Research & Insights
Before we dive in, I dig deep—analyzing data, uncovering pain points, and making sure we solve real problems, not just pretty ones.
Phil Wornath — Home
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Phil Wornath
I design and build purposeful products—from early concepts to working prototypes—blending design systems, AI, and code with a focus on accessibility and measurable impact.
Now you know what I am doing right now. Want to see my actual projects?
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Design isn't finished until somebody is using it.
Brenda Laurel, PhD
Design Thinking
From aha-moments to "How Might We" questions, I turn insights into user-tested prototypes—because guessing is for gamblers, not designers.
Implementation
Design's done? Now the real fun begins—ensuring a smooth launch, tracking insights, and tweaking until users fall in love (or at least don't rage-quit).
Research & Insights
Before we dive in, I dig deep—analyzing data, uncovering pain points, and making sure we solve real problems, not just pretty ones.
Design Thinking
From aha-moments to "How Might We" questions, I turn insights into user-tested prototypes—because guessing is for gamblers, not designers.
Implementation
Design's done? Now the real fun begins—ensuring a smooth launch, tracking insights, and tweaking until users fall in love (or at least don't rage-quit).
What I care aboutWhat Drives MeAlternative Job TitlesWhat I care aboutWhat Drives MeAlternative Job Titles
ExplorerTinkererTeacherIndie HackerCommunity BuilderOpen Source AdvocateDigital NomadExplorerTinkererTeacherIndie HackerCommunity BuilderOpen Source AdvocateDigital Nomad
FAQ
I'm Phil Wornath, an Innovation & Experience Designer. Born in Germany and having lived across Europe, I bring a multicultural perspective to my work. My core philosophy is simple: technology should serve humanity, not the other way around.
I'm currently an Innovation Designer at Dentsu Creative (Merkle), where I bridge the gap between design and technology. I build multi-brand design systems and rapid AI-assisted prototypes for large-scale projects across the energy, FMCG, NGO, mobility, and finance sectors.
My journey started at age 11, coding small C# games—but I quickly realized I loved gathering user feedback even more than writing the code. Since then, I've focused on connecting people and tech. My past roles include Product Manager at Deutsche Bahn (rail-bike integration), UX Graduate at Toogethr, and Online Marketing Manager at Performics. I hold a Master’s in Data-Driven Design from Utrecht University, a Bachelor’s in Communications & UX Design, and UXQB® and Accessibility Designer certifications.
I work across the entire product spectrum. My design skills cover UX/UI, rapid prototyping, inclusive design, and user research. On the technical side, I develop using Vue, Python, PHP, JavaScript, APIs, and SQL. I'm a strong advocate for FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) and rely on tools like Figma, Penpot, VSCode, and Linux.
What is your mission?
My mission is to build sustainable, inclusive, and human-centered solutions aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Primary Focus: Sustainable Cities & Mobility (SDG 11) and Climate Action (SDG 13).
I also champion open-source tech (SDG 9), digital accessibility (SDG 8), and responsible consumption (SDG 12). I'm deeply committed to climate mitigation, offsetting over 26 tonnes of CO2e through solar, peatland, and methane avoidance projects via Ecologi. Ultimately, I want to build regenerative, transparent systems that empower users.
Primary Focus: Sustainable Cities & Mobility (SDG 11) and Climate Action (SDG 13).
I also champion open-source tech (SDG 9), digital accessibility (SDG 8), and responsible consumption (SDG 12). I'm deeply committed to climate mitigation, offsetting over 26 tonnes of CO2e through solar, peatland, and methane avoidance projects via Ecologi. Ultimately, I want to build regenerative, transparent systems that empower users.
What languages do you speak?
🇩🇪 German (Native / C2), 🇬🇧 English (Fluent / C2), 🇳🇱 Dutch (Intermediate / B2), and 🇪🇸 Spanish (Basic / A2). This multicultural background helps me design for diverse, global audiences.
What drives you outside of work?
I'm driven by global collaboration, DIY culture, community building, and sustainable living. I'm a massive advocate for cycling and sustainable transport. I also love reading and pet-sitting—which actually led me to create Petset.life for digital nomads!
Are you open to speaking engagements or collaborations?
Absolutely. I actively participate in the tech and design community, from BBC documentaries to sustainability hackathons and industry meetups. I'm always eager to connect with fellow designers, developers, and civic tech enthusiasts. Reach out if you'd like to collaborate or chat!
What's your approach to design?
I balance deep technical knowledge with a research-driven, human-centered process. I like to 'design beyond the screen,' meaning I focus on the real-world impact of digital products—whether that’s improving cycling infrastructure, creating accessible interfaces, or exploring how AI can enhance human capabilities without replacing them.
What projects are you working on right now?
Currently, I'm building Petset.life (a platform-agnostic pet-sitting network) and AI Summary Helper (a Chrome extension for content summarization). I'm also exploring sustainable co-living concepts, contributing to open-source projects, and researching the intersection of AI, mobility, and community building.
Have you built a design system before?
Yes — a 2025 project for a nonprofit research network. I was UI Engineer / Token Architect on a design system spanning three affiliated organizations: 170 components and 350+ variables built on a three-layer token architecture (primitives → semantic → component), so the same button component reskins correctly across three completely different brand palettes without a single hardcoded value.
Do you have finance or fintech UX experience?
Yes — a 2025 website relaunch for a Swiss pension provider. I rebuilt the information architecture from scratch around stage-based flows with progressive disclosure, and designed a portfolio allocation module that pairs a color-coded donut chart with an interactive breakdown table — built specifically to make a genuinely complex financial distribution readable at a glance instead of overwhelming.
What does "Design Engineer" actually mean in your work?
It means I don't hand off and walk away. On a pension-provider relaunch I worked UX/UI through developer handoff directly with the frontend team. On a multi-brand design system project my role was literally UI Engineering — building the token architecture developers implement against, not just the visual layer. This site is the same practice applied to my own work: I designed and built its SSR architecture, accessibility pass, and interaction system myself.
Have you worked on sustainability or climate-related products?
Three different angles, actually. Toogethr (2021, my graduation project) tackled the post-pandemic return to solo car commuting with a social cycling app — nudges like "one of your colleagues is leaving, wanna join?" turned commuting into a habit through social proof, not guilt. Deutsche Bahn (2022–23) had me researching bike-rail intermodality and pitching contextual parking/incentive features at their internal Rad+ Hackathon. A global energy technology company (2024) is the industrial end of the same thread — a CO2 calculator that lets plant operators compare turbine setups by emissions reduction, hydrogen flow, and cost savings before committing to hardware.
Have you worked on GovTech or public-sector AI?
Yes — a 2025 prototype for a Swiss municipality's public services: a multilingual, LLM-powered front desk that understands everyday questions in German, French, Italian, English, or Ukrainian even when they don't match a government site's exact keyword index, and returns real deep-links and checklists instead of a dead end. Built with v0 and Google Gemini, fed the municipality's actual sitemap and service structure. Worth being precise about the numbers: the projected 40% cut in tier-1 support inquiries is a GovTech benchmark estimate from the pitch, not a measured production result yet.
What's your actual process on a UX project?
An energy-sector website refresh is the clearest example: I work low-fidelity wireframes → mid-fidelity prototypes, occasionally into high-fidelity when a pattern genuinely needs it — shaping user flows and validating interaction patterns before they go to full visual design, not after. That sequencing is deliberate: it's cheaper to be wrong about a flow at wireframe stage than to discover it in a finished mock.
Where does AI actually show up in your work, versus just being a buzzword?
Before it was the current AI wave: at Deutsche Bahn in early 2023 I ran internal advisory sessions on ChatGPT and LLMs for the product team — "KI, Kollege" ("AI, Colleague") — covering ideation workflows, customer insight generation, UX writing support, and prototyping automation, for a product/marketing audience that wasn't yet using these tools day to day. The AI search box on this page is the current version of that same instinct: use the tool where it earns its place, not because it's trending.
Born to build bridges
This map shows countries I have lived in and visited. Countries I lived in for 2 or more months are highlighted in a darker color. Countries I visited are shown in a lighter color. Use arrow keys to navigate between countries when a country is selected.
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Let's have a conversation!
Do you prefer to work async or do you have questions?
Then leave me an e-mail by phil@philwornath.com and I will get back to you asap.