Mike Dekker
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Toptal member since June 1, 2017
With 18+ years of industry expertise, Mike is a seasoned independent product design consultant specializing in guiding businesses through defining, designing, and transforming digital products. His skill set, including product discovery, UX/UI design, prototyping, and UX audits, aligns user needs with business requirements for impactful results. Mike brings a unique blend of skills, ensuring comprehensive and effective solutions for his clients.
Portfolio
The University of Melbourne | Museums and Collections: Cultural Collections Discovery Portal
Brisbane City Council | The Brisbane App: UX Audit
Work Experience
Future Skills Industry Mentor and UI/UX Designer
RMIT University
- Prepared and hosted weekly UX/UI design-related webinars for 23 students.
- Supported students through 1:1 mentoring sessions.
- Reviewed and graded student UX/UI projects to help them grow their skills and confidence.
Digital Product Design and Innovation Consultant
TripTech (& the CamperMate App)
- Performed an extensive UX audit of the application to assess its current state, conducting a screen-by-screen analysis. I employed design heuristics, best practices, and common design patterns to identify and isolate these critical flaws.
- Worked on a comprehensive overhaul of the product's UX and UI design, leading to regaining a competitive edge, increased retention rates, and heightened user engagement.
- Contributed to the decision that CamperMate made. Following the major redesign, CamperMate sustained our partnership through a retainer arrangement, enabling continued collaboration on UX/UI enhancements for updates and future improvements.
Principle Consultant
Independent Mike Dekker Digital Product Design & Innovation Consultant
- Worked on a global scale with businesses, organizations, and agencies to help them define, design, and validate meaningful, memorable products and services that exceed their business requirements and, most importantly, meet their users' needs.
- Provide main services such as product discovery and ideation workshops, UX audit, general UX/UI design services, and interim design leadership.
- Contributed to various outcomes, including mitigating risk, increasing conversions, creating consensus amongst stakeholders, extending runways, securing funding, increasing retention, and product vision clarity.
Digital Product Design and Innovation Consultant
The University of Melbourne
- Successfully secured AUD 6.55 million in philanthropic funding to further advance the product's development.
- Established a product vision and a common understanding amongst stakeholders of the different user group's needs, frustrations, and motivations.
- Designed a detailed proof of concept that validated our assumptions, informed the product roadmap and funding needs, and shaped the detailed data model and technology solution architecture.
- Worked on the presentation that created a consensus among 30+ stakeholders.
UX Design Consultant/Mentor
Thinkful
- Mentored 400+ students over a period of six months each via one-on-one sessions teaching job-ready skills that helped them land jobs at companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon.
- Contributed to building out an extensive UX/UI design curriculum.
- Was responsible for 1:1 sessions, grading, and job coaching.
UX/UI Design Mentor
Bloc
- Mentored 300+ students over a period of six months each via one-on-one sessions teaching job-ready skills that helped them land jobs at companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, and countless exciting scaleups and startups.
- Contributed to the development of an extensive UX/UI design curriculum.
- Helped over 300 students land jobs in the industry.
Lead UX/UI Designer
Longtail
- Established a holistic product design culture in the company.
- Worked on the concept, design, and art direction for digital ad campaigns for a variety of clients.
- Trained staff to embrace a human-centered design approach.
Senior UX/UI Designer
IN10
- Worked on the concept and design of visually stimulating, interactive, and memorable consumer experiences like websites, apps, and offline supportive materials.
- Established a holistic approach to UX and UI design within the company.
- Worked on digital products ranging from web to eCommerce, iOS, Android, and interactive installations.
Freelance UX/UI Designer
Self-employed
- Worked on digital design/UX/UI related projects for MTV Benelux.
- Contributed to digital design/UX/UI-related projects for Nickelodeon.
- Worked on digital design/UX/UI-related projects for Nike Europe.
- Facilitated digital design workshops for internal teams at Nike Europe.
UX/UI Designer
Ijsfontein
- Worked on the concept and design of entertaining, engaging, and educational interactive experiences. This includes games, websites, and interactive museum exhibits.
- Worked with clients such as ING Bank, various international museums, and big European supermarket franchises.
- Took responsibility for deliverables such as games, interactive exhibits, projections, and more.
Digital Design Workshop Facilitator and Museum Tour Guide
Digital Playground
- Facilitated creative digital design, film, web design, and sound editing workshops for teenagers.
- Facilitated museum tours to introduce teenagers to art and design.
- Graded and reviewed teenage student digital projects.
Education
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication and Multimedia Design/Graphic Design
Willem de Kooning Academy - Rotterdam, Netherlands
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Fine Arts
Sint Joost Academie Breda - Breda, Netherlands
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Multimedia Design
Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam - Rotterdam, Netherlands
Skills
Tools
Sketch, Maze, Axure RP Pro, InVision, Principle, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Flinto Prototyping, Adobe Experience Design (XD), InVision Studio, Adobe Creative Suite, Flinto, Atom, Sublime Text, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe CC, Flash, Adobe Dreamweaver, Miro, Slack, Zoom, Dreamweaver CS5, Propellerhead Reason 8, Premiere Pro CC
Platforms
Android, iOS, Figma, Axure, Director, Askable
Languages
HTML, CSS
Industry Expertise
Fashion
Other
Google Design Sprints, UX Design, User Personas, User Flows, Sitemaps, Wireframing, Mobile Prototypes, Prototyping, High-fidelity Prototypes, Interactive Prototypes, Low-fidelity Prototypes, Microinteraction Design, UI Design, Design Systems, Empathy Mapping, User Journey Maps, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Card Sorting, User Testing, Remote User Testing, User Research, Design Sprints, MVP Design, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Branding, Brand Guidelines, UI Style Guides, Style Guides, Digital Product Design, App Design, Gamification, eCommerce Design, Beauty Products, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Web Shops, Web App Design, Dashboard Design, User Experience (UX), Web Design, Responsive, Google Material Design, Proof of Concept (POC), Innovation, Stakeholder Management, Discovery Workshops, Design Validation, Usability Testing, User Journeys, Design Thinking Facilitation, UX Audits, Product Discovery, Design Strategy, Design Leadership, Art Direction, Illustration, Iconography, Ideation, Microsoft Teams, Web Marketing, Project Management, Sales Presentations, Art & Painting, Digital Sculpting, Philosophy, Art History, Photography, Filmmaking, Software Development, Graphic Design, Animation
Experience
- Prototyping - 18 years
- UI Design - 18 years
- UX Design - 18 years
- Design Thinking Facilitation - 18 years
- UX Audits - 18 years
- Stakeholder Management - 18 years
- Proof of Concept (POC) - 18 years
- Design Leadership - 18 years
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