Hi, I'm Joseph Smietanski

By day I lead a team of talented UX designers at an international financial company. By night I help other designers with the resources I create here on GhostlyPixels as an illustrator, designer, letterer and teacher.

GhostlyPixels got started when I had a lightbulb moment back in 2013, ten years into my freelancing side-work business. I realized that instead of helping a small number of clients with the traditional freelancing model, I could help a ton more people by making resources available online to a larger audience. Not only that, but I’d be creating cool stuff for my fellow designers.

"But would it work", I thought to myself. Just because I found my textures useful and used them regularly in projects wouldn’t guarantee other designers would. To make sure I’d execute on my idea of selling my creations, I made a bet with two buddies that I’d pay them each $10 if I didn’t have my first product launched in seven day’s time. Tens of thousands of downloads later, I’m delighted to say that I’ve been able to contribute to the work of designers around the world.