Education / Teaching

Radek Karkulowski is a Finland-based artist-educator with over 15 years of experience in visual arts and design education. He teaches visual communication, illustration and image-based thinking, with an emphasis on process, critique and meaningful visual decisions. His work also includes portfolio guidance, course development and programme planning.

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TEACHING APPROACH

Radek’s teaching combines practical assignments, visual examples, discussion, group critique and individual feedback. By connecting making, looking and thinking, he helps students develop visual clarity, confidence and their own way of working.

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TEACHING AREAS

Visual communication
Concepts, systems and clear visual expression.

Image-based thinking
Looking, interpreting and communicating through images.

Illustration
Narrative, metaphor and personal visual language.

Graphic design foundations
Typography, layout, composition and structure.

Poster & publication design
Print, editorial and publication thinking.

Portfolio development
Editing, sequencing and presentation.

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TEACHING EXPERIENCE & COURSE DEVELOPMENT

Vapaa akatemia — Lahti Academy of Liberal and Fine Arts
Radek has worked at Vapaa akatemia since 2017, teaching visual communication, illustration and portfolio development. His roles there have included Lead Teacher for Illustration and Graphic Design and Head of Education and Programme Lead for Visual Arts.

Programme, course and learning pathway development
His work includes planning course structures, study content and learning pathways in visual communication, illustration and graphic design. He has also coordinated teachers and visiting professionals.

Portfolio development and study pathways
Radek guides students in developing visual language, project-based work and portfolios for further studies. His teaching supports students in clarifying their ideas, editing their work and presenting a coherent visual direction.

Workshops, critiques and collaborative teaching
His teaching experience also includes workshops, guest critiques, open university of applied sciences courses, Erasmus collaboration and international study visits.

Pedagogical and artistic background
Radek holds a Master of Arts in Illustration from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He also studied Visual Communication / Media at Lahti Institute of Design and completed pedagogical teacher education in Finland.

Teaching languages: Finnish, English and Polish.

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AVAILABLE FOR

Visiting teaching and workshops

Guest critiques and portfolio reviews

Collaborative teaching projects

STUDENT PERSPECTIVEs

  • “As a professional, Radek Karkulowski is gentle, knowledgeable, and passionate about teaching, students, and the profession. Through his courses, I learned to pay attention to details and the bigger picture in a deeper way and to weigh up my own choices in design work for a better end result.”

    Anton Nikiforov @kuvittelija_nikiforov

  • "Radek Karkulowski's course taught me how to think visually and understand the importance of critique in the creative process."

    Ohto Helske @ohto_art

  • "Radek helped me get motivated and improve incredibly fast with my work in illustration and graphic design. The course helped me a lot to prepare for the entrance exams of the University of Applied Sciences, both mentally and technically."

    Leo Jouhkimow @_tastmask_

TEACHING & COLLABORATION

For inquiries about visiting teaching, workshops, guest critiques or collaborative projects, please get in touch.

Get in touch

CV and teaching portfolio on request.