My degree taught me that innovation begins with an open mind and designing with people — for people

“I hold a master’s degree (cand.it.) in Product Design and currently work as a digital designer at Gram Equipment, which produces advanced equipment and systems for industrial ice cream production. My work combines digital design and visual communication within the marketing department, collaborating across disciplines to align product messaging and drive sales.

It’s fun that our work results in something as tangible as ice cream. During product launches or when celebrating customer success, we often end up eating ice cream together –  and that makes the connection between our work and the final product very clear. It’s meaningful to know that what we create is being used: a large portion of the world’s industrial ice cream products are produced using our equipment.

One of my biggest tasks has been redesigning the company’s website. I was trusted to lead the comprehensive design and end-to-end development of the website, establishing it as an entirely new digital product, reflecting Gram Equipment where it stands today. I bridged my multimedia background with my product design expertise in co-designing and qualitative research –  facilitating interviews and workshops across engineering, sales, service, legal, and HR to align complex stakeholder goals with our new web architecture. Applying the principles of co-design process, I used visual facilitation, sketches, and drawings to explain complex processes, provide a clear overview, and ensure shared alignment among colleagues with highly diverse expertise. Much of this work, involving the multistakeholder innovation process, has been deeply integrated into my studies in IT Product Design.

I also work with product communication: layout, graphic materials, video, roll-ups, and visual elements for trade shows and conferences. I use my skills in tools such as Adobe Creative Suite and draw on my background in photography and video. For me, it’s about communicating technical products in a way that is precise, accurate, and easy to understand.

What excites me most is not just designing but engaging in the process and with the people I work with. The exploratory, process-oriented approach from my Product Design education has taught me to navigate uncertainty, trust the process, and stay curious while carefully listening to the people and insights you gather along the way. Methods such as rapid prototyping, creative ideation, affinity mapping, thematic analysis, user testing, and co-creation workshops, with an overall strong focus on empathy, are still part of my work, sometimes formally, at other times more informally, for example in conversations over a cup of coffee.

For me, design is about navigating the complexity of today’s world, translating it into clean, sophisticated, and intelligent solutions that meet modern demands. I continuously learn from engaging in dialogue with colleagues of diverse expertise and professional backgrounds – and that’s where I grow the most as a designer, by deepening my empathy and applying that understanding to everyday practices.”