San Francisco, January 10th, 2024

As a design-driven agency, Pattern designs modern brands, eCommerce experiences, products & platforms. They help founders, disruptors and visionaries find their place at the intersection of culture, community and commerce. The agency specializes in brand identity, UX and UI design for eCommerce, and digital product design, working with global clients.

Michael Janiak is the Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director at Pattern, based in San Francisco. In an interview with TIA, he described his personal journey that led him to start Pattern and walked us through a regular day in his shoes. He also shared the mission and vision of the agency and listed the things that can make an ecommerce site a hit.

To kick things off, what do you like the most about working in San Francisco?

I like that the city has a long history with creativity, and the culture here values design and craft. You can find just about any scene here if you look hard enough. Its full of talented people & ambitious companies to work with. For a first-time visitor, I’d recommend looking broader than just the city. SF is small, so think more about your visit as a visit to the region: beaches, hiking, wine tasting, museums & galleries, world-class restaurants. Its crazy how good we have it in the Bay Area.

Can you share a bit about your personal journey and how you got into the field of digital design and eCommerce?

I originally got into graphic design and visual art through skateboarding, snowboarding and punk rock in the early 90’s. The combination of vibrancy, energy, and cultural edginess just drew me in and hooked me. In 1999 I discovered Flash and that changed the course of my life and put me on the path to applying graphic design to screens instead of print. The motion & interaction possible in Flash blew my mind and I knew from that point on that it was the kind of work I wanted to do. As my career progressed in digital agencies, I stumbled into eCommerce design in the early 2010’s and realized that it was ripe for more interactive, rich experiences that were just as much about storytelling as they were about transaction. Now at Pattern, I’ve founded an agency where we get to push the boundaries on both of those things, and it’s been the most fun I’ve ever had.

What’s a regular day like in Michael’s shoes?

Lots of design reviews and lots of calls with potential clients. Being creative and running a business are often at odds — I’ll often need to switch between presenting a strategy & creative vision to a client and looking at quarterly financials. It can be chaotic and stressful, but it’s also just an incredible feeling when the Pattern team knocks it out of the park on a project and everyone is hyped on the work.

What motivated you to co-found Pattern, and how has your role evolved since its inception?

We thought there was space for creativity and brand-forward, experience-driven design in the eCommerce space. And we knew there were ways to start and grow an agency without resorting to a lot of the bullshit that you see in this industry, so we have a bit of a chip on our shoulders to prove that out. As far as my role, it’s changed quite a bit. I’m still involved in the work, but it’s at a more directional, strategic vision level vs. being very hands on when we started Pattern. I’ve also been stepping up and more fully embracing the “non-design” things that make a design agency run, and feel like that focus has paid off in being able to set a vision and nurture a specific culture within Pattern.

Could you share the mission and vision behind Pattern and how it aligns with the current trends in the experience economy?

We help founders, disruptors and visionaries find their place at the intersection of culture, community & commerce. Those kinds of people, or teams, tend to work really well with us because we are aligned on the belief that people want more than a transaction from the brands and products they shop for. And the only way to get there is to be a little fearless in trying new ideas and new ways of tapping into cultural insights and human truths, and using them to drive design outcomes that are unique and differentiated.

You’ve worked with notable brands like Netflix, Shopify, and others. Can you highlight a collaboration that presented unique challenges and how Pattern addressed them?

Our most recent launch for Framebridge is a great example of an insanely complex system of product visualization and purchase paths that we simplified through months of iteration, trial and error, and brute force. The Framebridge team was on board from the beginning and really pushed us to not be tethered to what they already had, and to find new paths to help them unlock their next phase as a brand.

In your experience, what are the key elements that make an ecommerce platform successful, especially in terms of user experience and design?

Visually arresting design & interaction, simple & intuitive UX, a little bit of surprise & delight, content that aligns with consumer goals, an overall narrative woven into the whole experience, and a rock solid strategy for everyone to rally around.

Can you walk us through Pattern’s creative process, from conceptualization to the final implementation of a project?

I’ve always had trouble describing our process in absolute terms, because we apply it differently depending on the project and the client teams and the context of the work. It’s not like manufacturing where you are making the same thing over and over, there’s nuance and breakthroughs and the occasional pivot. In general terms, our process starts with research and is underpinned by strategy and insights that can only be unlocked by truly listening and observing without judgment. From there, we lead with design and work in combined UX and Visual design cycles to explore ideas and directions that are exciting, fresh, and aligned with the objectives in our brief. From there, its a constant state of iteration and evolution as we lock in elements one by one and then build them out for launch on platforms like Shopify Plus and Webflow.

Design-driven work often involves collaboration between different teams. How does Pattern ensure seamless collaboration and integration across the various design aspects like brand identity, UX/UI, and digital product design?

We basically have no real silos on our team. For us, we see it as all integrated and part of the larger context. UX design is as much about brand experience as visual design & content is about UX. So we like to keep our teams cross-functional and really integrated, and the same is said for our engagement model with our clients. We try to knock down the barrier or “client vs. agency” and create a different context of “we’re all here to get this thing done as a team, so let’s do it.” It’s worked really well for us.

Do you have a particular methodology to help others achieve their goals?

I try to operate from a place of meeting people where they’re at, and then showing & guiding them to the next level of where they want to be. I’ve always looked at creative leadership as a service where I’m helping people master their craft, and my methodology and tactics generally reflect that mindset. Its a fine balance of knowing when to step back and trust the team and the process, and knowing when to step in and help people get unblocked, spark new ideas, and push them through the discomfort toward something new and exciting. I get it wrong sometimes, but I get it right more than I get it wrong and I think the people who I’ve worked with over the years generally appreciate it.

Design trends evolve rapidly. How does Pattern stay adaptable to emerging design trends while maintaining its core focus on brand identity, UX/ UI, and digital product design?

We take inspiration and certainly pay attention, but in the end the aim with our work is to stand out, be relevant to the target, and create value for our clients over the long term. Hopping on trend bandwagons rarely gets you to that outcome. Worse, it can box you in as an agency and tie you too closely to a style. That works when your style is trending, but once that trend passes, your screwed. Many agencies have fallen off that way and never recovered. My aim is to make sure Pattern isn’t one of them.

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations or goals for Pattern in terms of growth, innovation, or impact in the design industry?

We have some pretty ambitious growth goals over the next few years, and I could see us being 20-30 people in a fairly short amount of time. I feel like we have a ton of room to run in the design industry – and in ecommerce in particular- by continually showing that groundbreaking, truly integrated design that’s differentiated and well-executed can lead to groundbreaking results from the smallest startups to the biggest enterprises.

Can you share some insights or tips for businesses looking to thrive in the e-commerce space in 2024?

Buckle up. The agency industry overall is competitive, and it’s been a rocky 18 months and will still likely be a rough environment in 2024. To thrive, you need to really have a strong and differentiated point of view and offerings to back it up.

Are there any hobbies or activities outside of design that you enjoy and find inspiration from?

Surfing, snowboarding, travel and exploring different cultures, cities and off the beaten path destinations, streetwear & underground fashion, looking at and researching artists and their movements and & historical design movements (like Bauhaus, etc) , music (punk, metal, hip hop, lo-fi electronica, and anything weird & different that defies genre categories) and generally being outdoors and/ or building things.

From your personal standpoint, what global issues are you most passionate about and why?

I’m most passionate about progress, and am relentlessly optimistic that we will unlock major transformative ways to solve climate change, water & energy shortages, and illnesses like cancer in the very near future.

Which unusual skill do you pride yourself in having?

The ability to pop my shoulder out of its socket at will.

Please share something you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet.

Heliboarding in Alaska.

Thanks Michael!

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