Rafael Kassulke

Why this persona fits the audience

He freelances for small agencies in Manchester and is also applying to full-time senior designer roles. He currently rewrites each resume and cover letter pair by hand, keeps job notes in Notion, and uses a competitor resume tool as a starting point.

• Age: 36
• Location: Manchester, UK
• Occupation: freelance brand designer
• Income: £52k
• Education: BA in Graphic Design
• Company size: Solo freelancer serving clients ranging from 5-50 employees
• Years in role: 12

“Design isn't just about making things look good; it's about solving problems so clearly that the solution feels inevitable.”

Rafael Kassulke is a 36-year-old freelance brand designer based in Manchester, navigating the transition from a nomadic agency lifestyle to a stable in-house position. With a BA in Graphic Design and twelve years of experience, Rafael has built a reputation for meticulous typographic execution and reliable client management. Currently earning £52,000 annually, he operates as a solo practitioner serving small agencies and startups, handling everything from logo creation to full brand guidelines. Despite his success, he feels the fatigue of constant context-switching between creative work and business administration. His current reality is defined by a paradox: he is highly skilled yet frustrated by the inefficiency of his job search process. He is actively applying to senior designer roles, rewriting every resume and cover letter by hand to ensure authenticity, a practice that consumes hours he could spend designing. While he utilizes Notion to track applications and employs a competitor resume tool for initial structure, he remains dissatisfied with the lack of nuance in automated outputs. He believes his unique voice matters too much to be flattened by generic AI suggestions. Financially, he is prudent, viewing his freelance income as a stepping stone rather than a permanent state. He is motivated by the prospect of health insurance, paid leave, and a consistent paycheck, which would allow him to invest more heavily in his personal projects and family planning. Professionally, he is tired of the 'hustle' culture and seeks a collaborative environment where he can mentor others. His recent decision to apply to in-house roles stems from a desire to deepen his craft within a single ecosystem rather than diluting his energy across disparate clients. He is not looking for a quick fix; he wants a sustainable career path that honors his dedication to craft.

Background & daily life

A day in their life

Rafael wakes at 6:30 AM, brewing coffee manually and checking the weather for his bike ride. By 8:00 AM, he is cycling through Deansgate, listening to a podcast, arriving back at his desk by 9:15. He starts his workday by reviewing emails and prioritizing tasks in Notion, tackling the most cognitively demanding design work first. Around noon, he takes a break for lunch, often walking to a local deli or eating at his desk while sketching. Afternoons are reserved for client calls, revisions, and administrative tasks like invoicing. By 5:30 PM, he stops working strictly, switching to light cycling or visiting a coffee shop to review typography trends. Evenings are for family, cooking, and winding down with a book or a match replay, ensuring he disconnects completely before sleep.

Lifestyle

Rafael lives in a converted warehouse unit in Ancoats, surrounded by exposed brick and high ceilings that he finds inspiring for late-night design sprints. His mornings are non-negotiable: an espresso at a nearby specialty roaster, followed by a 15-mile ride on his road bike through the city's canals before work begins. He is financially disciplined, living on a steady freelance income while aggressively saving for a deposit on a house in Cheshire. Socially, he balances quiet evenings reading or cycling with Friday night football matches at local pubs, where he knows the staff by name. He avoids debt, pays his bills immediately, and treats his home office as a sanctuary where clutter is minimal and every tool has its place.

Work life

His days oscillate between deep-focus branding projects for boutique Manchester agencies and the administrative grind of business development. He works out of a dedicated home studio equipped with dual 4K monitors and a Wacom tablet, often collaborating remotely with copywriters and developers across Europe. The pressure comes from tight deadlines and the constant need to justify his rates to small business owners who undervalue design. He spends roughly 30% of his week on client acquisition, a task he finds draining compared to the actual design work. Recently, he shifted focus from pure freelancing to targeting senior in-house roles at mid-sized firms, hoping to trade variable income for benefits and stability without losing creative autonomy.

Relationships

Rafael is married to Sarah, a primary school teacher who grounds him after long design weeks. They have no children yet but discuss it frequently. He maintains a close-knit circle of three friends from university, mostly meeting up for dinner once a month. His professional network is robust but diffuse, consisting largely of past agency directors and clients he trusts implicitly. He relies on these trusted peers for honest feedback rather than public forums, preferring face-to-face conversations or direct messages over broad social media engagement.

How they decide

Rafael is a methodical researcher who prefers data-driven decisions backed by peer validation. He rarely buys software impulsively; instead, he creates comparison spreadsheets, reads user reviews, and often tests free trials extensively before committing to a subscription. He values transparency in pricing and functionality, needing to understand exactly how a tool solves a specific friction point in his workflow before spending money. He is skeptical of marketing hype and looks for concrete evidence of efficiency gains.

How they sound

Rafael speaks in a measured, articulate Mancunian accent, avoiding slang unless joking with close friends. His tone is professional yet approachable, favoring precise vocabulary over jargon. He tends to pause thoughtfully before answering complex questions, valuing accuracy over speed. He avoids hyperbole, preferring phrases like 'it might be worth exploring' rather than 'this will change everything.' In casual settings, he is warm and listens more than he speaks, often asking follow-up questions to show genuine interest in the other person's perspective.