Experience, from exploration to expertise

Profile picture of Hendrik Mondelaers drinking coffee

I really believe in creative problem solving — going places users might find obvious, but where real differences can be made. I try to work with a mindset that treats outside-the-box thinking as standard, aiming for outcomes that go beyond what’s expected.

Experience introduction

That often means tackling challenges that fall outside typical UX roles. It’s where being able to switch hats shows its value — shifting between user experience design and business analysis, filling in functional gaps, or supporting frontend teams with structure and logic. Always working toward balance: between people, their mental models, and the way applications can support their goals.

Everything I’ve learned started with spotting an opportunity just outside the familiar path. At one point, facilitating workshops was new. So was business analysis. And design systems felt like a vague deliverable. But with every step into unfamiliar territory, I picked up the tools I needed to make things work — even when the input was unstructured or the problem unclear.

This mix of curiosity, structure, and adaptability continues to shape how I work today.

Experience infographic

Experience infographic, focus lies on UXD, but with links to business- and functional analysis and methodology.
This infographic highlights the different fields of expertise I embrace for roles across healthcare, industry, and government, emphasizing cross-functional UX work.

Résumé highlights

  • 15+ years of experience in enterprise UX
  • Active in healthcare, industry, and government environments
  • Strong mix of UX, business analysis, and functional modeling
  • Hands-on with prototyping (Figma, Penpot, HTML/CSS)
  • Experienced in creating/maintaining design systems – atomic design approach
  • Facilitates workshops that create an innovative atmosphere — combining energy, real input, and outside-the-box thinking
  • Comfortable switching between UX, BA, FA in agile environments
  • Fluent in Dutch and English — possibility to manage projects in German

Methodologies I rely on

Common sense goes a long way — but often, your work needs to deliver predictable, consistent results. To support collaboration and ensure quality, I rely on a mix of methodologies I’ve learned and shaped over the years — adapting what’s needed, when it’s needed.

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  • User Experience Design (UXD) – the core of how I work: user-, task/goal-, and context analysis, information architecture, design, and iteration.
  • Business process modeling (BPMN) – for visualising flows and aligning across roles.
  • Functional modeling (UML, flowcharts) – when logic, data, and decision trees need structure.
  • Design systems (thinking) – following an atomic design structure to create scalable, reusable building blocks.
  • Agile & SCRUM practices – collaborating with dev teams and stakeholders across iterations.

Practices & skills

Some skills I’ve developed through years of project work and learning. Others feel more instinctive — areas where I naturally feel at home. Whether it’s a technique I’ve refined or a strength I’ve shaped over time, they all contribute.

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  • Workshop facilitation & live wireframing
    Facilitating sessions where problems, people, and ideas meet — and taking part as more than a moderator. I sketch while we talk, think out loud while visualising, and keep the conversation moving until structure and possibilities start to take shape. These sessions are not just about drawing — they're about activating collective thinking. I provide the medium, but the group brings the momentum. Here’s where the UX-team of 2 thrives.
    • Live wireframing
    • Visual communication
    • Facilitation
    • Real-time sketching
    • UX-team of 2
  • Prototyping — from paper to pixel (or browser)
    Whether it's pen and paper, Figma, Penpot, or HTML/CSS — I use the tool that best fits the phase and the team. No need to get lost in the complexity — I use these tools to clarify ideas and keep things moving. The ability to prototype in code isn't a requirement for UX, but it often removes barriers and even adds to the shared understanding.
    • Prototyping
    • Front-end collaboration
    • Penpot / HTML-CSS
    • Responsive design
  • Creative thinking & collaborative ideation
    I value creativity highly — not just as inspiration, but as a working method. Thinking outside the box isn’t a luxury in enterprise UX — it’s how we uncover real solutions. Whether we’re mapping a process or stuck in ambiguity, I try to create space where ideas can move beyond the obvious. Sometimes, simplifying complexity is the most creative act of all.
    • Creative problem solving
    • Making complexity feel intuitive
    • Complex vs complicated
    • Outside-the-box thinking
    • User–business alignment
    • Information architecture
  • Working languages
    Multilingual fluency adds flexibility in workshops, interviews, and documentation. These are the languages I work in, and how comfortably I use them.
    NL
    Dutch
    native
    FR
    French
    conversational
    DE
    German
    working knowledge
    EN
    English
    fluent

Tools I work with

Tools come and go, as enablers — not definitions.
They help us connect ideas, collaborate with others, and shape outcomes — but they should never limit creativity. The most basic ones — pen and paper — are still the most reliable. The rest depends on the project, the team, and what needs to happen next.

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  • Everyday tools
    • Pen & paper
    • Whiteboard
    • Figma
    • Penpot
    • Adobe Creative Suite
    • Miro
    • Confluence
    • Zeroheight
    • Visual Studio Code
    • BizAgi Process Modeler
    • MS Office
    • Various collab tools
  • Favourite AI tools
    • ChatGPT
    • Gemini
    • Perplexity
    • NotebookLM
    • TurboScribe
    • Consensus

Training & education

I’m a solid believer in learning on the job — but to gain traction and build confidence, training defenitely helps. I try to balance structured training with the constant stream of articles, talks, and inspiration that comes with the field. The challenge? Figuring out what’s actually useful right now.
That — and sleep.

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Formal education & certifications

  • UX‑PM1 International Certification - UX Alliance2023
  • Generative Artificial Intelligence Training Certificate lvl 1 — Inetum2023
  • User Experience Design Certification Program — Human Interface Group2012
  • Project Management Training — Propellor2010
  • Introduction to SOA Governance / ITIL / UML for SE / BPM — Dolmen2007–2008
  • Result‑Oriented Management — Arenberg Consult2005
  • Bachelor’s Degree Business Management & Marketing1997

Selected training & masterclasses

UX & Product Design

  • Creating and Maintaining Successful Design Systems (by Brad Frost)
  • Designing For Complex UIs (2022 & 2024 editions) (by Vitaly Friedman)
  • Psychology for UX And Product Design (by Joe Leech)
  • Design System Planning and Process (by Nathan Curtis)
  • Inclusive Design Patterns For 2025 (by Vitaly Friedman)
  • Design for What’s Next - workshop on AI / design ethics (by Josh Clark)
  • Fixing Frustrating Design Patterns For 2025 (by Vitaly Friedman)
  • The Future of Design Systems (by Vitaly Friedman, Brad Frost, Kevin Coyle, Adam Lagerhausen)
  • Designing Search UX In 2024 (by Vitaly Friedman)
  • Training Digital Accessibility by Anysurfer
  • Scalable design systems (by Nathan Curtis)

Front-end, prototyping & tooling

  • Modern CSS Meets (by Adam Argyle – nerdy.dev, Julia Miocene, Miriam Suzanne)
  • Interface design with UI Kits - Penpot.app Hands‑On (by Laura Kalbag)
  • Advanced Flex layouts - Penpot.app Hands‑On (by Laura Kalbag)
  • Accessibility Meets Dataviz accessibility / Designing for accessibility right from the start (by Sarah Fossheim and Stephanie Walter)
  • Real World Responsive Design (by Jason Grigsby)
  • Advanced CSS layouts with Flexbox and Grid (by Rachel Andrew)
  • Training Bootstrap (Realdolmen)
  • WebDevSquad Training Flexbox (Realdolmen)

Business & Functional Analysis

  • Training business process analysis methodology (MDB / Realdolmen)
  • R–Brains SCRUM (Realdolmen)
  • R–Brains BAPM: Project Management (Realdolmen)
  • R–Brains Use Case Analysis (Realdolmen)
  • Training BPM (Business Process management) (Dolmen)
  • Testmanagement (Dolmen)
  • Interviewing techniques (Dolmen)

Knowledge sharing

Sharing knowledge is one of the most fulfilling parts of my work. I’ve found that explaining what you know — and repeating it in different contexts — often deepens your own understanding.
Sometimes that means short sessions to lift part of a bigger picture. Other times, it’s a multi-day deep dive into the edges of UX.
I’ve shared my experience in many settings: internally within the company, directly with clients during projects, and as a guest lecturer at one university and several higher education programs.

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Talks & Guest Lectures

  • 2025

    UXD methodology and its role in enterprise software (guest lecture)

    HOWEST – Web Development & Design

  • 2025

    The World of UX (guest lecture)

    UCLL Diepenbeek – Electronica‑ICT

  • 2024

    User Experience Design (1‑day training)

    UCLL – Electronica‑ICT

  • 2023

    The (enterprise) UX‑team of 2

    UX‑Beers Antwerp / UX Belgium

  • 202220212019

    Guest lecture on UX for Human Health Engineering

    KU Leuven – Master of Bioscience Engineering

Internal & Client-Side Training

  • 2023

    UXD, wireframing, prototyping, design patterns (March & Nov 2‑day training)

    acADDemICTs (FA/BA/JAVA)

  • 2022

    UXD, wireframing, prototyping, design patterns (March & Nov 2‑day training)

    acADDemICTs (FA/BA)

  • 2022

    Design pattern presentations (part 1 & 2)

    BAPM team event

  • 2011–2021

    UXD & prototyping fundamentals (multiple presentations / trainings)

    acADDemICTs & BAPM-events

Mentoring

  • 2019–2020

    Long‑term mentor for a junior UX designer

    On‑project coaching, co-working, weekly check‑ins, feedback

  • Ongoing

    Ad‑hoc mentoring of colleagues

    Focused on UX methodology, prototyping, and workshop facilitation

Previous & current work environments

My career started while I was still in school — studying during the day and working evenings as a desktop publisher at the advertising agency at home. That kind of switching never really stopped. Since 1994, I’ve moved across creative, technical, and analytical roles — from early web development to functional analysis and enterprise UX consulting.
I’ve worked in smaller webdev agencies, client-facing roles, and large organizations. And since 2003, I’ve also run IGNITE as a part-time freelance practice, giving me space to experiment and bring fresh ideas into my day-to-day work.

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  • 2007–present

    UX consultant, Business analyst, FA, PM, proxy PO, project lead

    Inetum (Dolmen → Realdolmen → GFI → Inetum)

  • 2003–present

    Independent web development, corporate design, managed hosting services
    (owner — part-time freelance)

    IGNITE

  • 2004–2007

    Project coordinator, web dev lead, functional analyst, presales, trainer

    Axoni

  • 2000–2004

    Web dev, project lead, client-facing roles

    Publinet

  • 1997–2000

    DTP, creative design & templating strategy for brochures

    Huybrechts Management

  • 1994–2001

    DTP operator, advertising & corporate design

    Mad AD International

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