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Dive straight into my past, and if you're not ready for the wall of text, simply smash the Summary button below
Short intro
Right after high school, I had some big decisions to make. College was a bit out of my budget, so I took a different route and joined the Military School for NCO Gendarmes. Two intense years later, I was all set for a job as a military cop. I wore that uniform for five years, picking up some amazing skills and stories along the way.
UI/UX: My First Dip
Fast forward to 2017, and I stumbled upon this cool gig as a UI/UX tester at TryMyUI. It was fun but didn't last long, so I switched to UserTesting. It wasn't a goldmine, but hey, it helped with the weekend fun funds until 2022.
Meeting My Design Yoda
Then came 2018, a big year for me. A freelancer buddy of mine showed me the ropes of web design. He pretty much became my Yoda in the design world, teaching me all the good stuff and even helping me land my first design gigs, while in 2019 I've completed several projects.
Tough Times, Tougher Me
In 2020, COVID-19 turned the world upside down. Working in law enforcement, the hours were long and stress was high. But I took it as a chance to focus on what matters. I dug deeper into web design, put work into self-improvement, and made a pact with the gym to stay fit—body and mind
The Hustle Year
This year was all about wearing multiple hats, and trust me, it was quite a juggle! I stepped up my game in web design and started landing my own paid gigs, not just being my mentor's sidekick.
On another front, my friend and I tried our luck with an Amazon business, selling baby blankets. Okay, it didn’t pan out, but we learned heaps without losing too much cash.
And get this — I even set my eyes on hanging up my cop uniform within a few years, but guess what? I did it in just 8 months! And yep, still found time for usability tests on UserTesting. All this, while clocking in the usual 40-50 hours a week at my day job.
On another front, my friend and I tried our luck with an Amazon business, selling baby blankets. Okay, it didn’t pan out, but we learned heaps without losing too much cash.
And get this — I even set my eyes on hanging up my cop uniform within a few years, but guess what? I did it in just 8 months! And yep, still found time for usability tests on UserTesting. All this, while clocking in the usual 40-50 hours a week at my day job.
When Life Hands You Lemons
End of 2021 was a wake-up call for me. I got knocked down by burnout, especially after my Amazon business didn't take off. But instead of wallowing, it reignited my drive.
I asked myself, 'Why just stick to web design?' I wanted more — more impact, more stability. Freelancing was too much of a rollercoaster, and I started hunting for a full-time role.
Although web design gigs were few and far between, I realized I was maxing out my skills with just HTML & CSS. Coding wasn't my cup of tea, so I discovered Figma in January 2022, and it felt like cracking open a whole new playbook.
I asked myself, 'Why just stick to web design?' I wanted more — more impact, more stability. Freelancing was too much of a rollercoaster, and I started hunting for a full-time role.
Although web design gigs were few and far between, I realized I was maxing out my skills with just HTML & CSS. Coding wasn't my cup of tea, so I discovered Figma in January 2022, and it felt like cracking open a whole new playbook.
The Big Switch: From Cop to Full-Time Designer
While I was still working as a cop, I took on a side gig with a crypto company that needed a new website. I was all in and managed to complete 25 web pages in a single month.
The team was so impressed that they gave me a full-time offer and a new challenge: taking the lead on designing their Web App. This was a big deal and my first major project in the design world.
The experience not only boosted my confidence, but also allowed me to make a big career change. I left my job as a police officer and shifted my full focus to the exciting field of design
The team was so impressed that they gave me a full-time offer and a new challenge: taking the lead on designing their Web App. This was a big deal and my first major project in the design world.
The experience not only boosted my confidence, but also allowed me to make a big career change. I left my job as a police officer and shifted my full focus to the exciting field of design
Turning Pages: From Coorest to Qori
Late in 2022, I really hit my peak at Coorest. I spent a lot of time getting better at design. All that effort paid off in October when I got a new job offer. I became the first designer at a small but growing fintech company called Qori.
In just a few months, I helped improve the app and worked on the brand design too. By the end of the year, something big happened—Qori merged with a much larger, older fintech company from France, and just like that, we became Sylq.
In just a few months, I helped improve the app and worked on the brand design too. By the end of the year, something big happened—Qori merged with a much larger, older fintech company from France, and just like that, we became Sylq.
New Year, New Brand: Sylq's Transformation
In 2023, I led Sylq's total brand makeover. I designed everything from the logo to the website, even updating all the old Qori apps to fit the new look.
Now, Sylq is growing fast and strong, and I'm still the one-man design team handling everything from brand to product design.
Now, Sylq is growing fast and strong, and I'm still the one-man design team handling everything from brand to product design.
Birth of Festivawl & Personal Development
The rest of 2023 was a year of learning and building, with less results than expected. In April me and Cipri who's a developer, started a crazy idea, creating a single app where all the festivals in the world can be found, and all the festival people.
Apart from working on Festivawl I continued to upscale Sylq and it's design by creating a Design System from scratch.
Apart from working on Festivawl I continued to upscale Sylq and it's design by creating a Design System from scratch.
Festivawl Launch
In March 2024, we launched Festivawl, still being just the two of us on the team. Cipri was in charge of all the technical stuff, while I took care of everything else like design, marketing, sales, and finance, basically doing a bit of everything as needed.
Regarding design, I've learned and grown a lot, creating a lot of graphics and even videos for Festivawl, and doing similar work for Sylq. I also improved Sylq's design system and worked on several other projects at the same time.
Regarding design, I've learned and grown a lot, creating a lot of graphics and even videos for Festivawl, and doing similar work for Sylq. I also improved Sylq's design system and worked on several other projects at the same time.
Summary of events
- 2015: Finished high school, unsure what to do next, so I chose the safe path—becoming a cop.
- 2017: Became a cop and worked in different parts around the country, then moved back to my hometown, also found out about UI/UX by doing paid tests to make some extra money.
- 2018: Alex (right image) taught me about web design and helped me get started in the field, completed several projects.
- 2020: A tough year because of the pandemic; used the time to work on my physical and mental health.
- 2021: A busy year with many projects and learning, which ended with me being burned out.
- 2022: Recovered from burnout and fell in love with UI/UX and Figma, then left my cop job to be a full-time designer.
- Late 2022: Left Coorest to work at Qori, where I led the design work for several new product features.
- 2023: After a business deal, Qori became Sylq. Now, I take care of all design tasks in a company with 180 employees.
