ABOUT
WHO I AM
I am a curious, explorative, and bold designer as well as a consultant, strategist, researcher, athlete, doer, and critical thinker.
I’m a freelancer because I like to be independent and because I'm a generalist with many different interests. I enjoy working on many different topics within a short range of time. Keeping many balls in the air is what makes me happy and keeps me going, and I enjoy learning new things and immersing myself in new topics.
I’m a passionate athlete and I compete(d) in weightlifting, football, rugby, and swimming. The team spirit and ambition that I’ve learned through sports are still a big part of my personality. Even though I am creative and radical, I balance these attributes with pragmatism.
WHAT I DO
service design, analysis of the customer journey
(user) research, interviews, prototyping
inhouse service design and consultancy, especially IT-related
digitalization in traditional organizations and public sector organizations
public sector innovation and digitalization
design and facilitation of workshops
design sprints, barcamps, and similar events
internal coaching, cultural change and new work
strategy consulting and strategic design
smart city/region projects
innovation ecosystems
The main focus of my work is within the public sector, but it's not limited to that. I know the public sector from the in- and outside, working as a Designer and Project Manager for the City of Freiburg and as Designer and Researcher for the Strategy Architects, a Germany-based consultancy agency. My work here includes consulting projects with international foundations, churches, and ministries. Besides that, we work on municipal internationalization- and digitalization strategies, and the facilitation and design of workshops and design sprints. Other core topics are smart city projects and social labs.
At the City of Freiburg I was responsible for the design and rollout of digital projects, and thereby the main link between the inhabitants and the city administration's digital department. I focused on using a human-centred approach to ensure a people-first digitalization process.
I also worked for international service design companies, conducted remote user research and helped an urban planning agency with a report on public ridership. During an internship at Demos Helsinki, the leading Nordic think tank, I had the chance to broaden my knowledge about governance innovation and public policy.
WHY I DO IT
I want to have impact through my work, and I want to work on topics that matter. Therefore, I naturally gravitated to the public sector as I feel that this is often the area with the biggest leverage. I want to work towards a more equal and sustainable society and help to create an environment where individuals have the power and opportunity to shape their lives according to their own ideas.
HOW I DO IT
My approach to any project or challenge is human-centered, sustainability-conscious and systems-aware. My knowledge and understanding of design goes beyond service design. Rather than scraping the surface and changing services, I want to go beyond and facilitate change in organisations and systems so that services are comprehensive and holistic. I thrive in an innovative and fast-paced environment where a holistic and systemic approach is valued and I enjoy analysing complex situations and the structure and context behind things .
I studied in Germany and Finland and I've been doing projects in the UK, Estonia, Finland, and Germany - I appreciate international projects with cultural nuances and different languages. I'm a native German speaker and I can work fluently in English and Swedish. My Finnish is in progress and currently at B1-level (intermediate).