Hello, I’m Michael Essek

by Michael Essek   ·   Updated: November 12, 2025

I’m a designer, illustrator and writer based in Manchester, UK.

I help designers, artists, illustrators and other creatives to come up with better ideas, produce better designs, and grow a long-term business from their creative work.

I’ve been designing and selling T-Shirts online since 2013, primarily through Print on Demand sites like Redbubble and Teepublic, and using Print on Demand companies like Printful.

I’ve presented creative training and design tutorials for Adobe, Printify, Teepublic, Redbubble, Goodtype and others – and appeared on various podcasts to talk about my work, my business and my methods for coming up with original ideas.

In 2016 I left my 9-5 graphic design job, and have since made a living creating artwork for T-Shirts and licensing and selling them online.

I have particular experience in pop and internet-culture trends, jokes and puns; and have collected and compiled formulas and frameworks to help artists and designers generate original T-Shirt design ideas fast.

I believe any designer with creative ideas and decent design skills can learn how to build a long-term business on their own terms; mainly thanks to the ever-increasing opportunities for artists to monetise their work online (and off).

My blog is a place for me to share what I have learned along the way, but I share more intimate thoughts and advice in my email newsletter (you can sign up here).

I hope you get something from my content, and if you’re looking for more, please check out my products.

thanks!

– Michael Essek

For business and speaking inquiries:

Contact me via my contact page.

You can also find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.