Aneta Kmiecik

Co-Founder

United States5 yrs 11 mos experience
Highly StableAI Enabled

Key Highlights

  • Coached over 1,000 designers on career growth.
  • Built 650+ portfolios through a dedicated UX course.
  • Created a community of nearly 200k designers.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a UX and Design Educator with strong expertise in FinTech and E-Learning.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Design PortfolioCoaching & MentoringUx DesignGrowth DesignService DesignUx ResearchSustainabilityUi DesignArchitectural Design3d DesignUrban Planning

Other Skills

Business DesignCommunity FacilitationE-LearningEntrepreneurshipCourse CreationCareer DevelopmentStorytellingCommunicationFinTechCross-team CollaborationSystemic ThinkingStakeholder ManagementCritical ThinkingSoftware as a Service (SaaS)Leadership

About

I help designers build portfolio careers - not just portfolios ✨ Here's the short version: ↳ 15 years in the creative field, 8 in UX, with roots in architecture and graphic design ↳ Coached 1,000+ designers on portfolios, career moves, and getting hired ↳ 650+ portfolios built through my UX Portfolio Course ↳ I also create content and partner with brands like Framer, Figma, Mobbin and more ↳ Built an online community of almost 200k designers across social channels Most designers don't struggle with design itself. They struggle with direction, positioning, and knowing what to do next. That's the stuff I actually talk about. Topics I cover: ↳ Design portfolios - how to build one that tells a story and gets you interviews ↳ Design career growth - because everyone needs money and fulfillment ↳ Future-proof skills - storytelling, AI, no-code, interactive design, and whatever comes next ↳ Hiring insights - things I've picked up helping startups find designers Other things I'm up to: ↳ Teaching my UX Portfolio Course ↳ Experimenting with tools like Framer, Claude, Cursor, Figma, and more ↳ Learning the stuff they don't teach designers - running a business, building a brand, creating products If you're a designer figuring out your next move, I make content for you. If you're a brand that wants design content that doesn't feel like an ad, let's talk. 💌 Find me here: Instagram: instagram.com/ux.aneta Newsletter: beyourowndesignteam.beehiiv.com/subscribe Community: be-your-own-design-team.circle.so/c/be-your-own-design-team/

Experience

5 yrs 11 mos
Total Experience
2 yrs 2 mos
Average Tenure
--
Current Experience

Be your own design team

Founder & Design Educator

May 2024Present · 2 yrs · Remote

  • Helping designers build portfolios and get hired
  • 🏆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗫 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 (uxportfolio.co)
  • Launched with a product-led approach, self-paced course with asynchronous support, and scalable systems designed to serve hundreds without losing the personal touch. In its first week, 362 designers, from juniors to seniors, gained the confidence and tools to build standout portfolios and tell compelling design stories.
  • What I teach in the course:
  • Growth mindset to have resilience to any challenges
  • Self-awareness to clearly communicate designer profile
  • Brand positioning and stories prioritisation
  • Storytelling to tell stories from any project mess
  • Visual storytelling to present designs like a pro
  • Handling portfolio constraints
  • This course is the first in a planned series designed to shift designers’ mindsets and skillsets toward becoming empowered Super ICs.
  • 🏆 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴
  • I work with designers 1:1 and in groups to build skills like:
  • Build UX portfolios
  • Lead UX projects on their own
  • Run both qual and quant research
  • Measure design impact
  • Work well with stakeholders
  • Make design decisions with confidence
  • 🏆 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗨𝗫 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
  • My free content on Instagram (@ux.aneta), LinkedIn, and in my newsletter reaches over 155,000 designers, providing accessible, actionable UX tips that complement deeper learning and create a strong funnel into my courses and coaching.
Design PortfolioGrowth DesignBusiness DesignCommunity FacilitationE-LearningEntrepreneurship+3

Vipps mobilepay

Senior UX Designer

Aug 2023May 2024 · 9 mos · Oslo, Norway · On-site

  • Senior UX Designer in Fintech, shaping the B2B merchant experience for SMEs. Focused on onboarding, upselling, and helping merchants make smarter business decisions through better product design.
  • 🏆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀
  • Initiated and led a dashboard project in close collaboration with data and business teams, helping merchants track and predict sales without spreadsheets. The solution aimed to improve retention and engagement, reduced churn, and opened a new B2B revenue stream
  • Improved the product ordering flow, increasing order volume and reducing time to order
  • Helped launch in Finland and Denmark by adapting product ordering for new markets
  • Made it easier for merchants to manage payments while lowering support costs
  • Interviewed and reviewed candidates for design intern roles
  • Mentored a designer on UI design, raising quality and consistency across B2B features
Growth DesignCommunicationFinTechUI DesignCross-team CollaborationStorytelling+6

Knowit

Senior UX Designer

May 2023Jul 2023 · 2 mos · Oslo, Norway · On-site

  • Senior UX Designer at a Nordic consulting company, focused on improving how consultants get matched with job opportunities. I worked closely with business stakeholders and internal users to redesign the matching process and tools.
  • 🏆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀
  • Improved a core business workflow by reducing time spent on matching consultants to roles and increasing successful placements
  • Helped the business grow revenue faster by speeding up the offer process and improving internal collaboration across sales and staffing teams
Service DesignBusiness DesignCommunicationSystemic ThinkingUX ResearchAnalytical Skills+3

Freelance

2 roles

Freelance Product Designer

Apr 2021Dec 2022 · 1 yr 8 mos · Remote

  • UX Designer taking freelance gigs after hours to support startups (e.g. Her Impact) and agencies (e.g. Ten Media) with website and B2C product design. Delivered improvements in brand reputation, user engagement, satisfaction, and business revenue.
UI DesignMobile DesignMobile Application DesignCross-team CollaborationStorytellingCommunication+9

Product Design Career Coach/Mentor/Educator

Dec 2020Apr 2024 · 3 yrs 4 mos · Remote

  • Helped 100+ designers worldwide build standout UX portfolios, land roles in tech, and confidently lead projects as solo designers in both startups and corporate settings. Through personalised coaching, actionable feedback, and mindset shifts, I helped designers not just get hired, but mainly lead without a design team by collaborating better with cross-functional teams, prioritising effectively, and making design decisions with confidence.
  • 🏆 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗜 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽
  • Growth mindset to have resilience to any challenges
  • Storytelling to effectively communicate career stories
  • Leading UX projects to manage any UX project
  • Research skills to conduct both qual and quant research
  • Metrics to measure design success
  • Stakeholder management to collaborate effectively
  • Planning and prioritisation to manage careers and projects
  • Making design decisions confidently
Design PortfolioCommunicationLeadershipAnalytical SkillsManagementCoaching & Mentoring+1

Ecoonline global

UX Designer

May 2020Apr 2023 · 2 yrs 11 mos · Oslo, Norway · On-site

  • UX Designer in the HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) industry, working across multiple B2B safety and sustainability products for SMBs and Enterprise. As the first UX hire, I built UX and research practices from scratch and focused on designing experiences that scaled adoption, reduced friction, and opened new growth paths.
  • 🏆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀
  • Introduced PLG-driven improvements like self-serve onboarding, mobile-first reporting, and simplified navigation that reduced dependency on support and helped scale adoption
  • Replaced a broken product configuration process with a self-serve carbon reporting setup, increasing retention and unlocking new monetisation opportunities
  • Took a carbon accounting product from 0 → 1, enabling customers to track emissions independently and driving engagement in a growing industry
  • Co-designed a mobile-first incident reporting tool that allowed frontline workers to report incidents without training, driving organic usage and trust
  • Designed a unified platform experience (global nav + dashboard) and improved feature discoverability, enabled cross-product growth and upsells
  • Built research operations from scratch, bringing user insight into day-to-day product decisions
  • Helped grow the design function - reviewed portfolios, interviewed candidates, and co-created the internal Product Design Newsletter (500–1000 readers/month)
Growth DesignUsability TestingUI DesignSustainabilityInformation ArchitectureHuman Computer Interaction+15

Coinfirm

Junior UX | UI Designer

Jul 2019Apr 2020 · 9 mos · Warsaw, Poland · On-site

  • Junior UX/UI Designer in the Fintech industry, responsible for the whole process of designing Coinfirm website and AML platform for SMBs (small and medium businesses).
  • 🏆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀
  • Redesigned company's website and increased its brand reputation, as well as signups to AML platform
  • Redesigned risk management, resulting in higher user satisfaction and more risk cases closed
  • Proactively built style guidelines and kicked off the design system creation to improve consistency across products
  • As the first designer with UX knowledge in the startup, I initiated research processes to help the company build solutions more aligned with customer needs
UI DesignInformation ArchitectureWeb DesignUX DesignProduct DesignUX Research+3

Ten

Junior UX | UI Designer

Jan 2019Jul 2019 · 6 mos · Warsaw, Poland · On-site

  • Junior UX/UI Designer at an agency, working on e-commerce projects for clients like Adidas, Reebok, and other fashion brands.
  • 🏆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀
  • Designed landing pages and online stores tailored for the Polish market, increasing sales
  • Focused on creating smooth, engaging user experiences that encourage product discovery and repeat purchases, supporting growth through product-led engagement
UI DesignLanding PagesWeb DesignUX DesignE-CommerceWireframing+1

Grupa 5 architekci

Architect

Jan 2017Dec 2018 · 1 yr 11 mos · Warsaw, Poland · On-site

  • Architect working on concepts, technical drawings, and realistic visualisations for multifunctional buildings on Szwedzka Street, Warsaw. This project created thousands of apartments and commercial spaces, driving significant revenue growth for the company and investors.
3D ModelingDesign ThinkingArchitectural Design3D Design

Kengo kuma and associates

Architect

May 2016Sep 2016 · 4 mos · Tokyo, Japan · On-site

  • Architect collaborating with various teams to design buildings in Japan, Switzerland, and Australia. This included creating technical drawings, concepts, and visualisations, leading to increased revenue and architectural awards for the business.
3D ModelingDesign ThinkingArchitectural Design3D Design

Almec corporation

Architect

May 2015Sep 2015 · 4 mos · Tokyo, Japan · On-site

  • Architect supporting urban planning teams in Tokyo, helping create better urban spaces for citizens.
Research SkillsArchitectural DesignUrban Planning3D Design

Various

Architect

Jan 2012Jan 2015 · 3 yrs · Poland, Japan · On-site

  • Working as an intern or part-time employee in various architectural offices, including Kurylowicz & Associates, Losiak Siwiak Architects, Szczepanski Architects, Tamborscy Architects, ALMEC Corpoation, Kengo Kuma and Associates, and more.
3D ModelingArchitectural Design3D Design

Education

Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie

Master of Arts - MA — Graphic Design

Jan 2015Jan 2018

Lodz University of Technology

Master of Architecture - MArch — Architecture

Jan 2015Jan 2017

Lodz University of Technology

Bachelor of Architecture - BArch — Architecture and Urban Planning

Jan 2011Jan 2015

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