by the Chief Designer. Needed to possess excellent verbal and written communications skills so as to handle clients and their concerns and ensure that each client is getting serviced well.Staying up-to-date on software and hardware that is used in the department so as to know when there is new software that could be utilized to increase the speed of delivery.
Staying up-to-date on printing and prepress processes so as to ensure that artwork and publications created will print properly and assist in the printing of the publications. Knowing and learning internet publishing skills so as to manage others in this area.
Worked alongside the Director of Art and Production and our graphic design team in a tactically oriented function to meet the graphic design needs of the company and our clients. Needed to be a creative designer that could conceptually design and produce original artwork in a wide variety of mediums, such as print, digital, and HTML media. This includes the design and layout of newsletters, magazines, and other print or web material, as well as pre-flighting, prepressing, troubleshooting, and correcting digital files for both print and email. A small number of administrative duties were also needed for this position.
Was responsible for taking a leading role in the creative direction of our products. Needed to effectively communicate and coordinate with our art and production team, editors, and copywriters to ensure that the visual design communicates the desired message, and functions successfully for varying technical and performance specifications. Had to be capable of leading the creative aspects of a project while demonstrating strong business acumen.
Responsible for creating technically correct artwork for card packs, magazines, newspapers, solo mailers, and promotional pieces. Creating new, fresh, and exciting ads which produced results for our clients, while learning about life, health, and annuity insurance products.
Worked effectively and creatively in a fast-paced production setting to produce multiple ads per hour.
Worked with administrative forms and requirements including invoicing for product development, statistic tracking, handling Business Reply Mail to Post Office standards, creating products to specific mechanical specifications, proofing the created pieces against specific requirements, and willingness to follow a checklist in the production process.
Responsible for the maintenance and backup of the Macintosh computers.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mike Smagala for over 9 years. His exceptional acumen for creative problem-solving is matched by his outstanding talent as a designer. You can be assured that any task or project he is responsible for will be completed on time and at top quality. He is skilled at managing large groups of people with a variety of skill sets and responsibilities and never hesitates to dive in and handle tasks himself whenever needed.
Working with Mike is an absolute joy. The knowledge, creativity, and passion that he brings to every project is incredibly inspiring. I had the opportunity to work with Mike both as an equal and as my manager and I consistently looked to his work for ideas on how to push the envelope and be a better designer. His willingness to collaborate, teach, or simply lend an ear when needed is a shining example of who I hope to be for my co-workers and friends. Anyone who has the opportunity to work with him will be better for it.. I know that I am.”
I've known Mike for more than 20 years, and during that time, we've worked together in a variety of capacities. In addition to being a highly talented designer, developer, and manager, Mike is ethical, dependable, and uniquely resourceful at finding creative solutions to problems.
Mike and I had worked together for 7 years and throughout that time, he has been a supportive, thoughtful, and amazing teammate. He was always able to generate new ideas and creatively challenge existing thought processes to push our company forward. He produced some of the best designs I had ever seen and was a leader throughout his tenure. Mike is an inspiration to myself and many others.
The pinnacle of the project for Tampa General is the breathtaking design work which was performed by your team. While we shared our vision, brand strategy, and new colors, we could never have hoped for the eye-popping clean, professional, and differentiated experience you manifest on our behalf...We know the personal sacrifice which Mike Smagala made was key to ensuring the design brought to life our vision. Quite simply - they nailed it!
I have known Michael for quite a few years. He is a trustworthy person of reliable integrity. He is an excellent communicator and collaborator who demonstrates the ability to accomplish challenging tasks and projects with ease.
I have known Michael for over 20 years, and we have worked together on a variety of projects. It is always a pleasure as he is focused, self-motivated, and makes quality contributions that benefit individual team members and our objective.
Mike is a trustworthy individual who I've had the pleasure of know more than 15 years. Good-natured and willing to do what is needed when asked.
I had the pleasure of working with Mike for nearly a decade, and in that time, I got to see what an incredibly thoughtful designer and person he is. He actively listens to his clients’ needs, can tackle any size project with tenacity and creativity, and delivers an outstanding product every time.
I’ve always appreciated Mike’s efforts to listen and understand my requests. This often results in providing products that exceed my expectations.
Mike was a pleasure to work with. We hired him to design our company logo. He listened to our vision and brought it to life. We couldn’t be happier with the finished product!
I highly recommend Mike for any project. During the time we worked together, he consistently impressed me with his creativity and attention to detail in the designs he created. He created visually stunning and user-friendly designs that were a pleasure to code and bring to life. He is a great team player and is easily able to work great under tight deadlines. It was a pleasure to work with him, and I would not hesitate to do so again in the future.
