I believe prototyping should be more like clay. The faster ideas can be shaped, shared and reshaped, the better the resulting products become.
For the past decade I've worked between design, engineering and research, building prototypes that help teams explore, test and improve physical and digital interactions.
I'm fascinated by the relationship between people and technology. Too often technology asks people to adapt to its rules. I prefer the opposite: products that are understandable, playful and invite participation. The best interactions make complex systems feel tangible, give people control and occasionally surprise them.
Selected Work
Accenture Industry X
Eindhoven, Netherlands
As Maker & Interaction Designer within Industrial Design at Accenture Industry X (formerly VanBerlo), I led multidisciplinary projects and supported teams as a specialist in prototyping, technical user research and emerging technologies. My work focused on reducing uncertainty in innovation projects by building prototypes, research tools and technical demonstrations that allowed clients and teams to evaluate ideas before committing to implementation.
I worked across domains ranging from industrial systems and humanitarian logistics to repairability, transportation and AI-enabled consumer experiences. Alongside client work, I helped establish a prototyping culture within the studio by creating tools, workshops and methods that enabled designers and engineers to iterate faster and collaborate more effectively.
"There is never a dull movement with you; the fun is somehow baked into everything we do. I am constantly amazed by your knowledge and skills ranging from the far edges of Microsoft to the deep depths of Figma."
I led the technical efforts on the Generative AI studio and worked on the hardware interactions for the AI-assisted kitchen concept we showed during Dutch Design Week 2023.
We build a domain-specific language for tugboat configuration, with a VS Code extension and visualization tools.
For communication between the Drop Zone tool and Drop Zone Commander, I implemented Bluetooth Coded PHY systems for humanitarian logistics.
Teufel
Berlin, Germany
As UX Hardware Engineer at Teufel Audio, I introduced and scaled user-centered development practices within hardware product teams. I built prototypes, conducted user research, and worked closely with engineering, customer service, and suppliers to validate hardware interactions before products entered specification and implementation. My work focused on reducing uncertainty in product development by making user behaviour visible and testable early in the process.
Across products such as the Cinebar 22, Ultima 25A, and MYND Speaker, I prototyped physical interactions, display behaviour, setup flows, button feedback, and product communication. I also established user-testing practices involving both external participants and international customer service teams, helping translate real user behaviour into product decisions.
"His creative thinking and his extraordinary ability to familiarise himself quickly enabled him to always find optimal solutions, even for difficult problems.... We would like to specifically highlight his great commitment to prototyping and user research."
Cinebar 22: I created an ecosystem for testing setup procedures and localization of soundbar products with international customer service teams, and worked with overseas development partners.
MYND: I was part of the initial sustainability group that triggered this project and built early ergonomic and interaction prototypes of this open-source, sustainable Bluetooth speaker.
Ultima 25A: I challenged existing design and interactions through prototyping and user testing, which led to UX improvements in close collaboration with the firmware team.
Microsoft Research
Cambridge, United Kingdom
During my internship with the Microsoft Research Human Experience & Design group, I investigated how embodied AI systems could augment social understanding for blind children. My work focused on reciprocity, dynamic consent and social transparency in computer vision systems, exploring how people can understand when they are being perceived by AI and how those interactions influence human behaviour. Through a combination of prototyping, workshops and research analysis, I helped open new research directions around reciprocal AI interactions.
"He explored this space through the creation of a rich set of prototypes that are both physical and digital."
We tested and designed social situations supported by embodied AI.
Cutting off the visor part of HoloLens prototypes before they were published felt a bit weird, but cool.
Worked on reciprocal interaction concepts that we tested in schools and in the office.
LEGO
Billund, Denmark
During my internship within LEGO Group Product Technology Concept Design & Platforms, I worked on future-facing product concepts and digital-physical play experiences. My role focused on experience prototyping, concept communication and platform thinking, helping teams evaluate potential opportunities through user testing, feasibility exploration and tangible prototypes. I collaborated with designers, firmware engineers and external partners to make emerging ideas understandable and actionable before product development began.
"Some of the prototypes Geert has made while at LEGO have been particularly complex and used tools that were not intended for the task; however, he embraced the challenge and gave brilliant results."
LEGO Boost, one of the projects we worked on to bridge digital and physical play, both for education and at home.
Prototypes containing a simple HID keyboard that would connect to an iPad app used for user testing the LEGO train as well as the LEGO power function platform.
We used the LEGO wedo as a way to prototype the LEGO future platform, by connecting it to custom electronics software and fitting it inside of custom 3D printed (or LEGO build) cases.
Umeå Institute of Design
Umeå, Sweden
Across projects in healthcare, education, mobility and accessibility, I explored how technology can support collaboration, understanding and inclusion. Using ethnographic research, participatory design and rapid prototyping, We developed physical-digital concepts that helped users, stakeholders and organisations make sense of complex situations.
Arduino Action, my master thesis on making Arduino more collaborative in educational contexts.
Ove: bottle-feeding support concept for visually impaired parents, combining sound, light and physical interaction.
Medicall: a tool for communication with remote specialists in operating rooms.
What I Do
Experience Prototyping
Making future products tangible before they exist.
I build prototypes that allow teams to test ideas with real people in realistic situations. These can range from rough proof-of-concepts to highly polished experiences that feel close to final products.
Building hardware prototypes for consumer electronics.
Fitting technology inside of the Ove prototype.
Building demos for showing concepts during exhibitions.
Research Through Making
Many questions cannot be answered through interviews alone. Building something often reveals insights that remain hidden in abstract discussions. I combine user research, participatory design, ethnographic observation, cultural probes and iterative testing. In this way there is always something on the table to discuss.
Get a firsthand view of on-the-ground realities, including attending classes and doing contextual inquiry during and after those classes.
Participatory design workshops with professionals in the field to understand their struggles and ideate together.
At Teufel, I made user testing a core part of development, especially with older participants. Observing real setup behavior revealed where interface logic or hardware assumptions broke down.
Prototype Tools
Building bridges between design and implementation.
I create the digital duct tape that allows designers and engineers to work together more effectively. This includes controlling motors by reading pixels on a screen, connecting physical interfaces to design tools, and building quick experimentation platforms for interaction behaviour.
Pixels controlling anything: servos, car dashboards, small displays and airport signage LED grids, allowing quick iteration through direct manipulation. Hackster article.
Screens controlling screens: from airport navigational signage to led matrices on soundbars. Hackster article.
Documenting user-testing by capturing what keys on a remote are pressed and comparing prototypes and samples from suppliers using an frame by frame analysis of a video.
Figmata: I made a plugin that allows data-driven prototyping in Figma. Medium article.
Using SVG exports from Figma with JavaScript allows connecting to hardware and almost anything. Medium article.
Research and Writing
I also build things to provoke, to see if alternatives are possible.
Designing a dev kit to show how PCBs could look when they are designed around the silkscreen (the user interface). Medium article.
SpatialScroll; Prototyping what phone interactions could look like when they are aware of their local position and how space could come back to life in the digital world.
We need new Metaphors for design. Medium article.
About
Outside work you will usually find me playing Ultimate Frisbee, cycling across Europe with a group of friends, or building things in a workshop.
Building communities around making by organizing Robowars and power tool drag racing.
Teaching IT teachers 3D printing and Arduino.
At the student team TU/ecomotive, we designed and built a hyper efficient electrical modular car.
Let's Build Something
Whether the challenge involves research, interaction design, prototyping, hardware, software or emerging technology, I enjoy helping teams make ideas tangible.