I'm Erik Zaikowski, a graphic designer, art/creative director with UI/UX product design experience based in Manchester, NH. Hands-on, practical, and strategic, I’ve spent the past 10 years freelancing and contracting with startups, agencies, and corporate marketing teams, turning ideas into scalable design that drives audience behavior. Through thoughtful art direction and creative inspiration, I collaborate with like-minded creative people from product development to sales teams to design, shape, create, and support brand identity, digital experiences, marketing campaigns, and everything in between.
"Putting some finishing touches on things this week as I update copy and add content." -10.18.25
Things I do..
Art Direction
Creative Direction
Inbound Marketing
Branding/Logo Design
Web Design
Design Systems
UI/UX Design
UCD & Design Thinking
Brand Guides & Playbooks
Graphic Design
Illustration
Events & Tradeshows
Print & Package Design
BFA Graphic Design & Letterform
UI/UX Design
Creative Agency, Lawrence, MA | Assisted in the art direction, creative execution and design of campaigns, brand creative & strategic positioning for clients ranging from finance, restaurants, real estate, manufacturing, and non-profits. Worked closely with the two principal owners as a tight-knit creative team, producing effective and diverse design strategies while gaining hands-on experience on the business side of the creative space.
Woodpellet Fuel Delivery, Bedford, NH | Responsible for all design with a focus on art direction and brand development for WoodPellets.com and its parent company, American Biomass. Collaborated with a small team to create and market white-label wood pellet fuel brands, driving awareness and revenue through inbound marketing, POS partnerships, and events, while managing WoodPellets.com and its e-commerce platform with online campaigns and promotions.
Web Content Management Platform, Nashua, NH | Led Ektron's marketing team in creative and art direction while establishing and maintaining brand standards. Designed and managed all creative assets for web, marketing, product, sales and event teams. Adapted to frequent team turnover, collaborating with multiple marketing managers, writers, and developers to support their initiatives individually and all at once.. As the “one-man design firm,” I managed these interactions, handled tight deadlines and a heavy workload to deliver thoughtful & effective designs consistently and effectively.
Began freelancing independently after a four-year run as art and creative design manager at Ektron when the company was sold in 2016. Continued creative collaborations with many of the former CMOs, CEOs, marketing leaders, product managers, and founders as they moved to or started new companies in places like healthcare, AI, machine learning, ad/martech, and cybersecurity. These on-going relationships have been the foundation for the growing list of companies I’ve designed with over the past 10+ years.
AI technology company building next-gen search, chatbots, and intelligent copilots.
Non-emergency medical transportation platform connecting patients to care.
MarTech platform delivering scalable, AI-ready solutions for identity & audience management.
AI powered virtual assistants for patient communication and engagement.
Implements, integrates, and supports cloud ERP and business software solutions.
Cloud and SaaS security platform for rapid threat detection, investigation, and incident response.
Digital marketing platform connecting brands with local retailers through co-branded campaigns.
Low-code data science platform for building and deploying machine learning models.
Cloud document management platform for life sciences and healthcare.
Provides cloud-native assurance, analytics testing solutions for network and contact-center services.
AI-driven talent platform matching candidates to roles through behavioral science.
Digital services firm specializing in cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and compliance automation.
AI-powered enterprise search platform that connects and analyzes data for smarter decisions.
Platform for managing open-source security and compliance risks.
Design works best when it’s part of the overall experience and scaled with intent
Visuals often speak before words. Create visuals that can lead an audience.
Typography plays a crucial role in the work and should be used as a visual tool.
Keep it simple, deliver on time and every time, without reinventing the wheel.
Design is everywhere, why not be inspired by it and make it work for us?
