Kees Streefkerk explains why he is a UX designer at Donkey Mobile
Connecting through design:my journey to Donkey Mobile
I work at Donkey Mobile as a UX designer. Where an architect designs a house, I design the Donkey Mobile app as a UX designer, or how I like to see it: I don't design an app, but communication between people. The app happens to be the medium that sits between them. My challenge: design this app in such a way that people are not concerned with 'the medium', but with the mutual communication.
"If you get one more clear sign, send Henrik a message."
In recent years I have worked at Living Image, a media house that supports (Christian) mission-driven organizations in making their mission visible. I started as a cameraman and editor, but - partly due to the part-time course 'Communication and Multimedia Design' - I increasingly became passionate about designing digital products. Eventually I grew here to UX designer, where I designed websites for various organizations, ensuring that they were 'logical' and 'user-friendly' in terms of operation.
Yet there came a time when I thought: It's time for something new. I felt the need to work on larger projects, and it seemed interesting to gain experience at a larger company, outside the Christian sector. Donkey Mobile was completely out of my scope at the beginning of my search, until something inside me said: "If you get one more clear sign, you'll send Henrik a message." And so it happened. After coming home from my sports activities, there was suddenly a sheet of the IZB on the table, open on the page with an interview with Henrik about Donkey Mobile and the IZB Connect app. A day later we had contact, and a few weeks later I was hired!
“It is now up to me to further develop this product.”
During my first conversation with Henrik, I immediately noticed that we share a vision on developing digital products: the user experience of a digital product is crucial to its success. In fact, at its core I design communication between people, where the app is just a means. My goal is to design this 'means' in such a way that the user is not concerned with how it works, but can fully focus on the communication. The app must therefore seamlessly connect to the standards, expectations and working methods that people know from other apps. Sietze-Jan, the previous UX designer of Donkey Mobile, has laid a solid foundation for this. It is now up to me to further develop this product.
I made the choice for Donkey Mobile with full conviction. I think it is wonderful that it is an app that really adds value. During my time at Living Image I saw many organizations working on creating and facilitating connections between people, both online and offline. The church is a place where this connection or the 'community feeling' is self-evident, but due to the many online resources that we use today, this is not always experienced in the same way.
What I like about Donkey Mobile is that it offers a platform that is not an alternative, but an addition to the connection and 'being church together'. As a UX designer I hope to enrich this platform as a 'means' with valuable and meaningful functionalities and contribute to the local church!
Do you want to build the future of the church like Kees? We are looking for talent! Take a quick look at our vacancies
page.
