About me
My name is Szymon (Simon) Stelmaszyk and I’m a Polish street photography enthusiast, generative AI artist, pop culture savant and professional graphic & digital designer with over two decades of experience in the visual design field.
Since early age I gravitated towards art and technology and taught myself web design while roaming through the primordial Internet at the turn of the century. I improved my skills with graphics and composition at the High School of Arts which I graduated with diploma in design and photography in 2003. During this time my illustrations and comics were published in various magazines and I co-organised online exhibits featuring many Polish artists known today.
Following that I studied graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts for a few years before dropping out and moving to London to purse a career in my profession. Soon after I was featured in numerous publications such as British design magazine “.Net”, and won several awards over the years. After working mostly in the interactive design field (the golden age of flash and early days of UX/UI) and collaborating with many acclaimed British and Polish agencies for over a decade working on projects for well-known clients and brands I founded SYROP, an independent studio to design visual identity and develop treatments for production companies, agencies and advertising directors worldwide.
Throughout my career I had the opportunity to work with the following clients: Adidas, Audi, Bacardi, Bakoma, BBC, Camelot, Cream, Danone, DOZ, Electronic Arts, Eurostar, FilmIt, Ford, Future Publishing, Go East, Hennessy, Heyah, Kraft Foods, Lemonfilm, Moët & Chandon, Mobil1, MTV, Panasonic, P&G, Point of you, Pracuj.pl, Red Bull, RWE, Škoda, Sony, Tiger, Toyota, Volkswagen, WBK Bank, Wedel, Wrigley
As time passed I decided to focus more on personal projects that offered me a better opportunity to express my creativity. I expanded my interests in street photography and in 2022 launched this site to mark the 20th anniversary of my adventure with digital photography and to start shooting again after a long (cough) break. Photos from my various excursions provide a glimpse of my evolution as a photographer, showcasing my artistic journey and the development of my style over time. I shoot urban landscapes, street scenes and lifestyle portraits using a decade old cult classic Fujifilm X100S which has became my favourite camera of all time.
Recently I’ve returned to digital art which became a totally new and exciting medium because of generative AI revolution. My visuals are influenced by a blend of the past and future, filled with mysterious atmosphere, mood and hidden meanings. Meticulously directed, curated and manipulated by me with ideas that I develop and rework using visions and impressions formed by neural networks. The intention is to experiment, create emotion, expand imagination and inspire creativity.
Timeline trivia
Who asked? No one.. nevertheless here is a list of random things I did each year:
camera and get married
which becomes my favourite video game
camera after months of research
, my own independent design company
which becomes my favorite NBA team
around the city streets
which soon becomes my most watched series
on a whim and get into iPhonography scene as a hobby
becomes my favorite movie
around the city streets
podcast with my new Canon 550D
, a new design agency
, a shortly lived audio podcast
at Apple Regent Street store
and start working for an acclaimed design agency de-construct
is recognised on the international webdesign scene
digital camera for the first time
and also create its website
days
PC and a copy of Photoshop 4.0
console is Tekken 2
on Astra satellite TV every day and every night
soundtrack opens my head to heavy music, especially a band called NIИ
comes out and blows my comic book mind