About me
As a born and raised Dutch, originally from Groningen, I am a caring, inspiring person who can empathize with others (which is very helpful in my job). In my spare time I love snowboarding during winters and kitesurfing, surfing and SUP in the summer.
How I got into the world of UX? Well, I always felt a need of making websites and applications better. Slowly I started making it my profession and I have evolved into the UX professional that I am today. It started in 2006 when I was working in (online) marketing and web design. After only 3 years (around 2008/2009) I realized that there was more. All the knowledge, user behavior and insights I got from GA and Hotjar etc. got me excited. I even started A/B testing websites and newsletters, wondering what would influence users during their buying process without even realizing it. I never stopped asking questions, but started asking more questions.
Purmerend, The Netherlands, Europe
Based
Dutch (native), English, German
Language
15+ years
Experience
My resume is not available for recruiters
Work experience
A small selection from my cv
Lead UX / DesignOps
NPO.nl (2023 - present)
Freelance UX Consultant
KellyManuhutu.com (2002 - present)
Lead UX / UX Strategy
Bol.com (2022 - 2023)
Lead UX / DesignOps
TimeChimp (2021 - 2022)
UX Specialist
m-wise (2019 - 2019)
(Team) Lead UX / UI Design
Otravo (Vliegtickets.nl, VakantieDiscounter.nl, WTC.nl, Schipholtickets.nl) (2016-2017)
Owner
Mia Sorella concept & design (2010 - 2015)
Skills
User Experience
User Research, Information Architecture, User Interface, Usability Testing, Prototyping, Experience Strategy, User Journeys, Storyboards, Experience Maps, Graphic Design, Wireframes, User Flows, Copywriting, Card Sorting, Competitive Analysis, Problem Mapping, Workshops, UCDC.
Tools
Sketch, Figma, InVision, Hotjar, Jira, Confluence, VSTS, Zeplin, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign, Adobe Illustrator, Google Optimize.
Personality
Leader, Coach, Responsible, Pragmatic, Realistic, Decisiveness, Humoristic, Honest, Organized, Structured, Straightforward, Solution-oriented, ENFJ.
Values
Good work takes time.
Having me for "adding a UX sauce” to your product, is not the way I work. Good work simply takes time. I have to do some research, validate, redesign, and validate again before it can be built. It really depends on what has already been researched.
Value your users.
9 Times out of 10, you probably know what your users need. But sometimes there's more to discover and your users will surprise you. Don't let that happen, and be one step ahead of them and your competitors if you can.
Take UX serious.
User Experience is a real thing. Not a fancy word that companies "think" they need as a sauce over their food. Like it's a "nice to have" instead of a "must have". No users, means no income. No income, means no business.
Workshops are not a waste of time.
Good (prepared) workshops can bring so much value to your product. There are a variety of workshops that can help your business become bigger and better. A small change can have a big positive impact on your business.
Validate. But do not overvalidate.
Validate only if that specific work could have a big impact on your product. But remember that even a small change can have a big impact. Size doesn't always matter. Let me help you to choose wisely.
Share knowledge.
Sharing is caring. The same goes for knowledge. You will be surprised at the refreshing insights people can give you. Remember, no one has the holy grail. That's why I love keeping up with online forums, articles, and other peers.
My resume is not available for recruiters
