Employee spotlight: Joe Szczesniak

Our Senior Mobile UI Designer Joe Szczesniak spends his free time building furniture and listening to Red City Radio when he’s not getting creative and designing new user experiences for our clients. Learn more about Joe below!

What are your pronouns?
he/him/his

What type of work experiences did you have prior to joining tms?
For over eight years, I worked at a boutique agency in Chicago. During my time there I learned the ins and outs of user experience and user interface design, along with a lot of front-end development—all of which I will forever be grateful for.

What’s in your headphones currently?
It changes hourly, but currently Red City Radio is on repeat.

Describe tms in one word. 
Fantastical

During your time at tms, what work are you most proud of? 
I would have to say that the entire evolution design process for T-Mobile Tuesdays must be my favorite project by far. We transformed the app’s overall design aesthetic and functionality. Not only do our clients love it, but our users do as well.

What would the title of your autobiography be? 
Quietly stubborn.

Which person (dead or alive) would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with and why?
Mark Gonzales would totally have to be my choice. I have been a huge fan forever and would love to soak up some of that creativity that oozes out of him. The guy is literally CREATIVITY in human form, not to mention all the stories he could share but probably wouldn’t since he is only living in the future.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve been given?
Not sure where or when I heard this, but it would have to be the fact that being creative isn’t just for a select few. Everyone is creative in some way or another—be it the way they talk, walk, write, or dress. It’s all an expression of the individual’s creativity.

What’s your current side hustle?
I enjoy the process of learning new skills and pushing myself to create functional pieces outside of the digital world. I have a woodshop/art studio in our tiny one-car garage where I can explore endless possibilities. It’s where 47% of the furniture in our house was built. Right now, all my free time is being taken up by our kitchen remodel, which has been a nightmare but also a lot of fun.