Design smart, early.
One design partner across brand, product, and web when direction is being set.
Design practice of Felix Dorner for early-stage startups and busy studios.
Trusted by teams across Europe and the US
The problem
Design treated lightly early
becomes a liability later.
Teams move fast and make decisions before everything is clear. Design choices that seem temporary harden into structure, limit flexibility, and become difficult to undo.
Common symptoms
Early momentum creates long-term constraints
Design responsibility is fragmented
Every change feels harder than it should
I started this practice to help teams shape design foundations that can grow with them, before early assumptions harden into structure.
I kept stepping into projects where teams had already shipped, but no longer felt confident about the direction they had locked in. Things were moving, yet changing course had already become expensive.
My path into design began at SoundCloud, where I learned how product thinking supports fast-moving teams under real constraints. Since then, I’ve worked across product, brand, and web for teams in Europe and the US, collaborated long-term with Berlin-based design studios, and supported startups through critical growth moments.
In practice, the pattern was always the same: it wasn’t intentional separation between brand, product, and website that caused problems, but unexamined decisions made early that later hardened into constraints.
This practice exists to bring flexible senior design partnership in early, helping teams move forward with confidence while preserving flexibility for what comes next.
Work
See how teams gained clarity before scale.
Across 15+ years of work, early design decisions consistently reduce long-term cost.
Bauplan
Brand and website for a San Francisco data startup ahead of a $7.5m funding round.
„We love our branding. You did an amazing job!“
Ciro Greco
Co-Founder, Bauplan
Flowers
Product design system for a Munich-based SaaS startup during early growth.
reteach
Visual refresh for a German e-learning platform entering its next growth phase.
Library of Lost Books
UX prototype for a global citizen science archive at the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem.
Arne Keunecke
UX/UI Lead, navos create
Plans
Ways to engage before decisions get expensive.
These are common entry points. Choose what fits, or start a conversation to shape a custom setup.
FAQ
Common questions
Access senior design judgment without a long-term commitment.
For moments where early decisions will shape what comes next.
No commitment. Just a fit check.
