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👋  Hey, I'm Nadja Gurk

product designer

Product designer. I turn complex, high-stakes processes into products people move through without hesitation — end to end, grounded in research, sharpened with AI. Most of that has been in accounting, tax and KYC.

BASED IN 📍 Heiloo, NL
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✦ WHAT I DO

I dig into real problems and design the solutions — from first sketch to shipped screen, using AI to move faster.

Start with the problem, not the screen.
I dig into the real need and the constraints before designing anything. Usually that means sitting with the people who do the work all day, not the people who describe it in a ticket.
Ground decisions in research and data.
Opinions are cheap. I set hypotheses, run user tests, surveys and A/B experiments, and let the evidence pick the direction — including when it picks against me.
Simple is hard — and worth it.
I turn complex processes into products people just get. When something feels obvious to use, that is the work, not the absence of it.
✦ SELECTED WORK

check out some of my work

01AI StrategyAI-strategie

Designing with AI, at scale

AI Strategy & Enablement

Wrote SnelStart's UX × AI strategy and built the skills, trainings and review processes behind it — so product owners across ventures can solve small design problems themselves without design quality drifting.Schreef de UX × AI-strategie van SnelStart en bouwde de skills, trainingen en reviewprocessen erachter — zodat product owners over ventures heen zelf kleine designvraagstukken oplossen, zonder dat de designkwaliteit wegzakt.

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UX × AI strategy
02UX/UI DesignUX/UI-ontwerp

Relations, reimagined

SaaS Overview & Insights

One relation screen that becomes a different tool depending on whether an entrepreneur or their accountant is looking at it. Systems thinking across an ecosystem of products, laying the groundwork for SnelStart's move to a total solution.Eén relatiescherm dat een ander gereedschap wordt, afhankelijk van of een ondernemer of hun accountant kijkt. Systeemdenken over een ecosysteem van producten, als fundament voor SnelStarts groei naar een totaaloplossing.

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Relation overview
03Compliance & Risk UXCompliance & Risk UX

Self-service KYC

KYC & Compliance Identity Verification

Eight months of double-diamond research, including a sentiment analysis of ~40,000 support tickets. The studio that came out of it let Nect's B2B clients configure and launch their own verification flows — ≈70% fewer setup tickets and 3× onboarding capacity.Acht maanden double-diamond onderzoek, inclusief een sentimentanalyse van ~40.000 supporttickets. De studio die eruit voortkwam liet Nects B2B-klanten hun eigen verificatieflows configureren en lanceren — ≈70% minder inrichtingstickets en 3× onboardingcapaciteit.

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Self-service KYC studio
04UX DesignUX-ontwerp

Beyond the Help Desk

B2B SaaS Self-Service Portal

A self-service help centre that took repetitive queries off sales and support at Nect. Research, ideation, prototyping, usability testing and redesign — owned end to end.Een self-service helpcentrum dat repetitieve vragen weghaalde bij sales en support bij Nect. Onderzoek, ideation, prototyping, usability-tests en redesign — end-to-end in eigen beheer.

Currently being rebuiltWordt momenteel vernieuwd
Nect self-service portal
05HCI ResearchHCI-onderzoek

Big Screens, Bigger Challenges

Mobile Accessibility

MSc research into one-handed smartphone reachability: study design, prototypes and statistical analysis. The academic spine underneath everything else here.MSc-onderzoek naar eenhandige smartphonebereikbaarheid: onderzoeksopzet, prototypes en statistische analyse. De academische ruggengraat onder al het andere hier.

Currently being rebuiltWordt momenteel vernieuwd
Reachability study mockups
Drop a photo of you
✦ ABOUT ME

a little about myself

Currently designing accounting, compliance and AI tooling at SnelStart in Alkmaar. Before that, KYC at Nect in Hamburg.

My journey began in Psychology & Communication Sciences, where I was drawn to the intricate intersection of human behaviour and technology. That curiosity carried me into a Master's in Human–Computer Interaction, where I dug deeper into the symbiotic relationship between people and tech.

Now I design at SnelStart across finance-adjacent domains — accounting, tax and KYC-style flows — turning complex business processes into simple, intuitive products. I lead with systems thinking and journey mapping, validate with user research and usability testing, and work closely with product owners and developers so designs ship as intended. Lately I've also brought AI into how the team designs — prototyping faster and keeping quality consistent across ventures.

Away from the screen, I find clarity scaling rock walls, hiking, and surfing.

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Nadja.
✦ EXPERIENCE

the journey so far

From a foundation in human behaviour to research-led, systems-thinking product design — now leading UX with AI at SnelStart, across finance-adjacent and compliance-minded products.

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Product Designer
SnelStart · Alkmaar, NL
Feb 2024 – Presentfeb 2024 – heden

Own UX/UI for accounting & business software — turning complex financial and compliance processes into simple, intuitive flows, collaborating with product owners and developers, and leading how the team designs with AI while keeping quality consistent across ventures.Eigenaar van UX/UI voor boekhoud- en bedrijfssoftware — complexe financiële en compliance-processen vertalen naar eenvoudige, intuïtieve flows, samenwerken met product owners en developers, en het team leiden in ontwerpen met AI met consistente kwaliteit over ventures heen.

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User Experience Designer
Nect GmbH · Hamburg, DE
Sep 2022 – Jan 2024sep 2022 – jan 2024

Owned end-to-end UX at an identity-verification (KYC) company — a B2B self-service help center and a live self-service KYC product: user research, prototyping, usability testing and redesign, working in a compliance-driven domain.End-to-end UX bij een identiteitsverificatie- (KYC-)bedrijf — een B2B self-service helpcentrum en een live self-service KYC-product: gebruikersonderzoek, prototyping, usability-tests en redesign, in een compliance-gedreven domein.

r
Product Designer
ready2order · Vienna, AT
Feb 2022 – Aug 2022feb 2022 – aug 2022

Product design and usability testing for a point-of-sale platform, working user-centered across web and app surfaces.Productontwerp en usability-tests voor een kassasysteem, gebruikersgericht werkend over web en app.

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MSc Human–Computer Interaction
Utrecht University · Utrecht, NL
Feb 2024feb 2024

Research into smartphone reachability & accessibility (the “Big Screens” case) — experiments, prototyping and data analysis, built on a foundation in Psychology & Communication Sciences.Onderzoek naar smartphonebereikbaarheid & toegankelijkheid (de “Big Screens”-case) — experimenten, prototyping en data-analyse, gebouwd op een basis in psychologie & communicatiewetenschappen.