I design the parts of products people would rather not think about: checkouts, schedules, sign-ups and settings. For nine years I have worked with small teams who sell physical things or run busy operations, often as the only designer in the room.
I start with research and finish with a system someone else can keep using. In between I sketch a lot, prototype early and count taps before I count pixels.
Five case studies, numbered in the order I would walk you through them in an interview. Each one starts with the problem and ends with what changed.
All work and archiveMost engagements run six to twelve weeks. The shape stays the same; the time in each part depends on how much the team already knows.
More about how I workBefore I open a design file I read support tickets, watch session replays and sit with whoever answers the phone. The real brief is usually in there.
Every flow has one step where people give up. I find it, measure it, and design outward from there instead of polishing the parts that already work.
Clickable prototypes by the end of week two, tested with five people per round. Opinions get cheaper once everyone has watched someone struggle.
Components, written rules and a recorded handover, so the team keeps shipping in the same direction after I leave.
“Ines found the problem in our checkout in two days. We had been arguing about it for a year.”
“She designed for the person loading the kiln at six in the morning, not for the screenshot. Our makers actually use it.”
“Six months after handover we still open her component notes every week. That never happens.”
Tell me where it hurts. I reply within two working days with questions and a rough plan, never a pitch deck.
I grew up behind the counter of my parents' shop in Rotterdam-Zuid. Most of my instincts still come from there: watch the queue, fix the till, talk to the regulars.
I studied graphic design, then spent two years making the web shop for a print workshop where I also packed the orders. Packing taught me more about interface design than any course: every confusing option on the product page turned into a phone call or a reprint on my desk.
Since then I have worked on the unglamorous middle of products. Checkouts for small brands, scheduling for makers, returns for a logistics company, invoices for freelancers. The work rarely looks dramatic in a screenshot. It shows up as fewer support tickets and calmer teams.
The best compliment I get is that a flow feels like it was always there.
I am happiest as the only designer on a small team, or as the person who sets up the system before a bigger team arrives. I write a lot: decision logs, error messages, onboarding emails. Words are the cheapest interface to change and the most expensive one to get wrong.
Outside client work I co-run Maas Design Nights, a monthly critique evening for designers who want honest feedback on unfinished work.
A beautiful screen that adds a step is a worse screen. I measure flows by effort first and polish second.
If I cannot explain what went wrong in one plain sentence, the design is not finished yet.
The plain, obvious solution usually wins in testing. I save the clever ideas for the places where people actually slow down.
An hour in the support inbox every week keeps a team honest about what the product really feels like.
Maas Design Nights started in 2022 with eleven people in a borrowed workshop. Now it is a monthly evening where three designers show something unfinished and the room helps them make it better.
Art academy in Rotterdam. Thesis on signage in train stations.
Designed and packed orders for a print workshop's web shop.
Retail and booking projects for eight clients in two years.
Returns flows for 300 web shops and their customers.
First evening: eleven people and a borrowed projector.
Kiln Flow and Switchback alongside the day job.
Lead designer for invoicing used by 9,000 studios.
Booking six to twelve week engagements from November.
Cycling the polder roads south of the city, ideally to a bakery.
Books about how buildings, cities and shops get used, not just how they look.
Squared paper, a soft pencil and a phone on a stand for testing.
Dutch and English for work, Igbo at family dinners.
I take on three or four projects a year. Tell me about yours and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person.
Five case studies from commerce, operations, travel and health. Each one covers the brief, what I found, what shipped and what changed.
Showing 5 case studies
Try a broader word like "checkout" or "booking", or clear the filters.
Not everything makes a case study. These are shorter projects, workshops and work I can walk you through on a call.
Lead product designer with nine years in commerce and operations software. Comfortable as the only designer, or as the first of a growing team.
Invoicing and payment reminders for 9,000 small studios.
Returns and parcel logistics for 300 web shops.
Digital agency for retail and hospitality clients.
Web shop and packaging for a print workshop.
Thesis: wayfinding and signage in busy train stations.
Research methods, prototyping and usability testing.
Monthly critique evening, 40 to 60 attendees.
Portfolio reviews for first-generation design students.
"Count taps before pixels": measuring effort in checkout flows.
Tell me about the product and the moment where people get stuck. I read every message myself and reply within two working days.
Here is what you sent. In this preview nothing leaves your browser; on the live site the message goes straight to my inbox and I reply within two working days.
Fixed price per phase, agreed after the first call. Most projects land between 6 and 12 weeks. I send the plan and the price on one page so there are no surprises.
Yes, within two hours of Central European Time. For research and workshops I like to be in the room for a day or two, travel included in the plan.
Of course. Several projects in my archive are under NDA; I can walk you through them on a call without sharing files.
I write production-quality HTML and CSS for prototypes and design system documentation, and I pair closely with your developers. I do not replace them.
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