My Journey
I am a multi-disciplinary designer originally from Germany, who recently graduated from the Umeå Institute of Design with a MfA in Interaction Design.
Before that I did a 10 months internship at Logitech in Lausanne, Switzerland until end of October 2020. Initially this internship was supposed to be followed by a second internship at Microsoft in Bellevue, WA, US as a UX intern in the Cortana team but this was unfortunately cancelled due to Covid 19 circumstances.
Starting in June 2021 I will be looking for job opportunities as a UX/ Interaction or Service Designer for late summer, early fall this year. I am currently really interested to be joining a team that works with AI & Ethics, Diversity & Inclusion or/and Sustainability. Due to my background I am always keen to join teams that do not only work on digital but also physical products.
But how did my international journey start…
It all started in 2009 when I lived 1 year abroad in Canada, where I discovered my passion for design. I pursued this passion by setting my focus on creative courses in high school, during which I also discovered the opportunity to pursue this passion in a bachelor of Product Design.
After high school I decided to attend a two months sketching course, interned 3 months as a product designer at Braake Design, as well as 2 months at a model building company. Before starting my bachelor studies I decided to move 1 year to Shanghai, China to learn Mandarin for 2 semester at the Donghua University and part time intern at WILDDESIGN for 5 months and teach English to children at a private school in the evenings.
Back in Germany I started right away with my bachelor degree in Product Design at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Part of my studies was a product design internship which I at the brand Bosch at BSH Home Appliance Group in Munich. After my stay in Munich I was given a scholarship by the Wohlgemuth Stiftung for the rest of my bachelor studies. The following semester I moved to Sweden and spend my Erasmus exchange semester at the Umeå Institute of Design in northern Sweden. 2017 was the year I finished my bachelor degree with my thesis “Ben” in the field of service robotics in cooperation with one of the biggest research institutes in Germany the Fraunhofer IPA.
Impressed by the quality and network of the school and curriculum of the Interaction Design Master at the Umeå Institute of Design I decided to apply there for my master studies where I am currently in her second and final master year.
During all my education and internships I had the chance to work with 14 different companies in the industry.
In my free time I have travelled to over 30 countries and learned 4 different languages.
My Design Values
For me it is important to have a great awareness of what responsibility we have as designers and what short or long-term impact and consequences our design has on people and the planet. I believe it is important to constantly reflect and depending on the brief, ask ourselves critical questions. What I always like to reflect on is: Should we in this very case put yet another physical product into the world? Or the opposite: Is a screen based product that feeds our behaviour of starring into screens all day in this case the right choice?
As a designer I want to create better and more meaningful experiences to improve people's lives, by showing empathy, and respect for their life values and needs.
I believe some of the main ingredients to achieve good design is to stay curious, be explorative, think outside of the box and keep up my fascination for human behaviour.
My Life Values
Stay curious. Explore as much of the world as possible. Eat good food. Enjoy good company.
Education
2018 - Present MfA in Interaction Design Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden
2014 - 2017 BA in Product Design Hochschule für Gestaltung, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
09/2016 - 01/2017 BfA in Industrial Design, Erasmus Exchange Semester Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden
Companies/Agencies I have collaborated with during Projects
Logitech, Microsoft, Gardena (Husqvarna Group), Fraunhofer IPA, Region Västerbotten, Inuse, GE Healthcare, Västerbotten Museum (Umeå), Research Institute of Sweden (RISE), Skogforsk, Sas-Tec
Work Experience
(postponed until further notice due to Corona) UX Design Intern Microsoft, Bellevue, WA, USA
01 - 10/2020 UX Design Intern Logitech UX Design Team, Lausanne, Switzerland
03 - 07/2017 Bachelor Thesis and Working Student Fraunhofer IPA -Service Robotic, Stuttgart, Germany
03 - 08/2016 Product Design Intern BSH Home Appliances Group - Brand Bosch, Munich, Germany
03 - 07/2013 Product Design Intern WILDDESIGN, Shanghai, China
01 - 02/2013 Model Building Intern Modellbau Steigerwald GmbH, Karlsbad, Germany
10 - 12/2012 Product Design Intern Braake Design, Stuttgart, Germany
Skills
Softwares I have recently worked with Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch, Figma, Principle
Prototyping Tools Laser Cutting, Workshop (Wood, Metal, Clay, Plastic, Foam, etc.), some Arduino
I am passionate about Ethnographic Research, User Experience Design, Co-Creation Workshops, Design Thinking, Storytelling, User Journeys, Gender Equality, Sustainability, Diversity and Inclusion, Collaboration, Empathy, Strategic Thinking, Service Design, Project-,Team- and Event Management
Awards and Nominations
2020 1st Place in “Education” Microsoft Silver Lining Chat Bot Challenge (Hackathon) Project “Homeschoolbot“
2020 Reddot Award 2020 Project “Sound Stories“
2020 Core 77 Award - Student Notable in “Health & Wellness” Project “Sound Stories“
2019 iF Design Talent Award 2019 Project “Sound Stories“
2019 Microsoft Design Expo 2019 Project “Aura“, 2019
2016-2017 Scholarship given by the Wohlgemuth Stiftung for Bachelor Studies at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Schwäbisch Gmünd (including my Exchange Semester at the Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden
2016 iF Student Design Award 2016 Project “Growtec“
2016 Invitation to Showcase at Staged Design Award Project “Growtec“ and Project “Brush Up“
2016 Best Project at Staged Design Award Workshop “Future of Tradition“ Short Project developed during 2 day Workshop