Product Design

20+ years across national and multinational companies, government, publishers and SME / startups. Experienced as a Senior, Principal or a Lead role. Strategic product design and development. Problem-solving & impact-driven.

Case

Detailed

Sulvalda
Sulvalda laptop view
Sulvalda Persona
Sulvalda Design System
 
Sulvalda Contact
Case
  • ▪ Industry / Branch
  • Recycling & Engineering
  • ▪ Role
  • Senior Product Developer. A LEAN project delivering a sustainable consultancy website that is aesthetic, functional, and user-friendly through collaborative design and development.
  • ▪ Services
  • Consulting · Analysis · Lean Development · UX Design · UX/UI Engineering · Interactive Prototyping · Web Development · Usability · Optimization · Accessability Wcag + EAA

Challenge
  • ▪ Client
  • A start-up from the Netherlands operating at the intersection of recycling and engineering. They needed to establish a credible, effective online presence quickly, without the overhead of a lengthy, traditional development cycle.
  • ▪ Requirement
  • As a new company in a complex industry, they faced two challenges: quick market entry and establishing credibility.
    The site needed to launch fast to support early growth and present engineering expertise and environmental commitment from day one.

Role
  • ▪ Summary
  • A LEAN project delivering a sustainable consultancy website - aesthetic, functional, and user-friendly through collaborative design and development.
    As the Senior Product Developer, my responsibility spanned from initial consulting and analysis through to UX design, UX/UI engineering, prototyping and final web development.
    I worked directly with the start-up founder to translate a lean business vision into a tangible, accessible digital platform.
  • ▪ Team
  • The project was initiated and successfully finalized in collaboration with UI designer J. Skolnik.

Research
  • ▪ Initial
  • In a workshop with the UI designer, we landed on a clear value proposition: technical expertise meets environmental accountability.
    Potential clients-municipalities, construction firms, industrial partners, they would all measure credibility by clarity and substance, and not by visual flash.
  • ▪ Goal
    1. - Applying a LEAN approach allows for developing a high-value product in manageable steps, as soon as content and concept are ready
    2. - Clearly communicate the company's dual focus on engineering precision and environmental impact
    3. - Build a modular foundation that could scale with the business over time

Target
  • ▪ Struggle
  • Procurement managers in municipalities recycling need to vet partners quickly - evidence of capability and compliance matters. Dense, text-heavy sites that bury direct approach, certifications and fail on mobile cost them time and trust.
  • ▪ Expectations
  • Managers expect a site as precise as the engineering itself: scannable, value-clear, and flawless on any device or network.

Persona
  • ▪ The Vetting Manager
    • Role: Project Lead, Municipal Waste Coordinator or Procurement Officer
    • Age: 35-55
    • Motivation: Finding a reliable, compliant partner who can deliver on sustainability targets.
    • Pain Point: Wasting time on slow, unprofessional websites that lack clear service descriptions or accessibility support.
    • Quote: "If their website is a mess, I assume their project management is too."

Features
  • ▪ Core concept
  • The design concept was driven by clarity and trust. High-quality technical illustrations were created to explain complex recycling and engineering processes simply. The information architecture was kept intentionally shallow to reduce friction.
  • ▪ Accessibility & Performance
  • Full WCAG/EAA compliance was integrated from the start, ensuring that the site is usable by all stakeholders, including government and public sector employees who rely on assistive technologies.
    A lean, framework-agnostic codebase ensures sub-second load times and minimal energy consumption, aligning with the client's sustainability mission.

Validation
  • ▪ Prototyping
  • Given the LEAN mandate, a move was made directly into high-fidelity HTML/CSS prototypes rather than static mockups. This allowed a live, responsive version of the site to be interacted with by the founder on both phone and desktop within days of the initial workshop.
  • ▪ Refinement
  • Feedback loops were short and actionable as we tested the clarity of the service descriptions first and our understanding of the services.
    Adjustments were made immediately in the Design System, content versioning, and codebase, demonstrating the efficiency of the LEAN collaboration model.
    The UX Research findings were firm, ensuring that the final narrative resonates with a technical audience as well.

Choices
  • ▪ Visual
  • A palette of browns, industrial dark greys and clean whites was chosen to reflect both the environmental mission and the engineering backbone.
    Typography is crisp and highly legible, reinforcing the brand's commitment to clarity and precision.
  • ▪ Technical
  • Built with modular HTML/CSS/JS and zero dependencies, the site is lightweight and secure. This approach not only ensures fast performance but also makes future expansion straightforward - new sections can be added without significant refactoring.

Result
  • ▪ Impact
  • Sulvalda launched a professional online presence within a agreed timeline: a digital trust signal that instantly positioned the start-up as a serious player in recycling and engineering.
  • ▪ Takeaways
    • LEAN is a competitive advantage: For start-ups, the ability to iterate quickly in code reduces time-to-value significantly.
    • Trust is in the details: In technical industries, accessibility and performance are not just nice-to-haves; they are indicators of operational competence.
    • Modular code scales with the business: A simple, well-structured codebase is the most sustainable foundation for future growth.

Final
  • ▪ The platform
  • The final website presents Sulvalda as a credible, modern and environmentally conscious engineering partner.
    It features a clean, industrial aesthetic with custom illustrations that demystify recycling workflows.
    The site is fully accessible, performant on all devices, and built modular-ready for future expansion.

Go to Cases


Contact

& get in Touch

aalleexxxxwwoorrkkss..ppaaggeess..ddeevv
aalleexxxxwwoorrkkss@@pprroottoonn..mmee
++3311((00))662200551199557722