Design is so much more than making things pretty. My design work is focused on making things usable: function over form. I love to make sense of complex information systems. I’m happiest when working in a combination of both strategic and tactical design work.
As of June 2022, I will start a new longterm engagement as a User Experience (UX) Designer with the Dutch provider of employee insurance schemes (UWV).
Certification
I have a bachelor in Media, Information and Communication (2016, University of Applied Science Amsterdam). In the 80ies, I was trained as a graphical designer and engineer. The early design computers were code based, which was very similar to HTML. I have a basic+ level knowledge of HTML and CSS (mostly selftaught). Recently, I received a certificate for UX writing (content design).
I’m a continuous learner. If you want to learn more about User Experience Design, I highly recommend the Interaction Design Foundation courses (referral link: this means I get 3 months subscription for free).
UX Consultancy
I’m part of the international design collective UXATT. Together with Cathi Bosco and Jackie D’Elia, I help business owners, developers, agencies, product teams and others in the digital space improve the usability and accessibility of their product.
Recent work for UXATT
- User research, UX design, accessibility consultancy and prototyping for various WooCommerce plugins by Kathy Darling.
- User research, UX design, content design, accessibility testing for GravityView, a WordPress plugin that creates content from form submissions.
- For GoDaddy, an international hosting company, we created prototypes and did a usability study to research options for a client portal and onboarding in WordPress.
- Full redesign of a custom webshop and elearning platform for IAB Ingenieurs. Included prototyping, creating a UI kit, project management and hand off to developers.
Past design and consultancy work
As an independent designer, I have helped various small business owners to identify their online goals with strategy workshops and design consultancy. I’ve guided businesses, NGO’s and other organisations on branding, design, communication and content strategy.
Design teaching
- One on one courses WordPress
- Group courses on the new WordPress block editor that was introduced in 2018
- Freelance teaching at the University of Applied Science in Visual Storytelling, Design, Prototyping, Online Publishing, WordPress, Marketing Strategy
Open source contributions and volunteering
- Since 2017, I contribute to the WordPress project. I was part of the WordPress design team and a team rep for a while.
- At WordCamps (WordPress conferences), I lead the design table a few times, helping new and existing contributors collaborate and work on WordPress design challenges. I also volunteered a few times in various roles and have spoken at WordCamps and Meetups.
- I was a juror for the Automattic Design Awards 2018, lead by John Maeda.
Public speaking
My presentations on Meetups, WordCamps and other conferences. I have also included some podcasts and online interviews.
2021
- Verbeter de usability van je website in 10 stappen, presentation in Dutch for WPNL live, February 2021
- Van lokale naar internationale speler: cross-border succes met je webshop, webinar in Dutch for Weglot, in collaboration with Mollie and Sendcloud, March 2021
- Make your product or website more usable in 10 easy steps, online presentation for WordSesh, May 2021
Interviews and podcasts
2021
- Input: Client succes and engagement, november 2021
2020
- Kinsta Kingpin, January 2020
- Women in WP #024, January 2020
2019
- Hallway Chats #113, October 2019
2017
- HeroPress essay: Coming Home, March 2017