Publication
Personalized UX and the Power of Design and Emotion
https://www.toptal.com/designers/ux/design-and-emotion
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Chris Constandse
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Toptal member since July 25, 2017
Bio
Chris is a principal digital designer who understands the importance of evoking an emotional response when creating memorable experiences. He focuses on crafting opportunities that bring meaning and delight to the delivery of successful products and services for the end user. His background includes over a decade of experience working with premium brands across a wealth of industries, such as Amazon, Disney, Adidas, ABN AMRO, Booking.com, Raleigh, Blokker, and Batavus.
Experience
- UX Design - 12 years
- UI Design - 12 years
- Stakeholder Management - 8 years
- Product Design - 8 years
- Travel & Leisure - 8 years
- Fintech - 8 years
- Fortune Global 500 - 8 years
- Figma - 4 years
Portfolio
100x Design
Front-end DevelopmentVisual DesignComplex Problem SolvingUser Interface (UI)User Experience (UX)Grid Systems+ 1 more
Yanmar Europe
Fortune Global 500Front-end DevelopmentStakeholder ManagementResponsiveAutomationEnterprise Design+ 4 more
Happiness Design
PortfoliosFront-end DevelopmentResponsiveExperimental DesignUser-centered Design (UCD)User Interface (UI)+ 1 more
Adidas Global
UX DesignUI DesignPrototypingStakeholder ManagementUser Journeys
Work Experience
Principal Product UI/UX Designer (Freelance)
2022 - 2023
Adidas
- Took ownership of the design vertical for a high-visibility change in the checkout process of Adidas Global.
- Collaborated directly with the leadership team to convince them to move forward with the improved designs.
- Ran an A/B experiment in the US market that resulted in strong learnings on how to move forward.
- Iterated upon the designs by learnings from qualitative and quantitative research.
Technologies: Figma, User Flows, UX Design, UI Design, Experience Design, Experience Maps, Journey Mapping, User Journey Maps
Product Design Lead (Freelance)
2021 - 2023
Runyon Design LLC
- Led the experience design for a Fortune 500 organization in the Insuretech space.
- Delivered high-class UX and UI designs in a fast-paced New York product studio.
- Brought strong rationale to support my design decisions and convinced important stakeholders of certain design directions.
Technologies: Product Design, UX Design, Figma, Design Systems, eCommerce, User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), UI Design, UX Research, Journey Mapping, User Journey Maps
Senior UX/UI Designer (Freelance)
2020 - 2021
ABN AMRO Bank
- Took the lead in a new MVP proposition offered to professional real-estate clients where they could easily manage their portfolios.
- Advocated the importance of UX and UI design in a highly immature team.
- Improved the usability of the existing digital products offered to our customers through thorough user research and A/B testing.
Technologies: Sketch, Figma, Front-end, Scrum, Journey Mapping, User Journey Maps
International UX Consultant (Freelance)
2018 - 2019
Backbase
- Implemented stakeholder management with international banks worldwide, e.g., Bahrain and the Middle East.
- Created strong UX and UI designs that fit the brand.
- Led design discussions and persuaded/convinced the client via rational arguments.
- Conducted user research to validate new ideas and strengthen arguments.
- Installed a design system to keep the design consistent and the user experience optimized.
Technologies: Stakeholder Management, Sketch, User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Figma, Journey Mapping, User Journey Maps
Head of Design and Product
2017 - 2018
Inzpire.me's
- Held a leadership position in a fast-paced startup environment.
- Managed and was tasked with all of the UI and UX design work created within Inzpire.me.
- Advised the CEO and COO (co-founders) on product development and company strategy.
- Defined a design and product strategy together with the CEO.
- Set up a high-level multiquarter plan for product development.
- Worked remotely and flew to Oslo, Norway, once every six weeks to collaborate in person with the team.
- Shared my passion and (positive) energy with the team to create the optimal feeling of personal attachment to the product.
- Gained a promotion and became the head of the product.
- Mentored a design student every week for the entire year that I worked at Inzpire.me.
Technologies: Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, Journey Mapping, User Journey Maps
Senior UX Designer | Design Lead
2016 - 2017
Nextail (Blokker Holding)
- Managed two external designers (UX and VD) and ensured the expected deliverables were finalized before the deadline. This was done in combination with the Scrum working technique.
- Met with multiple stakeholders to present different running projects; for example, a content category plan included indexing the different digital content items per website, campaigns, and social expressions.
- Presented and reached an agreement over various full web designs to the company's CEO; I communicated my UX decisions with self-confidence and passion.
- Collaborated with the external design and coding teams to ensure that the delivered project was in line with the expectations of the business and, at the same time, had the optimal user experience.
- Set up a full digital style guide for our brands and communicated this to the brand's CEO and Nextail, the company I'm directly working for.
- Played an important role in communicating certain design decisions between Nextail and the different formulas inside Blokker Holding (Xenos, Leen Bakker, Intertoys, and more).
Technologies: Planning, Partner Management, Visual Design, User Experience (UX), Journey Mapping, User Journey Maps
Design Mentor
2015 - 2017
DesignLab
- Guided students through six-week programs to develop their skills using face-to-face Skype calls.
- Taught students the core basics of typography, color, and visual hierarchy.
- Gave students extensive feedback on developing themselves in the field and finding their first job.
- Shared knowledge through screen sharing and expanded on their designs through important design principles.
- Developed myself in English through new contacts worldwide and built a social network.
Technologies: Color Theory, UX Mentoring, Typography, Visual Design
Senior Visual Web Designer
2015 - 2016
Toomba
- Communicated with clients to find the right visual solution to their problems; this included sketching and multiple sessions.
- Translated wireframes to visual designs aligned with the client's expectations and offered the best user experience.
- Built a full front-end based on the visual designs that have been approved by the client with the use of Bootstrap as a framework.
- Handled and was tasked with the multiple markets (industrial, construction, agriculture) of Yanmar Europe's design process—from concept wireframes to approved visual designs) and the front-end coding (HTML, CSS, jQuery); URL: Yanmarindustrial.eu.
- Built and was tasked with the brand Doelbeleggen's (part of Velthuyse & Mulder) complete design process (from sketching to wireframing to the final set up of an approved visual design), URL: Doelbeleggen.nl.
Technologies: JavaScript, Bootstrap, CSS, HTML, Visual Design, User Experience (UX)
Web Designer | International Partner Advisor
2012 - 2015
Booking.com
- Implemented the branding of our biggest partnerships (easyJet, Ryanair, Air France, and KLM) in line with the brand of Booking.com using HTML, CSS, and jQuery.
- Advised the account managers from the US market to grow the brand's international partnerships, Booking.com; this is all from a technical point-of-view.
- Internationally optimized the Booking.com implementations for our biggest partnerships, which included traveling the globe (Rio de Janeiro, Paris, and Moscow) with multiple account managers.
- Set up A/B experiments with the goal of improving the conversion values of the Booking.com brand.
- Increased my knowledge by joining multiple training sessions, which included the "Art of Influence" and "Effective Presentations."
Technologies: Testing, CSS, HTML, Adobe Photoshop
Other Experience
Education
2021 - 2021
Professional Certificate in Critical Reasoning
Oxford University - Online
2021 - 2021
Professional Certificate in Disruptive Strategy
Harvard Business School - Online
2006 - 2011
Bachelor's Degree in Interactive Media (Programming, Design, Interaction)
University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam, Netherlands
2010 - 2010
Erasmus Exchange in Narrative Forms in Media, Journalism, Graphic Design, Intercultural Communications
Mid Sweden University - Sundsvall, Sweden
Certifications
DECEMBER 2009 - PRESENT
Typography
Graphic Lyceum Amsterdam
DECEMBER 2009 - PRESENT
Design and Layout
Graphic Lyceum Amsterdam
Skills
Tools
Sketch, Balsamiq Mockups, Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe Photoshop
Languages
CSS, HTML, JavaScript
Platforms
Figma, Android, iOS, MacOS
Industry Expertise
Travel & Leisure, Hotels & Lodging
Other
Visual Design, UX Design, UI Design, Fortune Global 500, Responsive Design, Stakeholder Management, User Journey Maps, eCommerce, Fintech, SaaS, Startups, Atomic Design, Journey Mapping, Product Design, Dashboard Design, Responsive Coding, Branding, Testing, Bootstrap, Partner Management, Planning, Typography, UX Mentoring, Color Theory, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Recipes & Cooking, Responsive, Design Leadership, Design Systems, User Journeys, Front-end Development, Complex Problem Solving, Grid Systems, Automation, Enterprise Design, Photography, Asia, Portfolios, Experimental Design, User-centered Design (UCD), Wireframing, Dashboards, Design, Adaptive, Enterprise, Product Management, Visual Art, Leadership, Marketplaces, Influencer Marketing, Strategy, Front-end, Scrum, Interactive Media Design, Graphic Design, Layout, UX Research, User Flows, Experience Design, Experience Maps, Communication, Complex Reasoning, Research & Critical Thinking, Prototyping
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