Hi! My name is Ashley Winkler, but please call me Ash, and I've been designing for the internet since the late 90s [think flash websites, pixel fonts and custom Myspace profiles]. I have a passion for solving problems with a collaborative approach that's grounded in both user experience and strategy. I am a design leader partnering with early-stage startups to build scalable products, systems and teams.

I live in Vienna, I speak English & German, and am currently open to helping teams create exciting digital solutions and systems on a contract basis.

Find me online:

Instagram | Website | Calendly | Resume | LinkedIn

What I do:

I am a product designer, creative native, an entrepreneur, an illustrator, an activist and a constant wo/anderer. I am self-taught first and college-educated later. I designed my first websites in Microsoft Word (yes, you've read that right!) and my current ones in Figma. I founded an open-soruce, community-driven news startup as well as Europe's largest volunteer NGO during the Syrian refugee movement in 2015.

I love design systems, fast sprints and open communication. I sometimes also code. I like to build fast, iterate a lot and question my own personal biases. I design for people not users and value usability, inclusivity, accessibility and equality. I like to wear many hats and have also worked in branding, marketing and events.

Team culture + feedback:

I like to work closely with product and engineering to craft the best solution possible – in terms of user experience, metrics, code restrictions and allocated project time. I interview users and stakeholders to design tailored features and also to challenge my own preferences.

When it comes to feedback in general: I am a cheerleader but I am also very direct! So I'll try my best to make sure you know how excited I am about you, your work and our collaboration. I do acknowledge that sometimes work gets busy and cheering might suffer. Feel free to call me out on this!

I will always try to find solutions first! I do a lot of small ad-hoc feedback, if you don't like this, please let me know! I also strongly believe in making mistakes, asking for help and having an honest and transparent dialogue. Let me know if you need help, input or any additional resources.

Personal:

My dog's name is Rufus – he's my partner in crime and you'll see him lurking around in the background a lot. I love reading, raccoons, building miniatures, music from the 70s, yoga, crafting things and making cities greener. I am an activist for women's rights and equality – and in 2015 co-founded Europe's largest volunteer NGO to help aid Syrian refugees arriving in Vienna.

I don't use emojis but I sure do use an abundance of exclamation marks!