The tool nobody uses
Your internal product is live – and people work around it. I find out why and fix what really matters.
Independent UX Strategist · Sparring Partner
Bring me
the hard
problems.
I’m the sparring partner for problems that matter. I question the brief, find out what is really going on – and develop the solution myself, from first insight to a design your team can build on.
Tell me your problemHonest note: the photos on this site were optimised with AI. We humans are vain and would rather not see time pass – so I use AI instead of make-up. Deal with it.
Personal bests
- +23%user satisfaction after a product redesign
- +17%user engagement with digital services
- 25+years of digital product design
- 100%of your budget goes into the work – no agency overhead
Best values from client projects25+ years of digital product design12 Red Dot, iF & Good Design Awards
The weights
Problems I take on.
The ones that sit on the roadmap for months. The ones everybody avoids. That’s where I’m most useful.
The design system that grew wild
Components everywhere, consistency nowhere. I bring back structure so your teams can build faster again.
The decision everyone avoids
Too many opinions, no direction. I bring clarity to the product decision that keeps getting postponed.
The brief that feels wrong
Something doesn’t add up. I question the brief before you invest in the wrong solution.
How I work
Spar.
Lift.
Deliver.
A sparring partner at the start. A lone worker in the middle. A solution at the end.
- 01
Spar
We take your problem apart together. I ask the uncomfortable questions and push back where it matters.
- 02
Lift
I go deep on my own. No team overhead, no hand-offs – one mind fully focused on your problem.
- 03
Deliver
You get a solution your team can build on: clear decisions, tested concepts and ready-to-use designs.
What I bring to the lift
Strategy & research
UX strategy, user research and the product decisions that follow from it.
UX/UI & design systems
Interfaces and design systems that scale across teams and touchpoints.
AI
AI products designed end to end – and AI-assisted workflows that speed up the work.
Motion & storytelling
Prototypes, motion and video that make ideas tangible before anything gets built.
Selected work
Heavy lifts.
Over 25 years of digital product work – from corporate start-ups to global brands. Client details stay confidential. The lessons don’t.
DHL & Deutsche Post · B2C & B2B
One design system for DHL’s online touchpoints
- The uncomfortable truth
- Everyone agreed something had to change – but too many voices, and nobody wanted to own it. Someone had to step up and say: I can do this. I did.
- Result
- A consistent UI standard across touchpoints, a refreshed app and a measurable uplift in conversion.
Smart Agency · Territory · Bertelsmann
An AI website builder for small businesses
- The uncomfortable truth
- Marketing was ahead of the product – and the users had dropped out of the conversation. I brought them back to the centre, even when that wasn’t the popular view.
- Result
- A product refocused on real user value – and a team that now thinks user-first.
AXA · Mobile app
MyAXA: insurance made simple – and award-winning
- The uncomfortable truth
- Test results that look good on slides are not real customer insight. I kept asking the uncomfortable question – “Would you actually use this?” – and made accessibility part of the brief.
- Result
- Stronger engagement, happier users – and the Red Dot and iF Design Awards 2024.
More heavy lifts
- The uncomfortable truth
- It was built from the technology outward – powerful, but only for experts. I turned it around: when people truly understand a platform, its value grows with every user.
- Result
- A design system that turned pure code into a platform people can touch and use.
- The uncomfortable truth
- Copying a successful consumer app is not a strategy. I refocused on what organisations really need.
- Result
- A secure, white-label business messenger with end-to-end encryption – and a successful exit.
Fair warning
House rules.
I’d rather be uncomfortable now than expensive later.
- 01
I won’t polish screens if the strategy is wrong.
- 02
No endless workshops. We spar, then I work.
- 03
I’ll tell you what I see – even when it’s uncomfortable.
- 04
If I’m not the right fit, I’ll say so.
- 05
Pressure doesn’t slow me down. It sharpens my thinking.
Voices
What clients say.
“Marcel thinks fast and delivers fast – and he gets it right. I’d work with him again any time.”
“Marcel delivered more than we asked for – and it was exactly what we needed.”
“A true problem-solver. Marcel understood our problems better than we did ourselves – and working with him was a real pleasure.”
Your first round
Book a sparring round.
30 minutes. One real problem. No sales pitch. We take it apart together – and you leave with a clearer next step, whether we work together or not.