Tell us about yourself?

I’m Erikas Mališauskas, young and passionate web designer most of the time working with UI/UX design and coding it but also in love with all kind of arts. Also, in my free time I love drawing some flat illustrations.

When did you started your design career and where?

It all started in dreary 2006 when I was only 13. Although, I couldn’t name it ‘career’, it was just the beginning of everything. At that time, I was using Photoshop at least 2-3 hours a day. The internet was crazy about HYIPs and e-gold. I was making GIF banners for them and getting paid to my e-gold account. A year or two later I started attending design competitions in forums where people would post a web design job for the specific amount of money, and people would post designs they made. Then the original poster chooses the design he liked the most and transfers money for the designer. I couldn’t believe when I ‘won’ one of these competitions and got the first payment to my bank account when I was only 16. At that time, I knew that I want to be a designer and have the passion for that. Right after school, I didn’t go to any university and started working as a full-time designer in one of the local web agencies called Mediapark.

Who inspires you to be a designer?

I get inspired by new products being made by other designers. The world is changing really fast and you can never know what goes next. I love to see how people interact with design and how good design changes people’s lives for better. I love making people happy and that’s what inspires me most.

How does your work day look like?

Currently, I’m enjoying the benefits of freelancing. I love to get up pretty late (9-11am) and check my emails/news while still laying in bed. I work as a partner with one big local company, so you can find me in their office almost every day. Although I work with them just for 3-5 hours a day, so rest of the time I’m working at home.

What are you currently working on?

Now I’m really excited about my own startup project. I’m currently working on its design and already have a programmer to do the backend afterwards. I would love to talk about it when it’s done, but for now, I can only tell that it will be a really nice and easy to use resumé builder.

How do you manage your time?

I don’t have any unique ways to manage my time. I basically charge an hourly rate, so I try to manage my time hour by hour. I estimate time for specific tasks and do my best to make it on time.

Where are you currently based and what’s next?

I’m currently based in Vilnius, Lithuania but I work with people from all around the world. I love the idea that I’m able to freelance wherever I have an internet access, but I love my city and I see my future here in Vilnius.

Working in the office for a company or you’re freelancer?

50/50. As I said, I am a freelancer, but some of the time I work in my clients’ office because it’s easier to communicate live than by emails etc.

What are the tools you can’t live without?

First of all – my MacBook and iPhone. No matter what, I have at least one of them around me.

What is your latest project?

One of my latest projects which I’m really happy about is redesigning MailerLite. I’ve been working with guys from MailerLite for almost the year and we’re really happy about it. So are the users. It’s a pleasure to see how their product grows, I’m one of the users myself and I really love the service.

Portfolio: https://dribbble.com/e93 / Twitter: https://twitter.com/erikasaves / Facebook: https://fb.com/erikaslt