“Life is more interesting when people engage with it
thoughtfully and creatively.” ~ Evelyn Hart
Who is this guy?
Hey there… I’m Wilhelm,
I’ve been designing since the internet was young, websites were built with tables, and Flash was still casting spells. I was online before Google existed, watched UX grow into a discipline, and lived through enough web trends to know which ones deserve to stay buried.
Over the years I’ve worked across graphic design, illustration, branding, UX, accessibility, and product design. Titles changed. Technologies changed. The problems got bigger.
That’s been the fun part.
I enjoy making complicated things easier to understand. Whether it’s a website, a workflow, a design system, or a sprawling information ecosystem, I love finding the thread that turns complexity into clarity.
Illustration
I’ve been drawing since the early 1990s and, despite my best efforts, never seem to have stopped.
I’ll happily draw just about anything, though I have a particular fondness for whimsy. If there’s an opportunity to make something a little stranger, more playful, or more imaginative, I’ll usually take it. The world is serious enough on its own.
I studied illustration in college, where I certainly learned technique, but the most valuable lesson was something else entirely: don’t be afraid of the blank page. Once you stop worrying about getting it wrong, you’re willing to try almost anything, and that’s where the interesting ideas tend to live.
Creativity thrives on curiosity. Fear, self-doubt, and overthinking have a habit of chasing it away. As David Lynch once said, “Negativity is the enemy of creativity.” I’ve always found that to be true.
Voice Over Work
Like many people during the pandemic, I found myself spending a lot of time in online meetings. After hearing “Who’s got the radio voice?” more times than I could count, I finally accepted the possibility that everyone might be talking about me.
So in 2020, Wilhelm Presents: Frightening Tales was born.
Inspired by classic radio dramas like The Creaking Door and The Whistler, and shaped by years spent reading bedtime stories to my son, the show became a place where I could combine storytelling, performance, sound design, and a lifelong love of the strange and unusual.
What started as a microphone purchased for work meetings evolved into a podcast, a YouTube channel, and a growing community of listeners who enjoy a good story told in the dark.
Listen… if you’re brave enough.
Writing
Somewhere along the way I developed a love of writing. Horror is usually where I end up, but I’ve always been fascinated by stories in all their forms. Give me an interesting idea, a strange situation, or a question worth exploring, and sooner or later I’ll start building a story around it.
Writing for Frightening Tales gave me an unexpected gift: an audience. Over the years I’ve had listeners reach out to tell me a story kept them awake at night, gave them chills, made them laugh, or simply helped them escape the pressures of everyday life for a little while. Those messages mean more to me than they probably realize.
If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m a firm believer in the power of story. Long before books, films, podcasts, or social media, people gathered around fires to share experiences, warnings, myths, and dreams. We’ve been telling stories for as long as we’ve been human.
Stories help us understand the world, connect with one another, and occasionally see ourselves from a different perspective. They’re one of the few things that can survive generations and still make someone feel something.
That’s a kind of magic worth preserving.
“Vanquishing banality
with sharp imagination.
These are the
monsters I slay.”
Graphic Design
I originally went to college to study illustration. Drawing had been my passion for years, and I assumed it would be the foundation of my career. Then something unexpected happened.
I discovered design.
The more I was exposed to it, the more fascinated I became. Design wasn’t just about creating visuals. It was about communication, storytelling, problem-solving, and understanding how people interacted with information. It combined creativity with purpose in a way that immediately clicked with me.
Before long, I found myself designing websites, building brands, exploring user experiences, and thinking about information systems. This was long before terms like UX Design, Product Design, and Design Systems became part of everyday conversation, but those were the kinds of problems that captured my attention.
When opportunities in design began appearing, I followed them. What started as a detour quickly became a career.
Over the years that journey led me through branding, web design, accessibility, information architecture, user experience, and product design. Along the way I developed an appreciation for typography, colour, systems thinking, and the challenge of making complex things easier to understand.
Looking back, I didn’t leave illustration behind. I simply found a bigger creative playground.
And I’ve been exploring it ever since.
Merch
Some of the artwork I’ve created over the years has made for some decent clothes. If you’re looking for something a little different to wear. Perhaps something in my store will connect with you.