One platform.
Many moving parts.
A ground-up redesign for freelancers, recruiters, brokers and organisations, with research, product thinking and a scalable UX/UI system brought together in one experience.
My role covered the journey from research and competitive analysis to flows, prototypes, high-fidelity design, design-system thinking and close collaboration with development.
The challenge
A marketplace only feels simple when the complexity behind it is handled well.
Different users. Different jobs to do.
Freelance.nl serves more than one side of the market. Freelancers need to find and present relevant work. Recruiters, brokers and organisations need to source professionals, manage opportunities and make decisions efficiently.
The redesign had to support those different needs without turning the product into a collection of disconnected tools.
My job was to find the structure.
I started by combining existing user data and research with competitive analysis. From there we developed personas, customer journeys and user stories, then mapped the technical impact and opportunities with the team.
- User data and research synthesis
- Competitive landscape and quick wins
- Personas, journeys and user stories
- Technical alignment before detailed design
Process
Research first. Then make it tangible as quickly as possible.
Find the real friction
Analyse user data, existing research and the competitive landscape to understand where the experience was helping and where it was getting in the way.
Turn insight into flows
Translate findings into personas, journeys and user stories, with the technical team involved early enough to keep ideas grounded.
Test before polishing
Sketch concepts, build functional prototypes and use feedback to refine the stories and interactions before committing to high-fidelity UI.
Build a system, not screens
Translate the brand into reusable patterns and components, then stay close to development through handoff, build review and further iteration.
The product
Designed for people looking for work and the teams looking for them.
Not a prettier interface. A clearer system for both sides of the marketplace.
One of the most important parts of the work was keeping the freelancer experience visible while also solving the operational needs of organisations and recruiters.
That meant questioning every new feature in context. What problem does it solve? Where does it sit in the journey? What does it mean for the other side of the platform? And can the pattern be reused instead of designed again?
The result was a more modular way of thinking about the product, with design and development working from the same logic rather than treating every feature as a separate page.
Design system + delivery
Reusable by design. Close to development by default.
A scalable product foundation
The visual identity was translated into a modular design language that could support new stories and features without starting from scratch every time.
Components and patterns were designed in context, with consistency, flexibility and future growth in mind.
Design did not stop at handoff
I worked closely with development on ready-to-build designs and stayed involved during implementation to review progress, answer questions and protect the intended experience.
After implementation, usability testing and feedback created the next iteration loop. The goal was not a one-off redesign, but a product that could keep improving.
Need clarity in a complex product?
I work with product teams on platforms, workflows, design systems and digital services where there is more going on than the interface first suggests.