About me
Start-ups, incubators & e-commerce companies
Languages
German – native
English – fluent
CALIDA GROUP DGTL
Head of UX & Digital Design
Nov. 2022 – Nov. 2023 (1 year)
As CALIDA GROUP DGLT’s UX and Design Team Lead, I shape the design strategy for the fashion retail e-commerce brands. Leading a team of 10+ experts, we prioritize user experience through analytics, customer feedback, and remote testing. I manage the modular design system for our white-label platform and created the first Digital UX Design Language for a cohesive user journey.
Additionally, I played a pivotal role in the successful rebranding of “Reich Online Solutions” to CALIDA GROUP DIGITAL, further solidifying the commitment to innovative and user-centric digital solutions.
FTI Group
Head of Design & UX
Jun. 2021 – Oct. 2022 (4 years 7 months)
Leading and owning the global product design strategy and roadmap of all FTI owned platforms, operating in two regions across the globe. Line manage UX and design team to create solutions based on UX analytics, customer feedback, and remote testing.
- Set up and manage the UX Design team, made up of 12 experts and 2 Team Manager with core skills in UX design and research; also visual design, prototyping, and service design
- Managing the modular design system and best practice UX-UI pattern of the new white-label internet booking engine
- Created FTI’s first Digital UX Design Language to ensure consistency across products
Team Manager UX
Sep. 2019 – May 2021 (1 year 9 months)
Senior UX / UI Designer
Mar. 2018 – Aug. 2019 (1 year 6 months)
MYTOYS GROUP
UX / UI Designer
Jun 2015 – Mar 2018 (2 years 10 months)
As the Lead UX Designer, I brought user-centric design and business needs together with strategic insights to create solutions, products, and services for the multishop concept of Germany’s leading online retailer of kids’ toys, adult shoes, and furniture.
Project A Ventures
UX / UI Designer
Jan 2012 – Jun 2015 (3 years 6 months)
As the Lead UX Designer, I devised, wire-framed, and validated the design solutions to prepare for the development of successful startups like Wine in Black, Saatchi Online, Contorion, Tirendo, and many others.
Rocket Internet
UX / UI Designer
Oct 2010 – Dec 2011 (1 year 3 months)
Part of UX and UI team to create designs, in close collaboration with the product team and founders, for startups within Rocket Internet’s portfolio.
UX Design Approach
My UX process draws inspiration from the methodology adopted by Google for their product development and is closely aligned with the principles taught in Stanford’s product design courses. This versatile approach can be tailored, ranging from a few weeks for extensive projects to mere days when crafting new features.
- Understand01Understand and Frame the Problem
- Uncover02Uncover Insights Through Research
- Define03Define the User's Journey and Goals
- Ideate04Ideate and Generate Solutions
- Create05Create Prototypes and Test
- Implement06Implement and Iterate
Methods & Tools of choice
Methods and tools i use in my daily work. I always try to incorporate new methods into my work.
It’s all about the Team that creates excellent ideas and great products. Celebrate Achievements, Cross-functional Collaboration, Empowerment, Mentorship, Feedback Culture, User-Centered Mindset, Design Sprints, Daily Standups, Design Language, Design Critiques, Regular Retrospectives, Clear Roles & Responsibilities, Open Communication, Continuous Learning
Design Thinking, Agile Working (ScrumBan), User Flows, Wireframing, Prototyping, Information Architecture & Hierarchy, A/B Testing, Heuristic Evaluation, User Research, Usability Testing, Personas, User Journey Mapping, Accessibility (WCAG), Design Systems, Responsive Design, Interaction Design, Pattern Libraries, Consistency, User Feedback Incorporation
Figma, Sketch, Principle, InVision & Craft, Zeplin, Miro, Mural, Storybook, Rapid User Tests, UserTesting, Maze, SurveyMonkey, Hotjar, Crazy Egg, Maxymiser, Notability, Xmind – Mind Map, Overflow, Balsamiq Mockup, Axure RP, HTML, CSS, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Google Docs
Little bit more about me
It’s very important for me to have beside the daily work a balance with my hobbies.
For me, sport is having fun in a team and sharing my experience with younger players. Basketball & Streetball have been part of my life for more than 25 years. Since 1993 I have been a big Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan fan.
Travelling is one of the most beautiful experiences. To experience new countries, new cultures, the people, the food is what travelling means to me. Travel changes perspective and perception.
Like travelling, I love to eat. Both can be perfectly combined. As Mark Wiens says in his Travel VLOG “I travel for food” – I feel exactly the same. I also love to cook myself, always trying out new things.