Tomasz Gęstwicki

Bio

I studied cultural studies, with a focus on how maps, diagrams and images carry knowledge. From 2010 I co-ran a film and motion studio and, in parallel, a small data visualization practice. In 2017 I became creative and strategy director at a digital agency, where I brought UX practices and tools into our work. Then came a studio partnership with Szymon Kaliski, and with it the focus I keep today: software for specialists. Every domain, from finance and chemistry to space operations, meant first learning its rules and how its experts think.

organizations & work

2025–now

The BitByBit CompanyLead Product Designer

A software company building ground-segment tools for European Space Agency projects.

thebitbybit.com

  • 2025–now

    I ran on-site UX workshops, studied how operators work and designed views and interactive prototypes for a web-based version of the interface.

  • 2026

    I design its interaction and UI, including more advanced components for understanding, organizing and managing sequences of actions on mission timelines.

  • 2026

    I worked on experimental interfaces for very large sets of test data, so that teams can monitor, explore and validate them.

2022–now

Sii PolandSenior UX/UI Designer

A technology and engineering company working for clients from aerospace to life science; I work for Roche Diagnostics, leading UX for several of its specialist products.

sii.pl

  • 2024–now

    I design how specialists prepare data, configure scenario variants and read simulation results, from research and domain modeling to interfaces and prototypes.

  • 2023

    New features for an existing platform: process analysis, information architecture and interaction logic for users in different regions.

  • 2023

    Stakeholder workshops, then search and filtering designed for readers with very different medical knowledge.

  • 2022

    Workshops with domain experts, the structure and logic of the data, information architecture and prototypes.

2022

MakoLabSenior UX/UI Designer

A software house; product discovery and industry reports for finance and automotive clients, and UX for a mobile app of one of Europe’s largest car brands.

makolab.com

  • 2022

    A project for the insurer, run together with one of Europe’s largest banking groups. I framed the problem, planned and ran an on-site workshop with the clients’ teams, mapped user stories and turned them into a full list of requirements.

  • 2022

    I wrote a strategic report on owning versus leasing, renting and other ways of using a car (competitors, carmakers’ offers, digital marketplaces) and presented it to the client’s team.

  • 2022

    User flows, wireframes and interactive prototypes for an app that helps people find their way around dealership lots and discover the cars on them.

2018–now

flow/controlProduct Designer

A small product design partnership with Szymon Kaliski; I work directly with the product teams of software companies, from domain analysis to final UI.

flow-control.io

  • 2021–2023

    I designed interaction flows, interface explorations and the final UI, together with Szymon Kaliski and the Causal team.

    • The revised Causal interface: variables in rows, months in columns, formulas with green references to other variables.
  • 2021

    Information architecture, user flows and wireframes for its Chrome extension sidebar, and the interaction logic of Pathfinder, an experimental way to reach a result step by step.

    • Two wireframed configuration flows for a browser extension, each a row of grey step screens linked by blue arrows, with red annotations.
    • A browser extension panel open beside a website, showing an enriched profile with a description, technologies and social links.
  • 2021

    I worked on several features of its command bar, mainly on bringing actions from many different tools into single commands that stay clear and easy to read.

    • The Slapdash command bar: commands and search results that match the typed keywords.
  • 2020

    An app for pairing the board over Bluetooth, watching its electrode readings live and choosing what a touch triggers: an OSC message, an API call, a phone shortcut or a deep link, without reprogramming the board. Interaction architecture, user flows and wireframes, developed on my own.

    • The mobile app flow as grey wireframes linked by arrows: sign-up, a sensor pairing wizard, integration settings and sensor detail views.
  • 2019–2020

    UX concept and interaction logic for browsing and comparing synthesis routes; I co-designed and co-ran tests with chemists on the prototype.

    • A three-column interface: cuts of the target molecule on the left, starting materials in the middle, a synthesis tree on the right.
  • 2018

    I created our main website: it explains our philosophy and process and shows short highlights from client projects.

    • The flow/control homepage: “Empowering human cognition through design and technology” over a grey 3D grid.
    • The Mission section: “We are tool builders, conscious of the fact that the tools we build, later shape us”, over a workshop photo.
    • The Process section: “We explore the solution space for a given problem through sketching”, over a code prototype interface.

2017–2022

AF.agency / RiverwoodCreative & Strategy Director

An agency group with two brands. I led the creative and strategy departments, ran project teams of mixed roles and brought UX practice into its digital projects.

af.agency

Volkswagen

  • 2017–2022

    I worked on communication strategy, campaigns and digital customer experience, co-authoring concepts and leading teams at specific stages.

    • A phone screen from the after-sales service, “Waiting for your Volkswagen”, over blurred winter wheels.
    • An accessories page for the Volkswagen ID.3: a teal car beside text about matching accessories and wheels.
  • 2019–2021

    “For fans, by fans”: I wrote the main creative concept and communication strategy and led the team that produced films with owners reviewing accessories and sharing service tips.

    • Four Volkswagen owners standing between two Golfs in a service garage, one in mechanic’s overalls.
  • 2019

    We designed the UX and UI for easy navigation and several interactive ways to present products. I was responsible for creative and art direction, and for separate ATL and BTL campaigns.

    • The accessories store: a car with hotspots for accessory categories, a product panel for a GTI umbrella and the full accessories list below.
    • Accessories pages for Volkswagen models, with car photos and a configurator teaser.
  • 2018–2019

    I led the UX and creative direction, co-designed and co-ran user research, and worked on the concept and a prototype tested with users. It included data visualizations of the owner’s own car, so new owners could understand what they had bought and get a feel for it before delivery.

    • The final design on a desktop monitor and phone screens: an order timeline with red Volkswagen imagery.
  • 2017–2018

    I co-created the creative concept and the personalization model and led the delivery team; the videos went to real owners.

SHUUM boutique wellness hotel

  • 2018–2021

    I wrote the brand strategy and main creative concept, set the direction of the visual identity and co-authored the name SHUUM.

    • The SHUUM logotype in widely spaced capitals, white on dark grey, with “Boutique wellness hotel” and four stars below.
  • 2018–2021

    I was responsible for the website’s information architecture, UX concept and UI direction, and co-designed the booking system with the team, from prototypes to test analysis. Both were launched.

    • Booking screens on desktop and mobile: a list of extra services with quantity controls next to a room card.

Other clients

  • 2019–2022

    Product communication at the point where shoppers meet the product: more than 30,000 product cards in 11 categories, for the online stores of 15 of Poland’s largest e-retailers. The format got ahead of competitors and set a new standard for product cards on the market. My part: user research, information architecture, user flows, wireframes and prototypes.

    • An Amica product card for a built-in oven: headline, feature icons and a large product photo.
    • An interactive product view: an oven with four numbered hotspots, each feature described on the right.
  • 2021

    Creative direction of a personalized onboarding platform on Škoda’s intranet, with learning paths for employees. Professional actors guided each person through the interactive modules.

    • A chapter screen of the e-learning, “Chapter 1: How has the customer changed?”, over a photo of a Škoda on a mountain road.
    • Two presenters in a white studio, with the Škoda logo on a screen behind them.
  • 2020

    Starting from the city’s development strategy, I co-created the brand strategy and key creative concept and led the team from concept to execution. We worked out the brand’s role in the life of the city and tested how its circle-based logo holds up in a space as varied as a city, from municipal signage to promotional materials.

  • 2018

    For an international launch, I wrote the main creative concept and communication strategy, led the production team and was creative director of the accompanying commercials.

  • 2017–2018

    Creative strategy and the main creative concept, drawing on local legends. The agency’s project received a Golden Arrow 2018 distinction in Design.

2013–2015

DatamotionCo-founder & UI Designer

A small experimental practice for data visualization and creative coding, run alongside Filmpoint.

  • 2013

    Creative concept and graphic layout of an infographic, co-created within Datamotion; a distinction in the KatoVis 2013 contest.

    • The KatoVis infographic, in Polish: a dark title panel and a bar chart of how often Polish cities are named in the Sejm, Katowice highlighted.
    • A grid of colored party labels by quarter, showing which parties named Katowice and when.
    • A blue area chart of mentions of Katowice in Sejm transcripts over time, with annotated peaks.
  • 2013

    Concept and graphic design of a map built on public cultural event data, made with Szymon Kaliski and Marek Straszak.

    • Hello Poznań in a browser window: a black map of Poznań with event points, and a timeline of events below.
  • 2013

    The report’s rankings lived in spreadsheets, readable mainly to analysts fluent in Excel. We turned them into an interactive visualization with filters by country and industry, so anyone could explore them on info kiosks and online.

    • The CE Top 500 prototype: filters by country and industry, companies as colored bars, and a detail card with net income, revenue change and number of employees.
  • 2014

    Workshops and talks on the history of visualizing knowledge, run together with Szymon Kaliski: the historical, anthropological and cognitive sides of visual representations of knowledge, where they came from, and what role they play in a post-war world built on services and the flow of information.

    • A lecture in a paneled room: a speaker points at a projected historical map with red dots, a second speaker sits beside him.
    • A talk in a bright room with tall windows: a slide reading “I see!” is projected in front of a seated audience.
    • Two young men in jackets in a white paneled room at CK Zamek, one smiling, the other looking down.

2010–2017

FilmpointCo-owner & Creative Director

Seven years of running a film and motion studio: clients, hiring, creative direction. In 2017 I gave up my shares and moved to agency work, looking for a broader scope and new services to build.

  • 2017

    I came up with the concept and was its creative director and lead director.

  • 2016–2017

    Concept and script, directing, editing and motion design.

  • 2016

    Concept, art direction and directing, including working with the actors.

  • 2015

    I co-created the concepts and scripts and led the creative direction, working with illustrator Ola Szmida and copywriter Grzegorz Luft.

  • 2015

    More than a dozen short films that brought pre-Christmas traffic to themed gift categories. In a closed studio we shot over ten hours of 8K footage, then cut and delivered the films within a few days, in time for Christmas. Creative concept, directing and co-editing.

  • 2014–2015

    Creative concept and creative direction: an unusual edit inspired by editorial design, with animated surreal collages made with illustrator Ola Szmida.

  • 2015

    Concept and directing; four days of shooting in Berlin startup offices.

  • 2015

    Creative direction, with a close eye on Ola Korbolewska’s animation.

  • 2015

    Creative direction and close supervision of the animation process, including benchmarks.

  • 2015

    Concepts, co-written scripts and directing: dozens of hours on set, a documentary approach and a hard-cut editing concept.

  • 2015

    Creative direction, copy, directing and editing. Fully inspired by Wes Anderson, with my dog Kokpit in the cast.

  • 2014

    Creative direction, production, co-directing, editing and motion design.

  • 2014

    Creative direction, directing and second editing.

  • 2014

    Visual concept, art direction and motion design in After Effects and Cinema 4D.

  • 2014

    Concept, script, illustrations, graphics and motion design in After Effects.

  • 2013–2014

    Visual concept, art direction and motion design in After Effects and Cinema 4D.

  • 2013

    Concept, motion design and editing. From raw footage and photos from different sources, I built the story in post-production, using experimental kinetic typography and 3D meshes mapped onto the structure of the photos.

  • 2013

    Creative direction, directing and editing.

  • 2012

    Concept, directing and motion design.

2006–now

Independent practiceFilmmaking, motion design, art & lots of workshops

Since university, I haven’t stopped experimenting with media: directing, making music, live VJ sets, generative graphics and publishing. What I’m after is a particular kind of experience, whether I’m working with my own emotions or with representations of knowledge: the moment a tool gives me agency, curiosity and a sense of possibility -- and I can pass that on to others.

  • 2026

    Animations for the Black Stage’s LED screens, and live VJ sets during one of the largest electronic music festivals in Poland, made together with Marek Straszak.

  • 2025–2026

    I composed the music and play it live during the performances, with Marek Straszak and Michał Szulżyk.

    • Poster for “W tym domu był pokój”: two performers balancing on a table against wood paneling.
    • Two performers in long blue dresses face each other, shouting, as glitter falls around them.
  • 2025

    VJ sets made with Marek Straszak specifically for Mooryc’s live act and Rysy’s DJ set, at a courtyard party for the club’s tenth birthday.

    • Poster for “10 years of Tama” with the names Rysy, Mooryc, Joana and Keytov.
    • A crowd in a courtyard at night, lit by green and blue beams from the stage.
    • A night courtyard party: a crowd in front of the DJ booth, and a large screen above it showing a glowing, mirrored blue shape.
    • A black-and-white photo of two people at laptops during the party, next to an old TV set showing the visuals.
  • 2024–now

    I co-founded the collective with Marek Straszak. We built a mobile DJ table with its own sound system, so DJs can play outside club line-ups, in unexpected places and more or less extreme urban architecture, open to passers-by. The name comes from the UPS units that power our events.

    • A DJ in a winter jacket, hood and scarf, playing on a mobile DJ table under a concrete overpass.
    • An “Urban Rave” poster: people gathered in an open urban space around two DJs at the mobile table.
    • A “Bring your own pendrive” poster with the large lime and pink words “UPSa UPSa” over an aerial view of a street.
  • 2024–2026

    A series of workshops: an introduction to AI (2024), productivity in the age of AI, where we built time-saving tools for everyday work, and AI in film production and in directing music videos and short films.

    • A workshop leader in a cap talks to participants in a wooden interior.
    • Participants watch a projected grid of AI-generated images labeled with animal names.
  • 2024

    An accessible summary of the ideas in Emanuel Kulczycki’s book on how publication metrics shape science, published by Cambridge University Press. With artist Marta Madej, I visualized its main ideas using analog set pieces, so the book would stand out among other academic titles. Directing, script and production.

  • 2023

    The films set out to raise awareness of the university’s main research areas across its fields of study. We recorded more than a dozen hours of interviews with researchers to introduce them and their work, and with Marek Straszak I made the 3D animation for the series intro. Directing, script, art direction and production.

  • 2022

    A film about how a child who witnesses unspoken psychological abuse at home carries it, in unexpected ways, into their own choices and their most intimate relationship with the world. It premiered in Warsaw in 2022. Polish title: „Tata bardzo cię kocha”. Directing, script, art direction and production.

    • Still from “Daddy Loves You”: a father presses his face to his daughter’s hair against a bright window.
    • Still from “Daddy Loves You”: a red-haired girl peers around a door frame.
  • 2021

    I coordinated a charity campaign for Strefa WolnoSłowa, a multicultural, multidisciplinary group of artists, activists and cultural animators who needed support to keep working during the COVID-19 pandemic. I made the campaign’s films and ran its social media.

  • 2017

    I co-wrote, co-directed and co-edited it with Agata Elsner and Marek Straszak: our script made the final, so we got to shoot our rather wild idea for an ad. We misjudged the size of the explosion it needed: a friend’s garden almost went up in flames, and the whole neighborhood ended up covered in confetti.

  • 2013

    A sensory reconstruction of a living cell, shown at Stara Rzeźnia during Malta Festival 2013. A greenhouse served as the cell membrane, and the synthetic organelles inside woke up only when visitors gave them enough light, then answered with light and touch. I co-created the concept with Marek Straszak and co-built the piece.

    • Two of the creators crouch inside the installation, looking up at hanging white spheres, wiring and transparent panels.
  • 2013

    At CK Zamek, I was responsible for the concept, planning and early work on an interactive film, part fiction and part documentary, about the more than 100-year history of the Imperial Castle, and worked on set with the crew.

    • The residency poster: “Laboratory” in a white hexagon over a black-and-white photo of people on a stage, with the coordinator’s and residents’ names.
    • The Interactive Video Composer window: film clips as nodes on a dark canvas, joined by lines that set the possible paths through the film.
    • A branching graph of small dark rectangles linked by thin lines: the structure of the interactive film.
  • 2009

    My own series of book launches at the bookshop-café I managed: professional theatre actors read and interpreted passages from the book, improvising live with young local musicians from different scenes and genres, experimental ones included.

  • 2006–2016

    For ten years I was the band’s VJ, making dedicated animations and live visuals for concerts across Poland, including Open’er, Malta Festival and Wrocław Industrial Festival 2014. The most memorable were the all-night Dream Machine concerts, where I projected visuals onto the ceiling for an audience lying on the floor, drifting in and out of sleep. I also designed the Kaktuus digipack.

education