What led you into design?
I've always been a creative person. As a kid, I spent most of my time drawing or playing with Lego, creating my own little worlds.
Around the age of 13, I started messing around with Photoshop. I was designing forum banners, YouTube backgrounds (back when you could still design the entire channel page), and even recorded my screen while designing – speedarts, iykyk.
Designing for other people on the internet (e.g. YouTubers) really motivated me, and it even brought in a bit of pocket money.
Quickly that turned into a hobby that stuck with me. So when I finished secondary school, I thought: Why not study something in that direction?
I was 18 and I started studying "Media & Interaction Design". That’s when things really got serious with design. I've learned a lot about various design disciplines but also about tech fundamentals and user psychology:
Over time, I worked on animations, visual identities, 3D models, mobile apps, poster designs, and even physical product prototypes equipped with real sensors. Naturally, UI design was a part of that journey too.
It all came together during a six-month internship at a digital design agency in Cologne. That’s where I truly discovered my passion for product design – and that’s also about the time I joined Dribbble. From there it just all evolved naturally.
What does a typical day look like?
Usually I wake up around 7:30 and get ready for the day. After preparing coffee with my espresso machine I start my work quite consistently at 9:00.
In the morning I first check through my messages and reflect on what's important for the day. Based on that I plan my goals in Things. In the morning I'm quite focused with a fresh mind and for me often this is the best time to have ideas, so I try to get as much "deep work" done as possible.
Around 11:00 I usually have a few calls with the team(s): planning, daily standup – giving updates on weekly goals and discussing latest designs.
Shortly after that I do a quick lunch break. While my mornings are quite consistent, my lunch breaks often differ – Sometimes I grab a bite outside or cook something at home. Other times, I take a walk with my girlfriend and our dog, or I run a quick errand. After that, I’m back at my desk for a few more hours of focused work in the afternoon.
What's your workstation setup?
I work on a 16" MacBook Pro with an Apple Studio Display. No external mouse, no external keyboard. Despite owning both. I just prefer keeping it simple.
Where do you go to get inspired?
I'm often most inspired when I'm away from my desk. When I see new things outside: by traveling to countries, visiting new cities with unfamiliar streets, taking in different styles of architecture.
It puts my mind in a different state, something I can't really explain well. It feels like I'm feeding my mind through my eyes.
For day-to-day inspiration I often still visit Dribbble or, more frequently, Mobbin – a library full of real interface screenshots from all kinds of software. I’ll explore related user flows and see how different teams tackled specific design challenges. That usually sparks the ideas I need to find the right solution.
What product have you recently seen that made you think this is great design?
I'm really into interior design – and I recently discovered a German brand focused on light: GRAU. Their products are rooted in minimal, functional design, but there's something special about the way they work with light. It has this almost magical quality (I showed one of their product in my setup: the light looks like a sunset). Plus their stores are just beautiful designed.
It’s that perfect mix of purposeful functional design and emotional resonance – the kind of quiet magic I always try achieve in my own projects.
What pieces of work are you most proud of?
I really enjoyed working on my new portfolio although it's just a V1.
But what I’m most proud of is definitely the work I’ve done at Attio.
I've been here for over three years and have contributed to a wide range of areas and features. Most specifically I want to highlight the Reporting and Call intelligence feature:
What design challenges do you face at your company?
We're designing the next generation of CRM. Traditional CRMs aim for flexibility and scalability, which often results in bloated, cluttered software, that need external experts to set up the way you want.
Our challenge is to deliver powerful, scalable functionality without compromising on simplicity and ease of use.
Finding the right balance here in design can be really tough. Especially as we're additionally trying to built AI natively into the core of the product – not as a bolt-on, but as an integral part of the experience.
The goal: give users the power to shape the CRM to their needs, without ever feeling overwhelmed. Making complex things feel easy is hard.
What music do you listen to while designing?
Any advice for ambitious designers?
There are no shortcuts. You have to put the time in. Dive into all areas that spark interest in you → then narrow your focus and aim to master a specific one.
It’s important to stay ambitious and stick with it – nothing comes easy, and I believe with AI becoming more and more prominent, it’s even more crucial to be an expert in your personal area of passion.
You've probably read this a hundred times before, but that doesn’t make it any less true: you have to stay open to new things and keep learning. The world is changing – and so are the demands on design.
Anything you want to promote or plug?
// If you want to connect, here is my twitter. Or have a look at my personal website jh.vision
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