UX Career Coach at DesignLab
DesignLab
(Sonstiges, 10-50 Mitarbeiter)
Schlagwörter
Skills
Hello there, I am Myrto - Senior UX Consultant, and Lead of This is HCD Chapter in Berlin
My people - friends, family, and teammates- describe me as a passionate storyteller with a designer's mindset, a crisp eye for details and a highly empathetic nature.
When people ask me what I do professionally I reply that I shape experiences that focus on real people's needs and desires while at the same time accommodate business proposition and comply with legal requirements and technology limitations.
In other words, I work hard within interdisciplinary teams to make people heard and valued, to make them happy and help their dreams come true.
It all started when I realized I spent most of my time in front of the screen. I wanted to be involved in the making so I started designing for screens. Some months later - late 2009 - I quit my job as a print designer and focused completely on the digital world working as a visual designer.
Moving to Berlin in 2011 I had the chance to participate in Design Thinking Bootcamp at HPI d.school, where I got fascinated by the design thinking methodology and decided to get deeply involved with the user experience design.
Since then I work full-time as a UX designer helping companies around the world to shape the experience of their customers.
Since 2016, next to my "regular" design job I mentor young professionals with various levels of design expertise - from design enthusiasts up to young designers seeking to broaden their horizons and gain extra knowledge, experience, and business insight.
Stepping into mentoring has been a tough decision for me but it turned out a great opportunity for my personal and professional development as well. Mentoring keeps me up to speed with a fresh, non-bias perspective, sets up questions on fundamental design decisions forces me to read a lot more about design in my free time and makes me more empathetic, supportive and understanding in daily communication with my team-mates and colleagues.
My people - friends, family, and teammates- describe me as a passionate storyteller with a designer's mindset, a crisp eye for details and a highly empathetic nature.
When people ask me what I do professionally I reply that I shape experiences that focus on real people's needs and desires while at the same time accommodate business proposition and comply with legal requirements and technology limitations.
In other words, I work hard within interdisciplinary teams to make people heard and valued, to make them happy and help their dreams come true.
It all started when I realized I spent most of my time in front of the screen. I wanted to be involved in the making so I started designing for screens. Some months later - late 2009 - I quit my job as a print designer and focused completely on the digital world working as a visual designer.
Moving to Berlin in 2011 I had the chance to participate in Design Thinking Bootcamp at HPI d.school, where I got fascinated by the design thinking methodology and decided to get deeply involved with the user experience design.
Since then I work full-time as a UX designer helping companies around the world to shape the experience of their customers.
Since 2016, next to my "regular" design job I mentor young professionals with various levels of design expertise - from design enthusiasts up to young designers seeking to broaden their horizons and gain extra knowledge, experience, and business insight.
Stepping into mentoring has been a tough decision for me but it turned out a great opportunity for my personal and professional development as well. Mentoring keeps me up to speed with a fresh, non-bias perspective, sets up questions on fundamental design decisions forces me to read a lot more about design in my free time and makes me more empathetic, supportive and understanding in daily communication with my team-mates and colleagues.
Projekthistorie
01/2020
-
bis jetzt
As Career Coach at DesignLab I support recent graduates of the UX Academy with their career development. I help them set realistic goals and plan their first/ next steps as Junior Designers. I give them advice on their CV and portfolio, prepare them for interviews, and coach them regarding their first weeks on the job.
12/2019
-
bis jetzt
UX Design and Research Mentor at Interaction Design Foundation (IDF)
Interaction Design Foundation (IDF)
(Sonstiges, 250-500 Mitarbeiter)
Market: International / Worldwide
As a UX Design Mentor at the Interaction Design Foundation, I mentor young designers and people interested in a career in the user experience field at the UX Bootcamp of the Interaction Design Foundation.
At IDF Bootcamp, I have the opportunity to personalize the curriculum to each student’s needs, plans, and future career goals, offering my students support to challenges and aspirations they have in their professional careers in design.
07/2016
-
bis jetzt
UX Design & Research Mentor at DesignLab
DesignLab
(Sonstiges, 250-500 Mitarbeiter)
Courses: Design 101, Interaction Design, User Research UX Academy
Market: International / Worldwide
Designlab is an online design education program with a focus on 1-on-1 mentorship with expert designers and hands-on projects. The award-winning UX Academy is a rigorous, course that prepares students for their role as product designer.
As a design mentor, I mentor young professionals - from design enthusiasts up to young designers seeking to broaden their horizons and gain some extra knowledge, experience, and business insight.
Focusing on each student's goals and expertise level I review their assignments, provide feedback on their designs and suggest additional steps that they could take in order to fulfill their goals. I tend to support my students beyond course completion with portfolio reviews and catch-ups regarding their career development.
As of today, I am happy and proud that all my students found a UX related job soon after completing their course.
Stepping into mentoring has been a tough decision for me but it turned out a great opportunity for my personal and professional development as well.
Being introverted, reversed and a bit shy by nature to successfully mentor young professionals I had to build-up mechanisms and overcome those communication obstacles during the interaction with my students.
Mentoring also keeps me up to speed with a fresh, non-bias perspective, sets up questions on fundamental design decisions, forces me to read a lot more about design in my free time and makes me more empathetic, supportive and understanding in daily communication with my team-mates and colleagues.
Key Responsibilities:
● Mentoring students in UX and Interaction Design
● Mentoring students in UX Research and user testings
● Providing feedback and support on students assignments
● Supporting students building up and presenting their portfolio
● Supporting students with their job search
Course Language: English
Course Length: 1-6 months depending on course
Market: International / Worldwide
Designlab is an online design education program with a focus on 1-on-1 mentorship with expert designers and hands-on projects. The award-winning UX Academy is a rigorous, course that prepares students for their role as product designer.
As a design mentor, I mentor young professionals - from design enthusiasts up to young designers seeking to broaden their horizons and gain some extra knowledge, experience, and business insight.
Focusing on each student's goals and expertise level I review their assignments, provide feedback on their designs and suggest additional steps that they could take in order to fulfill their goals. I tend to support my students beyond course completion with portfolio reviews and catch-ups regarding their career development.
As of today, I am happy and proud that all my students found a UX related job soon after completing their course.
Stepping into mentoring has been a tough decision for me but it turned out a great opportunity for my personal and professional development as well.
Being introverted, reversed and a bit shy by nature to successfully mentor young professionals I had to build-up mechanisms and overcome those communication obstacles during the interaction with my students.
Mentoring also keeps me up to speed with a fresh, non-bias perspective, sets up questions on fundamental design decisions, forces me to read a lot more about design in my free time and makes me more empathetic, supportive and understanding in daily communication with my team-mates and colleagues.
Key Responsibilities:
● Mentoring students in UX and Interaction Design
● Mentoring students in UX Research and user testings
● Providing feedback and support on students assignments
● Supporting students building up and presenting their portfolio
● Supporting students with their job search
Course Language: English
Course Length: 1-6 months depending on course
01/2016
-
bis jetzt
Co-Founder, Senior UX Designer & Design Mentor at notallbad
notallbad
(Sonstiges, < 10 Mitarbeiter)
As Co-Founder, Senior UX Designer and Design Mentor at notallbad, I have the pleasure to work with a team of consultants, designers, and researchers helping our clients to shape valuable, feasible and delightful experiences for their customers. Our mission is to offer high-quality UX design as a service and make UX accessible to companies and organizations across the globe, by simplifying the UX hiring, UX management, and UX distribution processes.
05/2019
-
05/2020
UX Lead / Senior UX & Service Designer (External) at ERGO DIT
ERGO DIT
(Versicherungen, 1000-5000 Mitarbeiter)
Project / Product: ΝΕΟ
Market: Germany
As the UX Lead for NEO at ERGO Digital IT, I have the opportunity to work in a remote, dual-language, multidisciplinary team across two countries (Germany & Poland) and three cities (Berlin, Warsaw, Düsseldorf) towards the digital transformation of tight agent’s workflow, and in close collaboration with the Program Manager and the UX Researcher to lead the UX process, being responsible for all UX related communication, and collaboration within the team as well as our deliveries towards senior management, product owners, implementation team, external stakeholders and the implementation team.
Key Responsibilities:
● Service Design, UX and Information Architecture optimization
● Conception and validation of new services and features in an interdisciplinary team
● Preparation, and support of user research & user testing sessions
● Data Analysis
● Collaborating with the Product team on requirements and acceptance criteria
● Coordinating the UX deliveries by the creation of user flows, user journeys and wireframes for internal communication and visual assets for finalization of new features and handing over to the implementation team
● Being responsible for the quality, quantity and overall prompt delivery of all UX and Visual design artifacts
● In collaboration with the Program Manager organizing, facilitating and participating in workshops with stakeholders and senior management
● In collaboration with the Program Manager acting as the SPOC for UX topics
● Offering implementation support
Project Language: English / German
Project Location: Distributed team between Berlin, Warsaw, and Düsseldorf
Market: Germany
As the UX Lead for NEO at ERGO Digital IT, I have the opportunity to work in a remote, dual-language, multidisciplinary team across two countries (Germany & Poland) and three cities (Berlin, Warsaw, Düsseldorf) towards the digital transformation of tight agent’s workflow, and in close collaboration with the Program Manager and the UX Researcher to lead the UX process, being responsible for all UX related communication, and collaboration within the team as well as our deliveries towards senior management, product owners, implementation team, external stakeholders and the implementation team.
Key Responsibilities:
● Service Design, UX and Information Architecture optimization
● Conception and validation of new services and features in an interdisciplinary team
● Preparation, and support of user research & user testing sessions
● Data Analysis
● Collaborating with the Product team on requirements and acceptance criteria
● Coordinating the UX deliveries by the creation of user flows, user journeys and wireframes for internal communication and visual assets for finalization of new features and handing over to the implementation team
● Being responsible for the quality, quantity and overall prompt delivery of all UX and Visual design artifacts
● In collaboration with the Program Manager organizing, facilitating and participating in workshops with stakeholders and senior management
● In collaboration with the Program Manager acting as the SPOC for UX topics
● Offering implementation support
Project Language: English / German
Project Location: Distributed team between Berlin, Warsaw, and Düsseldorf
02/2019
-
05/2019
Senior UX & Service Designer (External) at ERGO DIT
ERGO DIT
(Versicherungen, 1000-5000 Mitarbeiter)
Project/ Product: NEO PoC
Market: Germany
As Senior UX Designer by ERGO Digital IT, I had the opportunity to work on the Proof of Concept of NEO towards the digital transformation of agent’s workflow and have an active role throughout the process.
Working in a remote team across two countries (Germany & Poland) and three cities (Berlin, Warsaw, Düsseldorf) and in close collaboration with the program manager, product owners, and business analysts we set up the core values and vision for NEO towards agent's workflow transformation and established a set of design principles to be followed throughout a potential implementation of the concept.
Concluding the PoC our deliveries included user research findings in diverse stages of PoC implementation, an early stage prototype partially validated by tight agents and a thoroughly WhitePaper about NEO mission as well as our efforts and outcomes, published in German and English.
Key Responsibilities:
● Service design, UX and Information Architecture
● Preparation & facilitation of workshops with stakeholders and senior management
● Setting up the design principles to be followed throughout the process
● Coordinating and publishing the Whitepaper in German and English
● Prototyping
Project language: German / English
Project location: Distributed team between Berlin, Warsaw, Düsseldorf
Market: Germany
As Senior UX Designer by ERGO Digital IT, I had the opportunity to work on the Proof of Concept of NEO towards the digital transformation of agent’s workflow and have an active role throughout the process.
Working in a remote team across two countries (Germany & Poland) and three cities (Berlin, Warsaw, Düsseldorf) and in close collaboration with the program manager, product owners, and business analysts we set up the core values and vision for NEO towards agent's workflow transformation and established a set of design principles to be followed throughout a potential implementation of the concept.
Concluding the PoC our deliveries included user research findings in diverse stages of PoC implementation, an early stage prototype partially validated by tight agents and a thoroughly WhitePaper about NEO mission as well as our efforts and outcomes, published in German and English.
Key Responsibilities:
● Service design, UX and Information Architecture
● Preparation & facilitation of workshops with stakeholders and senior management
● Setting up the design principles to be followed throughout the process
● Coordinating and publishing the Whitepaper in German and English
● Prototyping
Project language: German / English
Project location: Distributed team between Berlin, Warsaw, Düsseldorf
08/2018
-
02/2019
UX Lead/ Senior UX Designer & Researcher at MLP
MLP Finanzberatung
(Banken und Finanzdienstleistungen, 1000-5000 Mitarbeiter)
Project/ Product: MLP Finance Pilot
Market: Germany
As Senior UX Designer & Researcher by MLP Finance pilot I had the opportunity to work on the PoC for the internal Finance Management tool of MLP and play an active role throughout the ideation, research and early implementation process.
As the company lacked previous internal experience on user experience topics, the initial goal of our collaboration was to lead, educate, mentor and support fellow designers of the internal marketing team to gain experience and expand their knowledge on the field of user experience, so that they would be able to take over the project in a short period of time.
Teaching by doing and providing sufficient insights to the team we achieved our goal to awaken UX curiosity within the team within the first couple of weeks. Working in close collaboration with the Tech Lead, the Product Owner and the scrum team I prepared, facilitated and participated in a variety of workshops, stream-lined the workflow of designing, testing, evaluating and implementing a variety of concepts from early on and supported the team through-out execution.
Setting-up realistic goals and delegating tasks based on designer's strengths, as well as sharing resources and providing feedback and insights on handling critical decisions I managed to make myself redundant in a shorter period of time than expected, and to hand-over the whole design process to the team and Head of Marketing within a seven months period.
Key Responsibilities:
● Leading and mentoring fellow designers in all UX matters
● Service design, UX and Information Architecture
● Conception and validation of new concepts in an interdisciplinary team
● Preparation, facilitation, and evaluation of user research
● Preparation & facilitation of workshops with stakeholders and senior management
● Further development of user stories and features
Projekt Language: German
Primary Location: Remote
Market: Germany
As Senior UX Designer & Researcher by MLP Finance pilot I had the opportunity to work on the PoC for the internal Finance Management tool of MLP and play an active role throughout the ideation, research and early implementation process.
As the company lacked previous internal experience on user experience topics, the initial goal of our collaboration was to lead, educate, mentor and support fellow designers of the internal marketing team to gain experience and expand their knowledge on the field of user experience, so that they would be able to take over the project in a short period of time.
Teaching by doing and providing sufficient insights to the team we achieved our goal to awaken UX curiosity within the team within the first couple of weeks. Working in close collaboration with the Tech Lead, the Product Owner and the scrum team I prepared, facilitated and participated in a variety of workshops, stream-lined the workflow of designing, testing, evaluating and implementing a variety of concepts from early on and supported the team through-out execution.
Setting-up realistic goals and delegating tasks based on designer's strengths, as well as sharing resources and providing feedback and insights on handling critical decisions I managed to make myself redundant in a shorter period of time than expected, and to hand-over the whole design process to the team and Head of Marketing within a seven months period.
Key Responsibilities:
● Leading and mentoring fellow designers in all UX matters
● Service design, UX and Information Architecture
● Conception and validation of new concepts in an interdisciplinary team
● Preparation, facilitation, and evaluation of user research
● Preparation & facilitation of workshops with stakeholders and senior management
● Further development of user stories and features
Projekt Language: German
Primary Location: Remote
07/2017
-
08/2018
Senior UX & Service Designer (External) at Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group
(Telekommunikation, >10.000 Mitarbeiter)
Project / Product: Vodafone Rewards
Pilot-Market: UK
As a member of the Vodafone Rewards UX team, I had the opportunity to work on the new vertical for My Vodafone App, which aims to enhance the loyalty of the existing Vodafone Customers. In close collaboration with the UX Lead, I worked on a variety of concepts supporting the MVP presentation and prototyping for the PoC phase of this feature.
Project Language: English
Pilot-Market: UK
As a member of the Vodafone Rewards UX team, I had the opportunity to work on the new vertical for My Vodafone App, which aims to enhance the loyalty of the existing Vodafone Customers. In close collaboration with the UX Lead, I worked on a variety of concepts supporting the MVP presentation and prototyping for the PoC phase of this feature.
Project Language: English
07/2015
-
07/2017
UX Lead / Senior UX & Service Designer (External) at Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group
(Telekommunikation, >10.000 Mitarbeiter)
Project/ Product: Vodafone Pay, Paypal in Vodafone Pay, Tap and Ride with TfL & Vodafone Pay
Markets: UK, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Germany
As the UX Lead for Payments, I led the Vodafone Pay Design Team and was responsible for all communication and collaboration and team deliveries towards the implementation team, senior management & external stakeholders, as well as the smooth communication and cooperation among Vodafone Pay and the design team of Vodafone Wallet, and external partners like PayPal and TfL regarding UX topics. During this time, I had the opportunity to collect valuable knowledge and experience regarding the AML (Anti-money laundering) regulations of the EU and their requirements on the diverse levels of KYC (Know your customer) verification for financial services as well as other topics on the financial sector.
Key Responsibilities:
● Working closely with the product team on requirements and acceptance criteria
● Working closely with external partners like TfL and PayPal for the UX optimization
● Coordinating the UX team by the creation of user flows, user journeys and wireframes for internal
communication
● Coordinating the visual designers for the finalization of new features and handing over to the
implementation team
● Coordinating copywriters for micro-copy and other activities
● Concepting and validating new services and features in an interdisciplinary team
● Preparing and supporting user testing session, data analysis
● Participating in daily agile activities representing the UX team
● Acting as the SPOC for any UX and Service design matter
● Organizing, leading and participating in workshops with stakeholders and senior management
● Leading the collaboration with external design agencies
● Being responsible for the quality, quantity, and overall prompt delivery of all UX and Visual design documents.
Project language: English
Markets: UK, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Germany
As the UX Lead for Payments, I led the Vodafone Pay Design Team and was responsible for all communication and collaboration and team deliveries towards the implementation team, senior management & external stakeholders, as well as the smooth communication and cooperation among Vodafone Pay and the design team of Vodafone Wallet, and external partners like PayPal and TfL regarding UX topics. During this time, I had the opportunity to collect valuable knowledge and experience regarding the AML (Anti-money laundering) regulations of the EU and their requirements on the diverse levels of KYC (Know your customer) verification for financial services as well as other topics on the financial sector.
Key Responsibilities:
● Working closely with the product team on requirements and acceptance criteria
● Working closely with external partners like TfL and PayPal for the UX optimization
● Coordinating the UX team by the creation of user flows, user journeys and wireframes for internal
communication
● Coordinating the visual designers for the finalization of new features and handing over to the
implementation team
● Coordinating copywriters for micro-copy and other activities
● Concepting and validating new services and features in an interdisciplinary team
● Preparing and supporting user testing session, data analysis
● Participating in daily agile activities representing the UX team
● Acting as the SPOC for any UX and Service design matter
● Organizing, leading and participating in workshops with stakeholders and senior management
● Leading the collaboration with external design agencies
● Being responsible for the quality, quantity, and overall prompt delivery of all UX and Visual design documents.
Project language: English
07/2014
-
07/2017
Senior UX & Service Designer (External) at Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group
(Telekommunikation, >10.000 Mitarbeiter)
Project / Product: Vodafone Wallet
Markets: UK, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Germany
As a member of the Vodafone Wallet UX team, I had the opportunity to get involved in all m-Commerce verticals gaining valuable experience in business, user, and technical requirements regarding rewards, membership cards, and offers schemes as well as boarding, and entry passes, NFC Mifare Classic and DESFire. In close collaboration with the Wallet UX Lead and the product owners, I worked on a variety of concepts as well as implementation support for the core Vodafone Wallet framework, as well as the Loyalty, Ticketing, Transport, Campus Access verticals of Vodafone Wallet. Key Responsibilities:
● UX and Information Architecture optimization
● Conception and validation of new features in an interdisciplinary team
● Preparation and support to user testing session
● Data Analysis
● Supporting the UX Lead and Product team by requirements analysis
● Creating user flows, user journeys and wireframes for internal communication
● Collaborating with the visual designers for the finalization of new features and handing over to the
implementation team
● Implementation support
● Participation in workshops with stakeholders and senior management
Project language: English
Markets: UK, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Germany
As a member of the Vodafone Wallet UX team, I had the opportunity to get involved in all m-Commerce verticals gaining valuable experience in business, user, and technical requirements regarding rewards, membership cards, and offers schemes as well as boarding, and entry passes, NFC Mifare Classic and DESFire. In close collaboration with the Wallet UX Lead and the product owners, I worked on a variety of concepts as well as implementation support for the core Vodafone Wallet framework, as well as the Loyalty, Ticketing, Transport, Campus Access verticals of Vodafone Wallet. Key Responsibilities:
● UX and Information Architecture optimization
● Conception and validation of new features in an interdisciplinary team
● Preparation and support to user testing session
● Data Analysis
● Supporting the UX Lead and Product team by requirements analysis
● Creating user flows, user journeys and wireframes for internal communication
● Collaborating with the visual designers for the finalization of new features and handing over to the
implementation team
● Implementation support
● Participation in workshops with stakeholders and senior management
Project language: English
08/2016
-
12/2016
Senior UX Designer (External) at Friendsurance
Friendsurance
(Banken und Finanzdienstleistungen, 50-250 Mitarbeiter)
Projects / Products: Friendsurance Online Presence, Friendsurance Mobile Apps
Markets: Germany, Australia
Being a member of the product team at Friendsurance I had the opportunity to participate in the design process of an innovative user-centered product that aims to challenge and disturb the status quo in insurance's domain.
Working in close collaboration with other teams within the company (e.g. customer service, marketing, etc.) I run design workshops and accompanied ideas from inception to the moment they were released to the public, assisted the various teams to prepare, run and evaluate user testings as well as the product team to shape the proposition and introduce new features into the product, identifying use-cases and error-cases as well, reviewing and evaluating deliveries from an UX perspective and setting up design requirements and acceptance criteria.
Key Responsibilities:
● Service, UX and Information Architecture optimization
● Conception and validation of new features in an interdisciplinary team
● Preparation and support to user testing session
● Data Analysis
● Supporting the Product team by requirements analysis
● Creating user flows, user journeys and wireframes for internal communication
● Collaborating with the visual designers for the finalization of new features and handing over to the
implementation team
● Implementation support
Project Language: English/ German
Markets: Germany, Australia
Being a member of the product team at Friendsurance I had the opportunity to participate in the design process of an innovative user-centered product that aims to challenge and disturb the status quo in insurance's domain.
Working in close collaboration with other teams within the company (e.g. customer service, marketing, etc.) I run design workshops and accompanied ideas from inception to the moment they were released to the public, assisted the various teams to prepare, run and evaluate user testings as well as the product team to shape the proposition and introduce new features into the product, identifying use-cases and error-cases as well, reviewing and evaluating deliveries from an UX perspective and setting up design requirements and acceptance criteria.
Key Responsibilities:
● Service, UX and Information Architecture optimization
● Conception and validation of new features in an interdisciplinary team
● Preparation and support to user testing session
● Data Analysis
● Supporting the Product team by requirements analysis
● Creating user flows, user journeys and wireframes for internal communication
● Collaborating with the visual designers for the finalization of new features and handing over to the
implementation team
● Implementation support
Project Language: English/ German
12/2013
-
03/2014
UX Designer (External) at Prinovis GmbH & Co KG
Prinovis GmbH & Co KG
In collaboration with a small, interdisciplinary team at Prinovis, I had the opportunity to work on the UX and UI design - from the initial concept phase up to implementation support and documentation of diverse mobile and web applications for Prinovis clients.
Key Responsibilities:
- UX and Information Architecture optimization
- Conception and validation of new services and features in an interdisciplinary tea
- Preparation and support of user testing session
- Data Analysis
- Creating user flows, user journeys and wireframes for internal communication
Reisebereitschaft
Verfügbar in den Ländern
Deutschland
During COVID-19 there is no travel availability. After COVID-19 travelling is an option upon discussion
Sonstige Angaben
Imprint:
GbR Nikos Kotsakis und Myrto Papagiannakou
Dolziger Str. 14, 10247 Berlin
GbR Nikos Kotsakis und Myrto Papagiannakou
Dolziger Str. 14, 10247 Berlin
