Job ongoing. This job is ongoing until October 2026 - More case study detail will be added as the project evolves.
NDA — restricted content. Specific screens, design decisions, and proprietary UI details are not publicly shareable. What's shown here gives context without exposing confidential MVTec product work. I'm happy to discuss the design process, tools, and approach in a direct conversation.
Modern machine vision software is powerful — but power comes with complexity.
At MVTec Software GmbH, three core products are undergoing a fundamental transformation. This isn't just a redesign — it is a rethinking of how users interact with complex systems. Working as part of an in-house UX team, we tackle this challenge together across design, research, and engineering.
A modernized UI
Rethinking the visual and interaction layer for expert users working in high-stakes environments.
A restructured codebase
The backend is actively being refactored — design has to move alongside an evolving foundation.
Future-ready scalability
Some parts are already in beta — others still evolving. Flexibility is non-negotiable.
How might we redesign complex tools for two very different users — experts who rely on the current system, and newcomers who need clarity from day one — without breaking either experience?
Existing Expert Users
Deeply familiar with the current system. Any disruption to their established workflows creates resistance and lost productivity. Change must feel like an upgrade — not a replacement.
New & Potential Users
Coming in without prior context. They need consistent patterns, low cognitive load, and alignment with industry conventions — so the learning curve doesn't become a reason to walk away.
Highly technical experts — working on precision-critical tasks.
Highly trained professionals who rely on the software for mission-critical machine vision workflows.
Errors in interaction translate to errors in output — the interface must earn trust at every step.
Users are very familiar with existing patterns and software. Change has to feel like an upgrade, not a disruption.
Long sessions with many parallel tasks — energy spent on navigation is energy lost on the actual work.
The interfaces reflected mostly system architecture.
Through ongoing collaboration and analysis, one core issue has become clear: the UIs have grown around technical structure rather than the mental models of the people using them.
The challenge isn't to simplify the software — it is to make complexity usable.
Cognitive Overload
High information density without clear structure makes it hard to focus on what matters most.
Inefficient Workflows
Repeated tasks require too many steps — slowing down expert users unnecessarily.
High Learning Curve
New users face steep onboarding even for standard operations, making the software less accessible to newcomers.
Deviation from Industry Standards
Interaction patterns diverge from familiar tool conventions, adding unnecessary mental effort to understand established workflows.
Four Strategic Directions.
Designing Alongside a Moving System
Unlike typical UX projects, the foundation (codebase) is actively changing. Instead of designing fixed solutions, we focus on flexible, future-proof structures that can adapt as the system evolves.
- Flexible design patterns over rigid specs
- Future-proof component structures
- Close, continuous collaboration with developers
- Iteration within real, living constraints
Creating Consistency Across Products
With three products evolving in parallel, fragmentation is a real risk. Our work focuses on identifying shared patterns and establishing principles that can travel across all three surfaces.
- Aligning interaction patterns across products
- Establishing shared UI principles
- Supporting a more unified user experience
- Reducing redundant design decisions
Reducing Cognitive Load for Expert Users
Rather than oversimplifying, we focus on making the interface feel lighter — without removing its power. The goal is to let experts think about their work, not the tool.
- Clear information hierarchy throughout
- Logical grouping of tools and data
- Streamlined workflows for repeated tasks
- Progressive disclosure for advanced features
Bridging UX and Engineering
A key part of our role is translation — turning user needs into technical requirements, and system constraints into design decisions. This requires continuous alignment and negotiation of real trade-offs.
- Translating user needs → technical requirements
- Translating system constraints → design decisions
- Continuous alignment with development team
- Iterating within real, not ideal, constraints
Contributions that make a difference.
Grounded in real workflows and user needs.
Key workflows become more intuitive and efficient for expert users — reducing friction in precision-critical tasks.
Shared UX decisions reduce fragmentation — users encounter familiar patterns regardless of which product they open.
A clearer, more structured interface lowers the barrier for new users — making the software more accessible without sacrificing depth.
UI patterns move closer to established conventions, so users spend less time learning the tool and more time doing their work.
This job is fundamentally changing how I think about UX.
Complexity isn't the problem — unstructured complexity is.
Designing for Two User Types at Once
Expert users need power and speed — but new users need clarity and guidance. I'm learning to layer the interface so it works for both: familiar and fast for those who know it, approachable and guided for those who don't.
Working in Evolving Systems
When the ground keeps shifting, flexibility becomes a design principle. I'm learning to document decisions, not just outcomes — so the reasoning survives the next iteration.
Convention as a Feature
Aligning with industry-standard patterns isn't a creative compromise — it's a usability decision. Familiar structures let users focus on their task, not on learning the tool.
Balancing Ideal vs. Real
The best design decision is the one that can actually ship. I'm developing the ability to negotiate trade-offs without losing the core user benefit.
Where we want to take this next.
Optimize Design System
- Introduce a unified design system for all parts of a product
- Consistency structures (in Figma & Code)
Usability Validation
- Structured usability testing with expert users
- Task-based scenarios matching real workflows
- Iterative refinement based on observed behavior