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I'm a Swiss-Japanese Fellow based in Hamburg, focusing on SaaS, UX, and sustainability. I help teams focus on meaningful problems, validate ideas with rapid or high-fidelity prototypes before investing in engineering, and design products and services that scale across native mobile, web, tablet, and other touchpoints. I collaborate as an interim leader when needed and can contribute either as a contract specialist or as part of a long-term growth partnership. I work remotely from Hamburg or on-site with German or English-speaking teams. My practice spans product discovery, design systems, and end-to-end product delivery for B2B SaaS, FinTech, HR Tech, UC/Collaboration, and sustainability ventures, with a strong emphasis on responsible UX and sustainable business impact.…I'm a Swiss-Japanese Fellow based in Hamburg, focusing on SaaS, UX, and sustainability. I help teams focus on meaningful problems, validate ideas with rapid or high-fidelity prototypes before investing in engineering, and design products and services that scale across native mobile, web, tablet, and other touchpoints. I collaborate as an interim leader when needed and can contribute either as a contract specialist or as part of a long-term growth partnership. I work remotely from Hamburg or on-site with German or English-speaking teams. My practice spans product discovery, design systems, and end-to-end product delivery for B2B SaaS, FinTech, HR Tech, UC/Collaboration, and sustainability ventures, with a strong emphasis on responsible UX and sustainable business impact.

Aki Fukai

Product Designer, Designer, UX Designer, +1

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I'm a Swiss-Japanese Fellow based in Hamburg, focusing on SaaS, UX, and sustainability. I help teams focus on meaningful problems, validate ideas with rapid or high-fidelity prototypes before investing in engineering, and design products and services that scale across native mobile, web, tablet, and other touchpoints. I collaborate as an interim leader when needed and can contribute either as a contract specialist or as part of a long-term growth partnership. I work remotely from Hamburg or on-site with German or English-speaking teams. My practice spans product discovery, design systems, and end-to-end product delivery for B2B SaaS, FinTech, HR Tech, UC/Collaboration, and sustainability ventures, with a strong emphasis on responsible UX and sustainable business impact.…I'm a Swiss-Japanese Fellow based in Hamburg, focusing on SaaS, UX, and sustainability. I help teams focus on meaningful problems, validate ideas with rapid or high-fidelity prototypes before investing in engineering, and design products and services that scale across native mobile, web, tablet, and other touchpoints. I collaborate as an interim leader when needed and can contribute either as a contract specialist or as part of a long-term growth partnership. I work remotely from Hamburg or on-site with German or English-speaking teams. My practice spans product discovery, design systems, and end-to-end product delivery for B2B SaaS, FinTech, HR Tech, UC/Collaboration, and sustainability ventures, with a strong emphasis on responsible UX and sustainable business impact.

Available to hire

I’m a Swiss-Japanese Fellow based in Hamburg, focusing on SaaS, UX, and sustainability. I help teams focus on meaningful problems, validate ideas with rapid or high-fidelity prototypes before investing in engineering, and design products and services that scale across native mobile, web, tablet, and other touchpoints. I collaborate as an interim leader when needed and can contribute either as a contract specialist or as part of a long-term growth partnership.

I work remotely from Hamburg or on-site with German or English-speaking teams. My practice spans product discovery, design systems, and end-to-end product delivery for B2B SaaS, FinTech, HR Tech, UC/Collaboration, and sustainability ventures, with a strong emphasis on responsible UX and sustainable business impact.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Intermediate

Intermediate

Language

German

Fluent

English

Fluent

French

Advanced

Japanese

Beginner

Work Experience

Principal Product Designer → Design Director at WHATEVER.WORKS

June 1, 2023 - June 1, 2024

Led hands-on product design for a corporate-backed B2B SaaS venture from idea validation to MVP; built scalable design system; supported growth to 30+ clients; contributed to Best HR Startup 2023 award.

Principal Product Designer (Freelance) at PlasticPlan

February 1, 2022 - July 1, 2022

Fractional Principal Designer for Henkel’s AI-powered sustainability platform; designed Tailwind frontend, AI-UX patterns, and multi-level data analysis; enabled regulatory packaging data management and tax compliance; secured early client traction.

Principal Product Designer at SDGventure

January 1, 2022 - Present

Lead product design from discovery through MVP and scale for SaaS and sustainability initiatives; embedded within teams as an interim leader; focused on simplifying complexity, delivering products that matter for people, businesses, and the planet.

Senior Product Designer at enfore AG

February 1, 2019 - May 1, 2020

Sustainability-focused B2B SaaS / AI-powered compliance; delivered modular design systems and UX architecture for SME POS/ERP; streamlined complex workflows and regulatory UX across platforms.

Senior Product Designer at enfore AG

June 1, 2018 - January 1, 2019

Led key UX & UI design initiatives for a retail and hospitality ERP platform serving small and medium-sized businesses. ERP Systems / POS SaaS Platform; led product design for multi-device SME ERP workflows; created scalable UI patterns and improved UX architecture for retail / hospitality verticals.

Founding Product Designer & Co-Founder at Hello Meet

January 1, 2018 - Present

Co-founded a privacy-first scheduling platform; owned end-to-end product design from concept to release; established cross-platform design system across iOS, Android and Web; led architecture decisions and team growth.

Founding Senior Interaction Designer at collectAI

September 1, 2016 - February 1, 2018

Founding UX lead for a B2B2B AI-powered collections platform; designed scalable dunning and self-service payment flows; built a modular, white-label UX system across client brands; enabled growth to €25M in receivables scale.

Senior Interaction Designer (Freelance) at Liquid Labs GmbH

February 1, 2016 - August 1, 2016

Freelance UX lead; designed and delivered interaction patterns and UI concepts for enterprise projects; collaborated across product and engineering to ensure design QA and performance.

Senior Interaction Designer (Contract) at SBB CFF FFS

November 1, 2015 - September 1, 2016

Digitized vegetation risk assessment and monitoring for Swiss railway infrastructure; mapped complete field-to-office workflows; designed GIS-enabled iPad/web interfaces; aligned with public sector procurement processes.

SAP Interaction Designer (Contract) at SAP

June 1, 2015 - September 1, 2015

Contract-based UX design work within a global design ecosystem; contributed to Fiori-like patterns and enterprise UI design considerations for renewables and related modules.

Senior Interaction Designer at frog

September 1, 2013 - January 1, 2014

Senior UX/Interaction Designer for real-time collaboration experiences; ensured cross-platform consistency across mobile, web, and tablet for enterprise collaboration products.

User Experience Designer (Freelance) at Immonet GmbH

January 1, 2013 - April 1, 2013

Freelance UX work for property portal; contributed to UX architecture, multi-device journeys and interface polish.

Senior Art Director / Concept (Freelance) at Razorfish

May 1, 2011 - September 1, 2011

Led creative direction and concept for telco portal and e-commerce relaunch campaigns; contributed to cross-device UX and visual storytelling.

Senior Concept Developer, UX & Interaction Designer at Wowbiz GmbH

November 1, 2008 - August 1, 2013

Led e-commerce driven projects; defined concept, UX and interaction designs; contributed to modular design systems and multi-device workflows for retail and services clients.

Art Director (Freelance) at DDD Design

January 1, 2006 - January 1, 2008

Art direction across diverse client projects including automotive and e-commerce; contributed to concept development and visual design standards.

Principal Product Designer & UX Consultant at Freelance

January 1, 2004 - Present

Independent consultant delivering B2B SaaS product design across multiple domains; specialization in Shape Up/ JTBD-inspired discovery, rapid MVP validation, design systems, and regulatory UX.

Art Director at Spirit Link

January 1, 2003 - January 1, 2004

Art direction (digital); focused on brand design, complex portals and user-friendly interfaces. Worked mostly on SiemensMedical Solutions and Siemens on digital on- and offline solutions; Redesigned the agency's website from scratch.