Question 1: 12 years of app development, what have you been doing all these years?
I haven’t been working on just apps (to keep the record straight). I started off designing and developing Flash websites and banners. After flash died (rip, my dear friend), I shifted towards designing websites with a strong focus on e-commerce. This turned out to be a very educational period because e-commerce obliges you to think about the User Experience more than anything else. After roughly 7 years I jumped into the world of VR to work on some projects that were built for the Oculus Rift. Great to work on, but not quite my thing. So I started designing apps and I’ve been doing so ever since. Fortunately, I’m still loving it!
Question 2. Tell me bit more about yourself and what do you create?
I’m the Lead Designer at aFrogleap: a digital product agency from Amsterdam. We create websites and apps. We’re a user centered bunch, so we always try to build the best experience possible. Hema, Moneyou, BMW and O2 are some of the clients we work for. Currently there is a lot of focus on reinventing the way we work. Both design and development are putting their heads together to come up with a workflow that guarantees more quality, which translates to a better user experience. Happy user, happy us.
Question 3: What milestone or technologic breakthrough will be most remarkable within the next 2 year?
I would have to say the adoption of Voice assistants in our every day lives. Right now, voice is still in its infancy, but as far as I can tell, it’s gaining traction fast. Personally I’m already using it quite a bit: “Google, please turn off my living room lights”. Yes I know, scratching the surface… But if done properly, voice could end up making a lot of visual interfaces less important or even obsolete. Unfortunately this might put some pressure on our work (being designers and all) but I’m very interested in where this will take us. We’ll figure out something else to design. Some of us might even shift to creating personalities for voice assistants.
Question 4: What’s your contribution during the appril festival?
First of all, I think the Appril festival is a great initiative. Apps are still very much alive. But I also think they need to evolve in order to stay relevant. Events like this, help to see what’s on the radar right now and where things should or might be going. I hope I can contribute to this idea by sharing my insights about design systems and how they can drive digital transformations.
Question 5: What message do you want to bring across to our audience?
Break the silo’s! Designers and developers need to start utilising each others strengths. As designers we have an important role to play in the user experience of the products we craft. But in my experience, developers often bring new and other insights to the table that help make any product better. So stop tugging and start hugging!
