Belmin Salkica - Product Designer

My Journey in Design and Beyond: Art, Tech, and Travel

Hi, I’m Belmin Salkica a freelance product designer with a big love for creativity, tech, and adventure. My story didn’t start in a classroom or agency. It started in my bedroom, on an old laptop, playing a browser game and getting curious about how things were made.

That curiosity turned into a passion. I started designing for fun, learning tools like Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator just by trying things out. Over time, those random hobbies grew into real skills. And slowly, I realized this could actually be my job.

When I’m not designing, I’m probably out exploring. I love being active biking, swimming, hitting the gym and I’m always planning my next trip. Meeting new people and experiencing different cultures is a huge part of what inspires me.

Design became more than just work. It’s a way I get to connect with others, solve problems, and build cool things all while living a lifestyle I enjoy.

Let's Dive In

From Forum Banners to Big Dreams: My Design Story

It all started when I was a teen, hooked on a browser game called FootballIdentity. I saw people on the forum with cool banners under their names and thought, “I need one of those.”

That curiosity led me to Photoshop. I spent hours figuring things out on my own, it wasn’t easy, but I was hooked.

Eventually, I started making banners and flyers for others. One day, I messaged the game owners and offered to make a promo video for them. They said yes and paid me with in-game currency around €80 worth. That was the first time I realized, “Wait… people might pay me for this.”

Watch the video I made for them!

It all started when I was a teen, hooked on a browser game called FootballIdentity. I saw people on the forum with cool banners under their names and thought, “I need one of those.”

That curiosity led me to Photoshop. I spent hours figuring things out on my own, it wasn’t easy, but I was hooked.

Watch the video I made for them!

Playing Footballidentity, 2011

Freelancing in coworking, 2016

My Freelance Adventure: Learning and Earning

Freelancing was my next step. I tried everything helping classmates with school projects, hunting for random gigs online, anything I could find. It was tough at the start.

Then I stumbled on Fiverr, and finally landed a few small projects. Clients were actually paying me for my designs! I sold everything I could: social media posts, flyers, mobile apps, landing pages you name it.

It wasn’t always smooth, but I learned fast. I figured out how to talk to clients, improve my designs, and build trust. Those wild early days shaped me into the Senior Product Designer I am today.

Freelancing was my next step. I tried everything helping classmates with school projects, hunting for random gigs online, anything I could find. It was tough at the start.

It wasn’t always smooth, but I learned fast. I figured out how to talk to clients, improve my designs, and build trust. Those wild early days shaped me into the Senior Product Designer I am today.

From Studies to Success: Building My Career

As I kept freelancing on the side, I also went to university to study Information Technology. I learned the basics of web development, project management, databases you name it. At first, I thought I might become a developer, but the more I tried, the more I realized it wasn’t what I truly enjoyed.

Design was still the thing I looked forward to. So halfway through my studies, I shifted focus and took design more seriously. I joined Upwork and started getting real clients. It felt crazy to be working with people from all over the world while still being in school.

That was the turning point when I saw design not just as a hobby but as a real career path. I started treating every project like it mattered. I learned how to manage client expectations, how to present my ideas clearly, and how to stay organized.

Presenting my bachelor’s degree thesis, 2019

Working from home, 2025

Growing as a Designer: My Real Life Journey

Over the past five years, I’ve worked as a product designer with clients from the US, Australia, and Europe and it still feels kind of unreal sometimes.

I’ve taken on all kinds of projects from fintech, ed-tech, automation tools, and internal systems. Sometimes I was the only designer handling everything, and other times I worked with larger teams on big, complex platforms.

Along the way, I’ve done UX audits, built design systems, created UI for web and mobile apps, and led design from idea to delivery. I learned how to turn vague ideas into working products and how to collaborate with developers, PMs, and stakeholders.

It’s been an amazing journey that helped me grow into a confident, well-rounded Senior Product Designer who genuinely loves what he does.

Over the past five years, I’ve worked as a product designer with clients from the US, Australia, and Europe and it still feels kind of unreal sometimes.

It’s been an amazing journey that helped me grow into a confident, well-rounded Senior Product Designer who genuinely loves what he does.