Coolblue

I joined Coolblue in 2015 as a Senior Designer. At the time, the UX team had low maturity and consisted of only six designers. To improve the quality of design at Coolblue, I helped form a core design team with three other senior designers. Our main tasks included coaching and mentoring designers, facilitating Design Sprints to help teams with complex problems, and collaborating in pair design sessions to find the best solutions.

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2015
Senior UX/UI Designer
  • checkImprove the quality of design
  • checkHelped form a core design team
2018 - Dec 2019
Team Lead Design Systems & Core UX Team

Design System

Besides being involved in everyday design challenges we are also working hard on our design system. The goal of our design system is to bring together designers and developers and create a consistent user experience for our customers while also streamlining the development process. When I joined Coolblue, there was no structured approach to design, with a focus on quality, consistency, and reusing components. I played a key role in creating the first concept of the design system, and worked to get buy-in from upper management and align stakeholders on the importance of having a solid design system in place. For a while, I served as the Team Lead for both the design system team and the core UX design team.

2018 - Dec 2019
Team Lead Design Systems & Core UX Team
  • checkStructuring design processes
  • checkCreating the first concept of the design system
  • checkEstablishing a Design System team
2020 - Now
Principal UX/UI Designer

I had an overwhelming role back then, leading a team building the design system, coaching and mentoring designers, and doing hands-on design work during high-pressure periods, all while focusing on quality and consistency. The scope of my role became too broad and needed to be adjusted.

Decentralized UX Team

Due to an increasing number of UX designers and the need for a more structured design community, Coolblue and I implemented a decentralized UX team model, with team leads and a UX principal role (which I currently hold). This allows designers to receive feedback from the team they are working with, and for me to focus on design quality and vision, while the team leads handle management and reporting responsibilities. Our design team now consists of 20+ designers, a decentralized design system team, and myself as a principal UX/UI designer.

Principal UX/UI designer

Over the years, I discovered the role of a principal UX/UI designer and have grown in that role. It may be described differently in other companies but I can tell you what I do.

In my experience, it’s been a role that allows me to be hands-on and do design work, while also helping other designers produce their best work. I lead by example and coach other designers to achieve excellence.

2020 - Now
Principal UX/UI Designer
  • checkImplemented a decentralized UX team model
  • checkCoach and support designers
  • checkAdvocate UX design throughout the whole company

My role as principal UX/UI designer at Coolblue

  • 🏗️
    I’m building bridges between teams. I’m working closely with the Branding Team and cross-functional teams to understand the needs of the business and the users.
  • 🍻
    I coach and support 20+ designers to create the best user experience for our customers. Everyday I try to get the best out of the designers at Coolblue.
  • 🙋
    Being that hands-on designer if there is a lack of design capacity
  • 🔮
    Design high level concepts and future visions to help teams moving forward
  • 🥇
    Make sure we create a consistent, high quality Coolblue user experience
  • 🤹
    Constant focus on business goals, customer needs and branding and try to find a perfect balance between them
  • 🪄
    I pair with designers and challenge their design solutions. I do this through design critique sessions or hands on pair design sessions.
  • 📣
    I advocate UX design throughout the whole company by facilitating design sprints, setting up future vision design projects and developing high level strategic concepts.
  • 🧙‍♂️
    I’m overseeing the design of the website, mobile app, and other digital products and services.

Projects that I’ve worked on

I've had the opportunity to work on a variety of exciting projects at Coolblue. Here are just a few highlights. These are just a few examples, but I hope they give a good representation of the type of work I've done and the skills I bring to the table.

Coolblue Blueprint, a Brand system

I played a key role in designing the new Coolblue brand system, which is our go-to resource for everything related to our brand. The system includes our branding guidelines, our philosophy, and will eventually include our Design System as well.

Coolblue carreer website

I worked with Fabrique, a digital design agency, to design Coolblue's career website, serving as a lead designer on the project and working closely with developers and another designer to guide the overall design and development process.

Coolblue Customer Service pages

When one of the teams at Coolblue was stretched thin, I stepped in to help redesign the Customer Service pages. This involved working closely with the team to understand their needs and goals, and coming up with creative solutions to improve the user experience and decrease contact ratio.

Coolblue Store fronts

I developed the initial concepts for Coolblue's new Store Fronts, which are pages that appear in front of filter pages and help customers narrow down their options and find the perfect product. My goal was to create a design that would guide users through the process in a clear and intuitive way, rather than overwhelming them with too many options at once.