Get to know me!
I am an Amsterdam-based product designer, with 10 years of experience within the design industry. With a foundation in industrial and digital design, my past work has spanned physical product development, user research, product strategy, and more. I began in the fast-paced world of U.S. robotics startups, where I helped build MVPs from the ground up, and have since transitioned into a focus on sustainability and accessibility.
While I thrive in the strategic realm of product management, my heart remains in the hands-on craft of design. I excel at speaking the languages of developers, business leads, and creative teams, and bridge gaps to turn insights and requirements into scalable solutions.
Location
Amsterdam, NL
Degree
Bachelor Industrial Design
Languages
English, Dutch, NGT-2
Citizenship
Dual Dutch/American
What I like
Solving for constraints
I love the puzzle of making pieces fit together in resourceful ways. To me, a technical constraint or user limitation isn’t a wall—it’s a creative boundary.
Working with devs
Collaborating directly with engineers pressure-tests my logic, makes the final result stronger, and keeps me constantly learning.
Designing for longevity
I take pride in creating designs, workflows, and documentation that makes it easy for the next person to pick up exactly where I left off.
Strong foundations
I build systems and processes so the whole team can work faster and stay organized, while the product can integrate and scale.
Designing for the edges
I gather diverse perspectives from users and the team to make sure the final product is strong and accessible to everyone.
Keeping it real
I work with designers, devs, and PM’s to bridge big visions with tight timelines and limited resources to ship viable solutions.
My approach
One of my biggest lessons so far in my career is that ideas are abundant and visions tend to be big. This isn’t a bad thing... but it is if they go unchecked — and aren’t met with proper user research, coordinated team processes, feasible constraints based on resources and timeline, and clean design work. There is no point in building if you don’t build right.
This is where I come in :)
I believe strongly in sharpening the axe before chopping the tree.
In spending time up front to properly understand the problem space, setting up good habits and processes within the project team, and evaluating how different parts of the design and infrastructure will come together. I focus on strengthening the backbone of a project by continuously asking questions to keep us on track, by engaging in constant conversation with users, PM’s, designers, and developers to create alignment, and by sticking to my high delivery standards. This ensures we can balance the vision with user and business requirements, and deliver robust products that deliver value.
My take on accessibility
Accessibility is an often overlooked part of the design process. Sure, developers are trained on proper tagging and designers to check contrast, but this isn’t enough. I personally feel that a product isn't truly well designed unless it is usable by anyone who would like to use it.
I’ve experienced first-hand and seen in my community how impairments or injuries can make everyday tasks a hurdle. This gives me deep intrinsic motivation to transform accessibility from a 'checklist' into a fundamental part of organizational strategy and culture.
Skills
Digital product
UX & UI design
Responsive web & mobile design
Prototyping & interaction design
Design systems & component libraries
Information architecture
OOUX
Industrial design
CAD
3D printing
Laser cutting
Vendor sourcing
Design for manufacturing
Technical drawing
Research & Strategy
User research & usability testing
Product strategy & roadmapping
Stakeholder management
Product management
Accessibility
Accessibility audits
WCAG, EAA compliance
Process & Collaboration
Agile & scrum methodologies
Developer handoff collaboration
Junior mentorship
Process optimization
Technical documentation
Tools
Figma
Framer
Miro
Adobe suite
Jira
Asana
Google suite
Confluence
Maze
Dovetail
Microsoft Clarity
Google Analytics
Hotjar
Solidworks
Autodesk Fusion
Education & certifications
Bachelor of Industrial Design
Carnegie Mellon University, 2017
Accessibility: How to Design for All
Interaction Design Foundation, 2023
Awards
Carnegie Mellon University
School of Design Merit Award, 2016
Carnegie Mellon University
Andrew Carnegie Scholar, 2016
Carnegie Mellon University
IDSA Merit Winner, 2017
Carnegie Mellon University
Kier Visual Activism Award, 2017
Experience
Product design lead | Circle Economy Foundation | Amsterdam | April 2021 – Mar 2026
Lead designer for the renewal of the Knowledge Hub, responsible for UX, accessibility, and integration into the Circle Economy website. Conducted user research, accessibility audits, and user tests to ensure compliance with the European Accessibility Act and WCAG standards.
Designed and implemented a uniform design system applied across multiple platforms, improving consistency and collaboration between design and development.
Drove the design of the CGR (Circularity Gap Report) dashboard, which expanded the reach of Circle Economy's data and research and reduced internal production time and costs.
Collaborated with product managers, developers, and domain experts to shape core product strategies that strike a balance between impact, usability, and scalability.
Established Circle Economy's accessibility audit and documentation process, anchoring inclusive design principles in organizational practice.
Freelance designer | Amsterdam | 2019 – 2021
OnderAnderen: Facilitated workshops and developed strategic accessibility roadmaps.
Healfie: UX strategy for a health-tech connection platform focusing on vitality.
The Beach (Residency): Research into strengthening social accessibility in neighborhoods.
Industrial designer | Pittsburgh, USA | 2015 – 2018
Platypus LLC: Redesigned autonomous research boats for faster and simpler manufacturing.
Capsen Robotics: Developed a manufactured MVP of a scanning table for a computer vision system.
Bayer: Conducted ethnographic research at Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital to improve medical injection systems.
Carnegie Mellon University: Design Consultant for Biomedical Engineering Design, supervisor of 3D printing and laser cutting.
The Tech Shop: Autodesk Fusion 360 instructor.
What others have to say
I had the privilege of managing Lauren for several years, and she consistently exceeded expectations as both a multi-talented product designer, and as a cross-functional leader. Lauren brings a full design toolkit, but her commitment to asking the right questions is what kept us moving forward. Lauren excels at aligning internal and external stakeholders with conflicting priorities, from developers to partners. She also brings genuine enthusiasm to the design process itself, with a rare ability to challenge team thinking constructively. I recommend Lauren without hesitation for any role requiring strategic design thinking, stakeholder management, and hands-on delivery in complex environments. She's a great professional and human to have on your team.
Lauren is the type of product designer every PM hopes to work with. Before I joined, she managed our flagship product as the acting PM, and her product knowledge was instrumental in getting me up to speed. She remains an invaluable sparring partner who consistently challenges assumptions to ensure we are building the right solutions.
As a designer, she is a champion for the users. Lauren has a keen focus on UX research and accessibility, with a design acumen to translate complex scientific jargon and data into clear, accessible narrative experience for the users.
Beyond her technical work, she is a good mentor. I’ve seen her successfully guide our junior design talent, helping them find their creative voice and confidence within the organization. Lauren is a massive asset to both the product and our team culture.
Lauren performed a variety of design, creative, and engineering tasks for CapSen Robotics, from product design and fabrication to Arduino programming to the creation of animations and a web site. She found suppliers, sourced parts and materials, and managed the supply chain. Lauren is able to see the big picture goals of the company and a project. Lauren completed projects using her existing skills, taught herself new skills as required, and found external vendors who could complete sub-tasks. She has the maturity and self-motivation to follow through on a project to completion with minimal supervision. She is able to own projects as well as work as part of a team, often teaching CapSen staff. I highly recommend Lauren as part of any organization.
Mark Schnepf, CTO at CapSen Robotics
Lauren was the senior designer I worked with in my first job, and I’m so grateful to have met her. She leads the design process with confidence and clarity, and she’s amazing at bringing different teams together to collaborate effectively. Working with her is always easy, inspiring, and reliable. I’ve learned so much from her along the way. She has a great eye for details and always delivers thoughtful, high-quality designs. She is also always open to exploring new design methods and tools, constantly looking for ways to optimize our workflow and elevate our designs. Beyond her professional strengths, Lauren is simply a wonderful person to work with. Her energy and positivity make the team feel connected and motivated every day. Any team would be incredibly lucky to have her!