Daan is a UX and digital product designer who figures out what the thing should be, then designs it well enough that it does its job and then some. Ten years of that, across finance, sustainability, marketplaces and retail.
I'm Daan — a UX and digital product designer based in the Netherlands. For the past ten years I've been figuring out what things should be, then designing them well enough that they do their job and then some.
Most of my work happens in the messy middle between business strategy and the thing people actually tap on. I like projects where the problem isn't obvious yet, where you have to dig around before the right thing to make becomes clear.
I tend to work across the full width of a problem. Research, concept, interface, the conversations that connect them. Mostly I just keep asking why until the answer stops changing.
Currently at Nationale-Nederlanden, figuring out how to responsibly serve customers with complex mortgage situations. Before that: funda, where everyone in the Netherlands goes to find a home. Ace & Tate, rethinking how you buy glasses online and off. Werkspot, connecting homeowners with the right professionals. And Powerly, making it easier for homeowners to be part of the energy transition.
I'm always up for a good conversation about design, work, or something else entirely. Reach me at daan.smulders@gmail.com.
