For the last 15 years, I have worked with a wide range of start-ups & large businesses in Europe, Israel and the US in an interdisciplinary manner to break down complex problems and conceive of simple elegant solutions. I thrive on working with cross-functional teams and on managing stakeholders at any level.
I am experienced working with very agile & lean teams, traditional user-centred design processes, and anything in between. I am a keen proponent of using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies combined with user metrics to effectively translate user needs into delightful product experiences.
I hold a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction at UCL, where I was also teaching fellow for interaction design as well as research associate working on two EU projects, driving human-centred user research and product innovation initiatives.
I occasionally give guest lectures or speak at industry conferences, on panels or invited podcasts about a range of design topics - from the importance of gestalt principles, to using design for communicating research, to creating effective remote design & research processes.
I am an active mentor and cohort reviewer for Europe’s leading early-stage tech for good VC - Bethnal Green Ventures.
In 2023 I was invited as Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) - a unique global network of changemakers enabling people, places and the planet to flourish.
MY STORY
Product design
I design functionally beautiful products.
Creating intuitive and enjoyable experiences successfully takes a village, especially so for complex enterprise and B2B processes.
So naturally people are the heart of how I design products. Together with users, of course, and - equally important - with project stakeholders, with subject matter experts, and of course with the product & technical delivery team.
My tool-agnostic approach allows me to select the best solutions for each project, while leveraging design systems where possible to ensure consistency and efficiency.
Service design
I design delightful experiences.
When things just work, delightful touchpoints with technology have been embedded in expertly crafted end-to-end experiences.
So how people feel, think, and act provides critical insights into how information should flow - between touchpoints, between systems, and between people.
My approach to service design is agile and prioritises delivery over documentation. I focus on understanding all relevant actors, mapping their journeys and the hand-offs between them to inform the boundaries between product and service improvements.
User research
I embed research seamlessly into the overall design process.
User research is non-negotiable. It also should not be a blocker. Empathy towards your team, your stakeholders as much as your users is key to deliver the right insights in the right way.
My approach to research is grounded in two decades of experience spanning academia & industry. Each research project - big or small - should be tailored to the particular stage and scenario of your project.
My experience covers exploratory research, concept testing, and usability evaluation - employing qualitative or quantitative methods, preferably a mix of both, in-person and remote.
Digital
transformation
I help companies reimagine legacy tools and processes.
I combine deep empathy, active listening, contextual inquiry, an end-to-end design skillset and thorough technical knowledge to engage every relevant stakeholder in balanced and knowledgable manner.
On every project - start-up or FTSE 100 company - this enables me to build rapport quickly, get alignment and enable the team to move in the right direction together.
My human-centred and agile approach has enabled the transformation of legacy SME offerings into market leading solutions, and delivering innovative global sustainability planning transformations to complex FTSE 100 clients.
Human-centric
discovery
I guide & enable teams to invent new experiences and solutions.
I live and breath human-centric discovery. From the hills of Split in Croatia to find novel ways to connect tourists and locals, re-imagine how user conferences can engage customers to generate product insights, countless research initiatives to find and evolve product market fit of Digital Science's start-ups, to transforming customer engagement at a FTSE 100 client to shape an agile, human-centric discovery process.
I combine these discovery methods with fast concept iterations, interactive prototypes where appropriate and as much co-creation as the specific project allows.
Design-led
innovation
I excel at connecting the dots to shape insight that drives innovation.
I draw inspiration from as wide a range of sources as possible to combine seemingly unrelated information in novel ways. I then use the creative design process strategically and methodologically to lead cross-functional teams to innovative new or re-invented products and services.
From new methods to utilize eye-tracking technology to interact with digital information, novel ways to visualise complex data for more effective decision making, to imagining new ways to simplify or re-invent even the most complex business processes.
Tech for good
mentoring
I help founders make the important early decisions well.
I am an active mentor and cohort reviewer for Europe’s leading early-stage tech for good VC - Bethnal Green Ventures.
One of my mentees, TooWrite, successfully sold their business to SpringerNature following some early & hands-on ux and product strategy advice. While my capacity for additional mentoring is limited, I am open to pitches from start-ups with a meaningful mission - addressing either climate or health-related challenges.
Fractional
advisory roles
I shape company trajectories with human-centred strategy.
I am open to fractional advisory roles that focus on providing strategic human-centred product, research & design oversight to your business.
I have worked with many company founders, shaping their user engagement strategies, user-centric product roadmaps, defining and tracking metrics that are both meaningful, measurable, and appropriate for the stage of the business.
R&D
collaborations
I embrace complexity to drive innovation.
I understand the unique benefits and the challenges of academia AND industry, having worked in both and at the intersection for many years.
My PhD was industry sponsored and I have worked closely with many founders transitioning out of academia.
I see enormous potential for academia and industry to collaborative more effectively - in particular around innovations that address urgent societal challenges - and am exploring opportunities to encourage that dialogue.
WHAT I DO
WHO I WORKED WITH
Companies that trust my work
Mustafa Kurtuldu
Sven is one of the most analytical and principled designers I have ever met. His knowledge on UX research, such as use of the kano model to applied design prototyping, graphic and illustration work make him a rarity in our industry. As Head of UX at Digital Science he was balanced and fair, willing to listen and active in leading design best practice, establishing standards across all of Digital Science portfolio companies. I feel privileged to have worked with him.
Daniel Hook
During the decade that we have worked together Sven has lived UX. He has led by bringing together UX team members across the Digital Science group of companies. He has played a critical role in surveying clients, UX research, designing and implementing critical changes to existing products ...
Ivy Cavendish
Sven was beyond instrumental in our UX success as a Bethnal Green Ventures portfolio company. From the smallest details to the biggest changes, Sven was direct, focused, and ensured that all of his design notes were actionable and appropriate. My co-founder and I are immensely grateful for the success he inspired.
Sebastian Peck
Sven is a passionate and indefatigable advocate of UX design excellence, spreading best practice with a view of making key UX tasks such as user research, prototyping and metrics-driven design a priority. He continuously identifies areas for improvement and ensures successful implementation through effective stakeholder management.
Sven is an exceptional leader in user experience and design. He is not only a very talented designer but someone who uses his wealth of experience to guide and support his colleagues to define and solve the true problems.
Steve Scott
Working at the intersection of business, product and engineering is challenging at the best of times - in a startup even more so - but Sven's diplomatic skills helped him navigate through any friction.
Holly Yoon
His talent for creating user-centric designs and collaborative approach make him an asset to any project. I've had the pleasure of working with him, and his skills and positive attitude shine.
Sven brought a wealth of knowledge and experience, a lot of professional integrity and he was not afraid to challenge assumptions where it was necessary - which helped the project enormously.
Sven led our entire approach, which included implementing new processes to align development with UX. He also led and importantly included us throughout the whole journey of user research & design. I can't imagine we would have succeeded without him.
Jonathan Adams
Sven's work on UX aspects of our projects for research funding agencies in the UK and elsewhere in Europe has been invaluable. His advice is always helpful, but I cannot praise highly enough the work he led on a website to make accessible a database of impact case studies. This has been praised by my contacts around the world and raises the bar for others.
Nathan Westgarth
In my two years at Digital Science, I learned a lot from Sven and I believe I’m a much better product manager for having worked with him. Sven was continuously trying to improve our processes and the way we integrated UX with agile software development and developed frameworks for not just Digital Science but also it’s various portfolio companies.
Were I starting a company, recruiting Sven would be at the very top of my list. Sven possesses a rare combination of data-driven, analytical thinking and what I can only refer to as an "information aesthetic." His work - which was published in Scientific American under my watch - is drop-dead gorgeous. I could not recommend Sven highly enough. He is an A-player par excellence.