Strategic Product Design
Clear Thinking,
Decisive Design.
What I Do
Work
SumUp • 2020-2021
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Bendesk • 2021-2022
Validated market assumptions for benefits platform
Beautiful design. Perfect execution. No Market.
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Designed loan flow that processed £1 billion
Still in production after 10 years.
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Approach
I help teams work through complexity by asking better questions, uncovering trade-offs, and creating clarity in the messy middle. Whether it's automation, regulatory compliance, or platform strategy, I balance systems thinking with the realities of people, product, and business.
How I Work: Four Integrated Perspectives
Strategic Thinking
I approach challenges like a business strategist first. Map the real problem. Identify leverage points. Think in systems and outcomes. Like when I aligned six competing visions into one strategy that shipped at UBIO.
Design Excellence
Design is how I make strategy tangible. Prototypes test business models. Interfaces validate assumptions. Visual frameworks align teams. 20+ years of craft deployed strategically.
Startup Speed
Work in sprints, not quarters. Ship to learn, not to impress. Validate early, pivot fast, focus on what works. No amount of polish fixes a product nobody wants.
AI Amplification
After 1000+ hours with AI tools, I use them as thinking partners. AI handles heavy lifting: data analysis, rapid prototyping, pattern recognition. I focus on judgment and human insight.
The result? Teams aligned around what matters. Decisions grounded in evidence. And products that ship because we solved real problems for real people.
Articles
Why we struggle with financial decisions, and how thoughtful design can help build better habits.
How physical space shapes our thinking, and why the future of digital design is beyond the screen.
How studying the past can reveal forgotten solutions and inspire innovation in modern design.
How architect Rem Koolhaas built a system to generate ideas, and what designers can learn.
Some Kind Words
"His way of framing the opportunity space is effective and on point... I could rely on Sjors to facilitate the design process with many stakeholders."
— Nicola Plaisant, Principal Designer at SumUp
"Deep knowledge of problem framing... expertly helped us create products that deal with a complex mixture of technology, legal, and user needs."
— Sharon Anne Kean, CPO at Zopa
"Scientific, research-based approach... His calm presence is a project manager's dream.
— Shannon Balcom, Product Manager at Possible
"Rigorous & focused... I didn't manage to get a single shaky supposition past him in the entire year we worked together!"
— Adam Tarry, Product Owner at SpecSavers
