Dorota Watkowska

As Art Director at Ajust Design, Dorota defines visual directions for new projects, develops brand identities, and ensures client communication stays consistent and memorable. Her experience spans award-winning branding, creating a book cover for a Nobel Prize laureate, and product illustrations for mobile apps. All these works taught how to tailor communication style to each client.

Dorota’s foundation comes from the Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied in two poster studios. This shaped her most. A poster has only a moment to grab attention while communicating key information quickly. That poster-oriented thinking taught her to value clean design that, as Dieter Rams said, “Should not dominate people. It should help people.”

Design excites her because it’s like solving a puzzle. At the beginning, there’s endless information and infinite possibilities. Step by step, she extracts the essence, defines visual language, talks with clients, and searches for what makes their voice unique until reaching the goal. Every project is different. This constant change keeps her engaged.

Her approach starts with the client’s core: their values, strategy, and philosophy. A large part of design is listening carefully and understanding what the client really needs. For Dorota, design without a clear purpose is just decoration. Good design is about being noticed, understood, and remembered. 

What she notices that others miss: beautiful projects that end up hard to use. Design should be clear and functional first. She also sees people spending months on a logo while forgetting the bigger picture of identity, communication, tone of voice, and values. Good design isn’t decoration. It’s a tool for building brand image, trust, sales, and recognition.

Colleagues know Dorota for bringing fresh ideas and constantly improving work. Her principle: every day, do a little more, even 10% extra effort. Outside work, art remains her true passion and escape, letting her reach new levels of inspiration. She runs art workshops for women, which brings fresh energy to her daily work. Dorota balances an interest in AI and new technologies with refining manual skills that develop thinking and concentration.