When it comes to product design, I’m a creative person with a lot of appetite for solving complex problems into elegant solutions.
I can say no very often — but will ask why even more. It’s one of the ways to make sure any solution I work on will bring added value to the user, and lead to increased revenues for the organization.
Since the early days of my career, I have a strong curiosity for the engineering side of design. Coupled with my organizational skills this led me to fall in love with designing, engineering, and steering successful design systems.
I am adept at crafting scalable design systems that align with the needs of designers and developers. My goal is to see my team smiling when using the design system because it helps them make their job better and faster.
Observing and collaborating with diverse teams fed me with different approaches to the design practice and I am always enthusiastic to share my knowledge.
Instead of ready-made recipes, I will always involve the team in developing its own design practice in order to fit with its unique cultural dynamics. This approach aims to foster an environment leading to remarkable and impactful design outcomes.
Throughout the years, my design practice has been guided by these 6 principles:
<aside> <img src="/icons/playback-play_blue.svg" alt="/icons/playback-play_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Start with needs
</aside>
<aside> <img src="/icons/hammer_purple.svg" alt="/icons/hammer_purple.svg" width="40px" /> Get concrete quickly
</aside>
<aside> <img src="/icons/circle-alternate_pink.svg" alt="/icons/circle-alternate_pink.svg" width="40px" /> Make it simple
</aside>
<aside> <img src="/icons/stairs_red.svg" alt="/icons/stairs_red.svg" width="40px" /> Improve over time
</aside>
<aside> <img src="/icons/sharing_orange.svg" alt="/icons/sharing_orange.svg" width="40px" /> Work together
</aside>
<aside> <img src="/icons/no-entry_yellow.svg" alt="/icons/no-entry_yellow.svg" width="40px" /> No bullshit
</aside>
Since 2022 Design System Expert
Drawing on my previous experience I take both short-term or extended missions in growing companies to assist them in establishing or enhancing their design system. From steering, to design, and coding.
I was responsible for creating the design systems at Cohabs and Witco.
2019 - 2022 Proxyclick
I continued my design journey with Proxyclick (a SaaS scale-up) as Head of Design. I established a successful product design team in a fast-growing (and Covid crisis) environment.
Even if I enjoyed my job in shaping the design team and its practice, I have always been captivated by the technical intricacies of design interfaces. This passion steered my transition to a UX Engineer role, allowing me to wholly immerse myself in Hello, the design system project I had initiated.
2007 - 2019 Central Design Studio
After some freelance work, I founded and led Central, a digital design consultancy. For 10+ years we've assisted both Belgian and international clients in research, product design, and design systems. Alongside expanding my design practice, I learned how to shape a successful and renowned design team.
Key projects:
Coaching the design practice at StepStone and developing a design system deployed over several countries.
Iterating the online customer area of a Belgian telco to improve the self-servicing. This led to a significant reduction in customer calls as users could better manage their accounts.
Find out more on the archived website.
2000 - 2007 Agency
I started my career as a designer in digital agencies while I was finishing my studies in graphic design.
Check my LinkedIn profile for a detailed resume.