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Designer & Collaborator.
Designer & Collaborator.
Hi! 👋
Originally from Romania, I am a digital product designer currently based in
Stuttgart, Hamburg, Bremen - Germany,
Bucharest - Romania
Skills overview
My strong points
My skills in identifying problems
to solve them effectively
Applied product thinking in the startup & enterprise environment
My strengths as a designer lie in connecting the user goals with business needs, as well as factoring technical considerations.
Design + Dev collaboration in the agency environment
Improving my understanding of front-end development workflows.Through collaborating in sprints and I also contributed to front-end code changes in an agency setting.
Strong background in Visual & Interaction Design
As a Design graduate, I have a strong knowledge in Visual & UI design patterns, which in order to be effective reflect both business and technical considerations.
Experience
Here's what I've been up to
Here's what I've been up to
Learnings that I reflected on along the way
Early stage startup
DocMe
Company size
15 (at its biggest)
Remote, UK
❤️ HealthTech
🤖 AI
B2C
B2B
Team
Stakeholders
Computer Vision
Dev
Clinical Research
Marketing
Role
Lead Product Designer
Platform
Mobile
SaaS
iOS
Android
Expanded skill
Business & Strategy
Design system
Success metrics
Cross Collaboration
Prioritization
User & Business needs
In my latest role as Lead Product Designer, I led the design for two HealthTech products on mobile and web, driving increased product adoption in the UK and international markets.
This early-stage startup role taught me to balance business goals with engineering constraints while advocating for the user. I gained experience in scoping and prioritizing MVP features, designing and launching key product features, and building a design system from scratch. Additionally, I was involved in business strategy, go-to-market planning, and participated in Accelerators & YC, including preparing pitch decks for investors and partners.
Startup
MOIA
Company size
300+
Hamburg, Germany
🌱 🚖 E-mobility
🤖 AI
B2C
Team
Management
Development
Design
Marketing
Role
UX/UI Designer
Platform
Mobile
SaaS
iOS
Android
Expanded skill
Design system
Design system
Success metrics
Cross Collaboration
Prioritization
User & Business needs
I have worked closely with the Design Team, Development and Management to increase user registrations from Ca 41,000to Ca 260,000 for the launch in Hamburg.
I have used a Component-based UI approach to extend the Design System. This deepened my understanding in designing for native platforms for mobile - Android and iOS.
And I’ve also learned more first-hand experience about working in sprints and user testing.
I gained experience with scoping and prioritizing MVP - minimum viable product features.
Built on the knowledge of business impact when evaluating product features.
Agency environment
hmmh
Company size
240+
Bremen, Germany
🛒️ E-commerce
Team
Hybrid Dev/Design Team
Development
Management
Stakeholders
Stakeholders
Marketing & Branding
Role
UX/UI Designer
Platform
Mobile
Web
Expanded skill
Developer Collaboration
Design system
HTML
CSS
UI Styeleguide
Dev Collaboration
Atomic Design
Developer workflow
Improved my understanding, as a designer about the front-end development workflow involved in building products.
I worked within the development workflow to design and code the UI with an atomic design approach.
I built on my knowledge in working in sprints and experienced working with dev tools such as Jira, Sourcetree/ Bitbucket and Git to ship code changes in front-end.
I worked closely with marketing and branding departments to extend the brand with an Illustration System.
worked on e-commerce B2B and B2C shops and websites such as Dechatlon and Weidmüller.
Enterprise
IBM
Company size
345,000+
Stuttgart area, Germany
☁ ️Cloud Services
🤖 AI
📊 Workflows & Productivity
Team
Cloud Services Design Team
Development
Management
Design
Stakeholders
Role
UX Designer
Platform
SaaS
Mobile
Expanded skill
Design Thinking
Management
Development
User Research
UI Styeleguide
Collaboration across products
Design system
Set my background in Design Thinking, Design System and Cross-Collaboration.
Worked on the research & ideation product phase and applied Design Thinking to match user pain points with design opportunities to define the product.
Worked on the IBM Digital Assistant solution alongside the IBM Cloud Services Design Team.
Defined UI specifications for UI components within the Design System.
Interviewed users, developed prototypes and wireframes, user flows.
Participated in team challenges such as Design Jam, Diversity Day and Service Design Thinking Workshop in Karlsruhe Service Research Institute.
Early stage startup
DocMe
Company size
15 (at its biggest)
Remote, UK
❤️ HealthTech
🤖 AI
B2C
B2B
Team
Stakeholders
Computer Vision
Dev
Clinical Research
Marketing
Role
Lead Product Designer
Platform
Mobile
SaaS
iOS
Android
Expanded skill
Business & Strategy
Design system
Success metrics
Cross Collaboration
Prioritization
User & Business needs
In my latest role as Lead Product Designer, I led the design for two HealthTech products on mobile and web, driving increased product adoption in the UK and international markets.
This early-stage startup role taught me to balance business goals with engineering constraints while advocating for the user. I gained experience in scoping and prioritizing MVP features, designing and launching key product features, and building a design system from scratch. Additionally, I was involved in business strategy, go-to-market planning, and participated in Accelerators & YC, including preparing pitch decks for investors and partners.
Startup
MOIA
Company size
300+
Hamburg, Germany
🌱 🚖 E-mobility
🤖 AI
B2C
Team
Management
Development
Design
Marketing
Role
UX/UI Designer
Platform
Mobile
SaaS
iOS
Android
Expanded skill
Design system
Design system
Success metrics
Cross Collaboration
Prioritization
User & Business needs
I have worked closely with the Design Team, Development and Management to increase user registrations from Ca 41,000to Ca 260,000 for the launch in Hamburg.
I have used a Component-based UI approach to extend the Design System. This deepened my understanding in designing for native platforms for mobile - Android and iOS.
And I’ve also learned more first-hand experience about working in sprints and user testing.
I gained experience with scoping and prioritizing MVP - minimum viable product features.
Built on the knowledge of business impact when evaluating product features.
Agency environment
hmmh
Company size
240+
Bremen, Germany
🛒️ E-commerce
Team
Hybrid Dev/Design Team
Development
Management
Stakeholders
Stakeholders
Marketing & Branding
Role
UX/UI Designer
Platform
Mobile
Web
Expanded skill
Developer Collaboration
Design system
HTML
CSS
UI Styeleguide
Dev Collaboration
Atomic Design
Developer workflow
Improved my understanding, as a designer about the front-end development workflow involved in building products.
I worked within the development workflow to design and code the UI with an atomic design approach.
I built on my knowledge in working in sprints and experienced working with dev tools such as Jira, Sourcetree/ Bitbucket and Git to ship code changes in front-end.
I worked closely with marketing and branding departments to extend the brand with an Illustration System.
worked on e-commerce B2B and B2C shops and websites such as Dechatlon and Weidmüller.
Enterprise
IBM
Company size
345,000+
Stuttgart area, Germany
☁ ️Cloud Services
🤖 AI
📊 Workflows & Productivity
Team
Cloud Services Design Team
Development
Management
Design
Stakeholders
Role
UX Designer
Platform
SaaS
Mobile
Expanded skill
Design Thinking
Management
Development
User Research
UI Styeleguide
Collaboration across products
Design system
Set my background in Design Thinking, Design System and Cross-Collaboration.
Worked on the research & ideation product phase and applied Design Thinking to match user pain points with design opportunities to define the product.
Worked on the IBM Digital Assistant solution alongside the IBM Cloud Services Design Team.
Defined UI specifications for UI components within the Design System.
Interviewed users, developed prototypes and wireframes, user flows.
Participated in team challenges such as Design Jam, Diversity Day and Service Design Thinking Workshop in Karlsruhe Service Research Institute.
What people say
Some of the feedback I gathered
Some of the feedback
I gathered
(Cornelia) aligned product decisions between stakeholders, product development and deep tech & clinical research teams, while ensuring a customer POV at every stage.
(She applied) design thinking methods to prioritize impactful design solutions based on both user needs and business strategy. Contributing to defining the product roadmap and iterating on the value proposition of the product based on market validation, competitive analysis and business objectives
(Cornelia) possesses solid specialist knowledge, which she was always able to apply in practical circumstances confidently and with clear target-orientation.
She continuously expanded and updated her specialist knowledge to the benefit of our company by attending events to further her education.
(Her) good comprehension enabled Ms. Varlam to immediately grasp even difficult issues and recognize the essentials.
She worked independently and precisely. The results of her work were of high quality in every respect.
(Cornelia) contributed to the redesign of the style guide for the Business Process Manager (BPM) product, creating icons, defining components, and preparing data for implementation. (…) she also gained experience in user research and competitive analysis, documenting and presenting competitor interaction patterns. Additionally, she applied this research to wireframes, deepening her knowledge of user experience design.
(Cornelia) collaborated cross-disciplinary with the stakeholders and tech & development teams, to implement viable solutions considering technological aspects and success metrics.
Establishing and maintaining the high-level creative vision, building the DocMe and Perfexia brand and website from ground up.
(Cornelia) has familiarized herself independently, quickly and comprehensively with new topics and techniques.
She showed a high level of commitment and willingness to perform and has acquired comprehensive and diverse specialist knowledge.
(She) has also dealt with coding (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) and was able to implement the first tickets holistically within the interdisciplinary team.
She has proven the ability to dive into the project work with passion and skill, and has displayed focus on her tasks and team collaboration from day one. Her individual contributions and cross-functional collaboration were critical at the time of the project. (Cornelia) has also proven a high level of reliability and has a combination of empathy and passion which helps not only in building the product but also adds to a great company culture.
Her logical and analytical thinking processes allowed her to find independent, balanced and correct solutions for complex problems. (Cornelia) always worked in a proactive manner and completely identified with her tasks and our company at all times.
She always displayed a huge level of dedication and motivation.
She always proved resilient even in stressful situations.
(Cornelia) completed her tasks autonomously, diligently and according to a well-thought-out plan. She worked serenely, thoughtfully, target-oriented and precisely. She impressed us in terms of the quality and quantity of her work. She showed a high level of reliability.
The results of her work were of high quality in every respect. (Cornelia) always worked reliably and conscientiously.
(…) completed her tasks to our complete satisfaction.
(…) integrated herself very quickly into the team.
Her personal behavior towards superiors, employees and customers was always impeccable.
(Cornelia) possesses solid product and design knowledge, which she is able to apply in practical circumstances confidently in close collaboration with both developers and stakeholders.
(Cornelia) found good solutions for all problems. (…) always completed her tasks to our satisfaction.
(Cornelia) researched and documented interaction patterns of competitors and presented them to the team in presentations. She reviewed these interactions and implemented them in wireframes for the product, gaining knowledge of user experience design.
Background
My road to Product Design
From studying Sociology & Architecture to graduating in Design & Digital Media
into Tech & Product Design
Early creative traditional & digital art interests
My early interests revolved around both digital and traditional painting. From playing in MS Paint, and gathering many bad drawings along the years to art camps, painting competitions & exhibitions.
Education & Industry
I spent a year preparing for a BA in Architecture, where I discovered my passion for design. Although I studied Sociology for a year, I continued preparing and was later admitted to a BA in Design.
Afterwards I finished my Master's in Digital Media & started my UX career at IBM, & gained diverse experience across startups, agencies, and enterprise.
Architecture plans & sketches that I worked on
In my 1 year attempt to become an architect, before expanding my passion in design and tech & becoming a UX/UI designer
I later applied my architecture background as a UX Designer on an IBM project
Mapping the area + navigation at the Böblingen research lab, IBM's largest outside the USA.
Outside of work
When I'm not designing
Passion projects & fun. Mixing learning with activities I enjoy.
Occasional travelling, learning, sharing & connecting
I'm spending time occasionally travelling and working on my passion projects.
Currently I am focusing my spear time on areas like teaching, learning, sharing & connecting.
E-commerce: Artwork Store
I designed & built an e-commerce Shopify store with 100+ curated artworks. Which, besides blending my passions for art & interior design, allowed me to deepen my knowledge first-hand into other e-commerce areas such as branding, positioning, product pages, marketing and logistics.
Mentoring, tutoring & other industry activities
Besides mentoring and tutoring, I like to extend my knowledge by industry activities such as
Taking part in CJBS Accelerate Cambridge Programme
CJBS Accelerate Cambridge Programme
2020 - 2021Giving presentations & Involvement in YC Startup School, Panacea Stars Accelerator, NHS Market Access Accelerator
Skills overview
My strong points
My skills in identifying problems to solve them effectively
Applied product thinking in the startup & enterprise environment
My strengths as a designer lie in connecting the user goals with business needs, as well as factoring technical considerations.
Design + Dev collaboration in the agency environment
Improving my understanding of front-end development workflows.Through collaborating in sprints and I also contributed to front-end code changes in an agency setting.
Strong background in Visual & Interaction Design
As a Design graduate, I have a strong knowledge in Visual & UI design patterns, which in order to be effective reflect both business and technical considerations.
Outside of work
When I'm not designing
Passion projects & fun. Mixing learning with activities I enjoy.
Occasional travelling, learning, sharing & connecting
I'm spending time occasionally travelling and working on my passion projects.
Currently I am focusing my spear time on areas like teaching, learning, sharing & connecting.
E-commerce: Artwork Store
I designed & built an e-commerce Shopify store with 100+ curated artworks. Which, besides blending my passions for art & interior design, allowed me to deepen my knowledge first-hand into other e-commerce areas such as branding, positioning, product pages, marketing and logistics.
Mentoring, tutoring & other industry activities
Besides mentoring and tutoring, I like to extend my knowledge by industry activities such as
Taking part in CJBS Accelerate Cambridge Programme
CJBS Accelerate Cambridge Programme
2020 - 2021Giving presentations & Involvement in YC Startup School, Panacea Stars Accelerator, NHS Market Access Accelerator
Background
My road to Product Design
From studying sociology & architecture to graduating in Design & Digital Media
into Tech & Product Design
Early creative traditional & digital art interests
My early interests revolved around both digital and traditional painting. From playing in MS Paint, and gathering many bad drawings along the years to art camps, painting competitions & exhibitions.
Education & Industry
After pursuing painting and drawing as a teenager, I spent a year preparing for admission into a BA in Architecture. During this time, I discovered my passion for design, which aligned better with my interests. Although I got accepted into and studied Sociology for another year instead that year, I continued preparing for my BA in Design and was admitted the following year.
This journey led to my first role as a Visual Designer in Branding and Web Design. After completing also a Master's in Digital Media, I secured my first UX Designer role at IBM. Within the industry, my experience across startups, agencies, and large corporations broadened my perspective on cross-collaboration and product development.
(Cornelia) aligned product decisions between stakeholders, product development and deep tech & clinical research teams, while ensuring a customer POV at every stage.
(She applied) design thinking methods to prioritize impactful design solutions based on both user needs and business strategy. Contributing to defining the product roadmap and iterating on the value proposition of the product based on market validation, competitive analysis and business objectives
(Cornelia) possesses solid specialist knowledge, which she was always able to apply in practical circumstances confidently and with clear target-orientation.
She continuously expanded and updated her specialist knowledge to the benefit of our company by attending events to further her education.
(Her) good comprehension enabled Ms. Varlam to immediately grasp even difficult issues and recognize the essentials.
She worked independently and precisely. The results of her work were of high quality in every respect.
(Cornelia) contributed to the redesign of the style guide for the Business Process Manager (BPM) product, creating icons, defining components, and preparing data for implementation. (…) she also gained experience in user research and competitive analysis, documenting and presenting competitor interaction patterns. Additionally, she applied this research to wireframes, deepening her knowledge of user experience design.
(Cornelia) collaborated cross-disciplinary with the stakeholders and tech & development teams, to implement viable solutions considering technological aspects and success metrics.
Establishing and maintaining the high-level creative vision, building the DocMe and Perfexia brand and website from ground up.
(Cornelia) has familiarized herself independently, quickly and comprehensively with new topics and techniques.
She showed a high level of commitment and willingness to perform and has acquired comprehensive and diverse specialist knowledge.
(She) has also dealt with coding (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) and was able to implement the first tickets holistically within the interdisciplinary team.
She has proven the ability to dive into the project work with passion and skill, and has displayed focus on her tasks and team collaboration from day one. Her individual contributions and cross-functional collaboration were critical at the time of the project. (Cornelia) has also proven a high level of reliability and has a combination of empathy and passion which helps not only in building the product but also adds to a great company culture.
Her logical and analytical thinking processes allowed her to find independent, balanced and correct solutions for complex problems. (Cornelia) always worked in a proactive manner and completely identified with her tasks and our company at all times.
She always displayed a huge level of dedication and motivation.
She always proved resilient even in stressful situations.
(Cornelia) completed her tasks autonomously, diligently and according to a well-thought-out plan. She worked serenely, thoughtfully, target-oriented and precisely. She impressed us in terms of the quality and quantity of her work. She showed a high level of reliability.
(Cornelia) contributed to the redesign of the style guide for the Business Process Manager (BPM) product, creating icons, defining components, and preparing data for implementation. (…) she also gained experience in user research and competitive analysis, documenting and presenting competitor interaction patterns. Additionally, she applied this research to wireframes, deepening her knowledge of user experience design.
(Cornelia) possesses solid product and design knowledge, which she is able to apply in practical circumstances confidently in close collaboration with both developers and stakeholders.
(Cornelia) found good solutions for all problems. (…) always completed her tasks to our satisfaction.
(Cornelia) researched and documented interaction patterns of competitors and presented them to the team in presentations. She reviewed these interactions and implemented them in wireframes for the product, gaining knowledge of user experience design.