Michael Kmak is in love—with design, with Chicago, with guitars, with Lake Michigan—and he’s united his passions to create a better future for his city and those who call it home.
As a project designer in our Chicago office, Michael draws inspiration from the urban environment. He focuses on the patterns and complexities of daily life intersected with the patterns and complexities of the urban condition, which he believes create new formulas we can use to design our future. He calls his career a perpetual crash-course where real-world design solutions and big ideas collide. And, Michael is persistently thinking about how design can positively change our social and cultural environments for an equitable and diverse future.
A few clients and collaborators
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Chamonix Hotel
- Pasco County School District
- Showtime
- Michigan Plaza
Expertise
- Finding agency—placing the power to make design decisions in the hands of the community
- Equity in all its embodiments and pushing for design that furthers inclusion and justice
- Uniting novel thinking with beautiful solutions
Pursuits
- Being an active member of our firm’s DEI Council and its LGBTQ+ employee resource group
- Playing the guitar for most of his life
- Finding the best cup of coffee in any city
