Paul Middelkoop

Product Designer

Hello there

As a designer, I help develop user-friendly and effective products and services. Based on Design Thinking, I facilitate workshops, map customer journeys, and design concepts to quickly validate the riskiest assumptions. I also design flows, interaction patterns, and interfaces so that MVPs succeed on their merit — not fail due to execution.

Experience

@Port of Rotterdam

Routescanner

2022 – Present

Google Maps for Global Container Shipping

  • User journey mapping —Initiated and facilitated user journey mapping sessions to improve onboarding.
  • UI Design — Redesigned the main search and results interface for better usability, responsiveness, and accessibility.
  • Brand update — Led the brand update to attract a better defined target audience through updated visuals and content.
  • User interviews — Conducted user interviews to refine interaction patterns.
  • Quantitative analysis — Used PostHog for quantitative analysis and opportunity spotting.

Port Alert

2022 – 2024

Alerting system for Truckers & Terminals

  • Riskiest-Assumptions — Introduced the Riskiest-Assumptions method as a working model within the team.
  • Stakeholder Management — Monthly roadmap and design updates presented to stakeholders.
  • Product Design — Designed 1) native app for drivers with map functionality, 2) desktop dashboard for transporters, and 3) alert tool for port terminals.
  • Quantitative interviews — Interviews with drivers, terminals, and planners leading to major roadmap improvements.

Lab / Innovation / Incubation Teams

2022 – 2024

Contributed to various projects, amongst which:

  • Bridge Height — Facilitated problem analysis and quick wins for inland shipping efficiency.
  • GeoFluxus — Introduced a Start-Up on Circular Waste, and facilitated identifying the targets and users for the pilot.
  • PLATO — UX advice to make a data science tool (rShiny) for dredging operations accessible.
  • Innovation Radar — Interface design for innovation mapping tool.
@Clockwork/Ordina

Design Guild

2019–2022

User research, interface & service design for various projects:

  • National Police
  • Nuffic
  • Rabobank
  • KWF
  • ACM
  • NOC*NSF
  • Bindinc
  • Intermaris
  • HZCP
  • Cloudsense
  • VodafoneZiggo
  • Schuurman Schoenen

Vibe Coding

Brillar

  • Jot down nice moments that happened today, to build a positivity practice.

Crate Digg

  • An alternative way to organise your favorite Spotify albums.

Volunteering

Maak GroenLinks/PvdA

  • Canva-style poster maker for elections.

Everyday Heroes

  • Content design for a non-profit organisation that helps people get a job.