I’m Freddie, a designer and researcher working at the intersection of digital product, anthropology, and critical design futures.
I design digital products, systems, and brands with mission-driven organisations, while exploring speculative and critical approaches to imagine alternative futures.
Selected work
Product Design (UX/UI)
Human-AI Interaction
Smarter translations with AI-powered context refinement for greater precision, clarity, and contextual accuracy
Design theories
A repository of future-friendly methods that design how we design
Speculative design
Envisioning a community-run afforestation village fostering human-tree empathisation
Product Design (UX/UI)
A safe and inclusive co-living search and management platform for young people & expats
Speculative design
A speculative provocation that asks: What happens when the gaze of the observer is returned?
Product Design (UX/UI)
Enhancing content discovery experience for Europe's largest digital learning platform
Writing
Read my thoughts on design, futures, and human behaviours on my newsletter Liminal ↗
Implosion as a Critical Speculative Method
Translation, Colonial Logic, and Universalism in More-than-human Design
Positionality, Relational Practice, and Decentring in Design
An Introduction to Decentred Design
Teaching/workshops
(2025) Workshop on Implosion and countermapping · DesignDesign Berlin
(2023) Teaching translating ethnographic insights into design interventions · Namla + University of Amsterdam
(2023) Teaching applied fieldwork and participatory design bootcamp · Namla + De Meevaart, Amsterdam
(2023) Teaching a bootcamp on design for civic engagement · Namla (hosted by University of Coimbra)
(2023) Teaching a social design bootcamp on inclusive social and professional integration programs · Namla (hosted by University of Bucharest)
(2022) Paper presentation · European Association of Social Anthropology's Applied Anthropology Network
About me
I am a designer and anthropologist working across design, research, and interdisciplinary strategy.
Currently, I design human-AI collaboration experiences at DeepL, write DesignDesign's critical methods repository, and co-host a Berlin-based meet-up group advocating critical design practices. I’ve taught Ethnography and Design with Namla, in collaboration organisations and institutions such as University of Amsterdam, Ateliere Fără Frontiere, and AKTO – Direitos Humanos e Democracia.
I received a Master's degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology (cum laude) from KU Leuven, postgraduate certificates in Speculative Design Futures and Critical Design Philosophies from IADT Ireland, and training in strategic foresight and design leadership from Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies and Parsons School of Design.
Check out what I'm reading↗.
Toolkits
Ethnography
Trained as an anthropologist, I leverage ethnography to unveil insights that form the foundation of empathetic, resilient, and inclusive designs.
Product strategy & vision
I believe success is when design and business collaborate. By aligning on north stars, teams can collectively make visions a reality.
Product discovery
Using exploratory research or creative explorations, I conduct discoveries to not only find new opportunities but to sense-check what is regarded as facts.
Futures & foresights
Through exploring weak signals and megatrends, design can envision possibilities for solutions that last.
Navigating ambiguities
By delving into insights, analysis, and exercising patience, I unravel layers of complexity to gain and convey clarity.
I am more than a sum of pixels.
I love facilitating conversations, understanding different points of view, and taming chaos.
If you’d like to chat about speculative design, futures, or just share thoughts over coffee