Michael Coussement
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Todos Santos, Mexico
Toptal member since December 15, 2022
Michael is a seasoned designer who brings web apps and sites to life through beautiful design, solid strategy, a firm tech stack, and a healthy dose of fun. After studying Strategic Product Design and having a career as an entrepreneur in the sustainable energy industry, he unleashed his inner artist, combining strategy and design to turn visions into visuals. Michael is the best at turning customer insights and stories into rich user experiences and web products that are also a work of art.
Portfolio
MEA | Campus Profile Onboarding Web App
Work Experience
Founder and Lead Designer
Ventury
- Served as the UX/UI designer and project manager in building a custom educational web application in Laravel for high school students in Mozambique that aimed to prevent STDs and early marriages among young girls.
- Acted as the UX/UI designer and project manager in building a WordPress eCommerce platform that connects students to home tutors.
- Designed Powerpoint decks for a consulting firm serving brands such as Heineken, Ferrero, and Mentos.
- Created the graphic design of Powerpoint decks for a firm specializing in annual reports, working for brands such as Schiphol Airport, Brussel Airport, Stern, and other large Dutch corporates.
- Built the brand Identity and web design of a new tech startup spinning out of the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab.
- Led the UI, web design, and project management of the build of a WordPress eCommerce site for an online marketplace that connects mountain bike students to mountain bike teachers.
- Developed the brand identity, web design, and Webflow website for an art teacher who brings people who feel stuck back into creative flow. The art teacher has increased 10x her business since the website's launch.
- Delivered a yoga teacher's brand identity and web design growing her online business.
- Defined the brand and marketing strategy of a real estate tech startup in two intense sessions. After that, we crafted a practical, hands-on marketing strategy for the year ahead.
Co-founder | Venture Architect and Web Designer
The Paradigm Shift Project
- Developed the UX and web design of a personal growth retreat center in Mexico and led the development team who built the new website in Craft CMS. We have maintained and grown the website for the following three years.
- Led business process research and design for the retreat center. Designed a new business process architecture and implemented the new processes using Hubspot at the core with other tools connected to it. Reducing the workload of a full FTE per week.
- Delivered the web strategy, brand identity design, web design, and Webflow website for an innovative electric bicycle charging tech startup.
- Built the web strategy, web design, and Webflow website, and connected multiple third-party apps for an online course program created by my business partner.
- Created the brand strategy, identity, web design, and Webflow site for a holistic wellness coach.
- Defined the web strategy that guided a luxury jewelry brand transitioning to the digital space. Web Design of their website, managing a WordPress development team, devising tests for new services, and ongoing technical optimization.
Co-founder
Maxem Energy Solutions
- Created the graphic design of online and offline marketing materials such as flyers, posters, conference displays, and online banners.
- Handled the product design of the outer casing of the hardware product in close collaboration with an industrial design agency.
- Managed the package design of the hardware device and its accessories. The process was done in collaboration with a specialty packaging firm.
- Developed the graphic design and technical writing of the hardware installation manual. Through UX research and installer training, I gained the feedback I needed to create a simple-to-use manual that dramatically improves first-time installations.
- Set up international strategic partnerships with electrical installers and resellers. And maintained the accounts to grow our global market base.
- Pivoted our business model multiple times due to customer feedback and rapidly changing market conditions in the EV charging space.
Strategy Consultant | Sustainable Innovation
Squarewise
- Led a EUR 100+ million project to connect five cities to a distributed heating system from the waste incineration plant.
- Built business cases for multiple stakeholders connected to the distributed heating system, including municipalities, housing corporations, and factories, and developed a multi-year adoption strategy to connect the cities.
- Managed the stakeholders to provide a sustainable last-mile goods delivery solution for the city of Rotterdam.
- Developed business cases, set up partnership agreements, and created the go-to-market strategy for new joint ventures.
Education
Master of Science Degree in Strategic Product Design
Delft University of Technology - Delft, The Netherlands
Bachelor of Science Degree in Technology, Policy and Management
Delft University of Technology - Delft, The Netherlands
Certifications
Webflow Expert Certification
Webflow
Webflow Masterclass
Flux Academy
Visual Design Principles
UC Berkeley Extension
Skills
Tools
Figma, Wix, Adobe Creative Suite, Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, Sketch, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Zapier, Adobe Experience Design (XD)
Platforms
Webflow, WordPress, Webflow CMS, Craft CMS
Languages
CSS, HTML
Other
Value Proposition Design, UI Design, Web Design, Web UI Design, Landing Pages, Responsive Web Design (RWD), User Interface (UI), Landing Page Design, HubSpot, UX Design, Service Design, User Research, Brand Strategy, New Product Development, Systems Thinking, Business Process Modeling, Information Architecture (IA), Structured Analysis, Stakeholder Mapping, Project Management, Visual Design, Design Principles, Graphic Design, StoryBrand, Web UX Design, User Experience (UX), Collateral Design, Branding, Pitch Preparation, Design Strategy, Design Leadership, Roadmaps, Prototyping, Product Strategy, Brand Design, Web App Design, Business Strategy, PowerPoint Design, Product Design, Entrepreneurship, Business Models, Sales, Technical Writing, Package Design, Stakeholder Engagement, Business Cases, Responsive Layout, Style Guides, Web Design Strategy, Web Development, Wireframing, Web Project Management, Business Process Optimization, Web App UX, Web App UI, Business Process Flow Diagrams, Stripe, IT Project Management, Marketing Campaign Design
Experience
- Value Proposition Design - 10 years
- New Product Development - 10 years
- UI Design - 8 years
- UX Design - 8 years
- Web Design - 8 years
- Service Design - 5 years
- Figma - 4 years
- Webflow - 3 years
Tools
- Figma
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