Design – one discipline. Many depths.

Independent design advisor & coach

Since June 2025, I have been working independently as a design advisor, fractional design leader and coach, partnering with organisations as they navigate growth, change and the evolving role of design.

I support founders, product leaders and design teams in scaling from startup to scale-up, shaping design organisations, strengthening collaboration across UX, UI, research and product, and adapting product development practices to fit each organisation’s context.

Alongside organisational consulting, I coach designers and emerging leaders as they step into new responsibilities, helping them build confidence, navigate complexity and make better decisions. A significant part of my current work is exploring how AI is changing product development and design organisations, translating hands-on experience with emerging technologies into practical ways of working that create lasting value.

Moments that shape a team rarely come with a playbook. Whether you’re tackling a complex product challenge, making your first design leadership hire, supporting a new leader, or rethinking how AI fits into your organisation, an experienced outside perspective can help. If you’re looking for a design advisor, a fractional design leader, or coaching for yourself or your team, feel free to book a 1:1 🚀

Head of Product Design

When I joined Taxdoo, I spearheaded a core change: shifting the company’s focus from its corporate brand to a product designed for a specific group of businesses and their users. This required hands-on change management: working closely with newly forming product teams to build alignment, clarity, and shared ownership. I collaborated across functions and with leadership, including the CTO, to strengthen product thinking throughout business analytics, design, engineering, sales, data and customer support.

In a fully remote setup, I implemented rituals and routines that created structure, built trust, and encouraged ownership – laying the foundation for a more effective product organisation, a focused growth strategy, and measurable outcomes.

A second major focus was establishing a coherent product identity – something that had previously been fragmented or entirely missing. With no more in-house graphic designers and inconsistent visual output from external marketing partners, I initiated and built Taxdoo’s first comprehensive design system (see my case study). This effort brought alignment across all customer-facing touchpoints. Web, product UI, social media, and marketing materials finally reflected one unified product identity. The system was not only a visual toolkit, but also a set of design principles, content templates (e.g. glossaries), and components shared across the company – especially with engineering and external vendors – bridging the gap between design intent and implementation.

On a more operational level, I introduced UX practices that had been entirely absent. For the first time, me and my team of up to six designers put together the complete customer experience map (see my case study) across departments, identifying where and how different teams – sales, product, compliance solutions, support – interacted with customers, users and partners. This work revealed blind spots and opportunities, enabling us to design journeys that were not only usable but deeply connected to our customers’ real-world needs. In doing so, I helped position design as a strategic function that drives clarity, alignment, and measurable impact.

UX Strategy & Design Manager

My journey into one of Germany’s largest utility platform programs began with a focused R&D initiative: I led a research-driven project exploring self-service solutions for B2C customers in the energy sector. The MVP we developed validated a user-centered approach to digital market communication – its success became a catalyst for my role in the subsequent multi-year transformation program.

During the RFP phase that followed, I was responsible for shaping the entire UX track – defining the role of design systems, accessibility, and cross-entity usability within a highly regulated, multi-stakeholder environment. The UX strategy played a critical role in securing the contract, setting the foundation for scalable delivery.

Together with a core group of 15 leads, I went on to build the delivery organisation from the ground up – scaling it to over 450 people across several countries and time zones. Within this structure, I established and led the frontend capability stream: six cross-functional teams integrating UX research, UI design, and frontend development.

UX research and process mapping were more than just tools for improving user experience – they enabled us to identify and align business processes across 50+ municipal utilities and their subsidiaries. This approach prevented the development of fragmented one-off solutions and allowed us to implement a unified frontend on top of multiple backend platforms – laying the groundwork for digital standardization in Germany’s energy sector.

Beyond delivery, I contributed as an advisor to several SaaS platform RFPs and served as Community Lead for Accenture’s Pride network.

Experience Design Manager

At Publicis Sapient, a global consultancy for digital business transformation, I worked at the intersection of service design, user experience, and business strategy. I initially joined as a Senior Experience Designer and was soon after promoted to Manager, supporting clients in developing experience blueprints, shaping digital platforms, and aligning cross-functional teams behind a shared product vision. My focus industries included consumer goods (FMCG), healthcare, retail, and transportation.

A key part of my work involved partnering with internal talent and HR departments of major organisations – such as Daimler, DHL, and Publicis Sapient itself – to redesign UX architecture and improve their international, multi-branded platforms for internal staffing, recruiting, and employee engagement. These projects combined service design with UX strategy and required close alignment across IT, HR, and communications – as well as a strong understanding of user behavior, service processes, and organisational structures.

One of my core projects was with BSH, supporting the launch of their new smart kitchen appliance, the Cookit. While our team was initially brought in to prototype web pages for early user testing, I soon stepped into the strategic lead role. Together with talented BSH teams, we explored user needs, tested messaging, content, and usability, and co-developed the framework for a full customer journey – from advertising touchpoints to the website experience, purchase, unboxing, and first-time use. In parallel, we introduced agile methods and supported internal alignment across departments during a pivotal phase of BSH’s first direct-to-consumer initiative.

For Essity and its brand TENA, I led a user research initiative across four key European markets, focused on helping women navigate product choice on their corporate platform. Based in Gothenburg and later remotely, I scoped the project, conducted user interviews, mapped key insights, and delivered a comprehensive experience map. The project not only redefined the original brief but also restored stakeholder confidence; culminating in a C-level presentation with strategic recommendations for future development.

Beyond my core role, I helped build Publicis Sapient’s first, pro-active LGBTQ+ community in DACH. Together with allies, we shaped a space for connection and visibility – launching internal workshops, creative formats, and coordinating the company’s first participation in Munich’s CSD parade.

Design Consultant – UX, UI & Branding

Design has always been central to my work – starting with communication design and evolving over time into strategic experience design. After graduating from the top-ranked HfG Schwäbisch Gmünd, I worked both independently and in permanent roles, building a foundation in campaigning, branding, and information design.

As part of this early phase, I developed corporate identities, exhibitions, and visual systems – working across print and digital. With every project, my focus moved further toward interaction, structure, and user perspective.

Over time, I began leading small teams, mentoring interns and junior designers, and guiding trainees through their early career steps. My work gradually became more strategic and user-centered, spanning platform design, product thinking, and early-stage UX consultancy. I advised Austrian creative agencies and startups – e.g. as a UX coach at the Inncubator in Innsbruck – on usability, research, and ideation. Alongside my agency and freelance roles, I worked with clients in IT, healthcare, banking, retail, and the wider digitalisation space.