Research and strategic design for “people-first” digital technology: ethical, considerate, useful and usable design — guided by respect, inclusion, sustainability, and human rights.

Sebastian Greger, speaking at Webkongress Erlangen 2018

Consulting on privacy-by-design

Broad and up-to-date knowledge base on privacy techniques, ethics, and laws; shared through public talks, workshops and project consulting. Helping agencies and organisations to develop people-friendly strategies for data use; designing custom solutions with/for clients big and small.

Sebastian Greger, presenting a German slide on privacy UX at WUDHH 2018 — My privacy work and advocacy is not legal-first, but human-value-driven: meeting client needs with data minimalism and transparency. At one point, I called it Privacy UX.

Screenshot of a — In addition to privacy-conscious solutions, my work sometimes yields specialised tools for designers dealing with data and privacy. I enjoy sharing these with others.

Sebastian Greger, running a GDPR workshop — In workshops and trainings, I educate on privacy thinking, along with practical methods and approaches to innovate and design in a human-friendly way. Sometimes I speak at conferences.

Field research for design and strategy

Sociological method and critical thinking to discover the true role of technological artifacts in people’s lives. Often explorative, mostly qualitative (in English, German, and Finnish) — always people before technology. Driven by discovery of realities people couldn’t even articulate themselves.

A whiteboard with an interview script design in post-it notes — Starting from design goals and the research question, I consult in chosing appropriate research methods, and assist in designing and deploying bespoke tools for the task at hand.

Two participants working on a service blueprint — I combine desk research (analysis, literature) with all forms of remote and on-site field work, as well as co-design or stakeholder workshops. And I loved teaching those to MA students.

Screenshot thumbnails of various reports — My comprehensive and structured research reports deliver actionable insight and beyond; as a designer, I always garnish them with concept seeds to be derived from the data.

Hands-on design strategist, information architect and UX/UI designer

Looking back at two decades of designing concepts and interfaces for the web, I combine my research-based approach with craftfully designed architectures, concepts, UIs and more. Experienced coach and educator on design strategy, concept development, usability, and accessibility.

A flowchart of a complex interaction concept — My holistic perspective on design considers even the smallest UI element in the context of the broader human experience and the strategic purpose of a design artifact.

Screenshots of the information architecture documents for the Nelonen.fi website — Building information architectures for complex, multi-layered projects: where others give up, is where I start to thrive - I guess I’m sort of an “IA masochist”.

Excerpt from a stage group photo at the Accessibility Summit 2019; Sebastian Greger and others — I practice inclusive design and engage in the accessibility community: not to exclude anybody has been at the core of my design philosophy for over a decade - cue my non-users research.

Passionate code tinkerer and seasoned web designer

A “designer who codes” for as long as I can remember, I love building my own prototypes and trying out new techniques. Deep appreciation for the web since 1996, always happy for opportunities to do some artisanal website development (some call it “old school”, which I take as a compliment).

Sebastian Greger, presenting research at Aalto Media Lab Helsinki in 2010 — Studying at Aalto Media Lab has been a privilege. Its spirit lives on in my practice: pushing boundaries with a critical attitude, staying connected with arts and humanities.

Organizing, displaying and publishing content is where my inner hacker comes to life. In addition to client work, I maintain various pet projects and occasionally contribute to open source.

Sebastian Greger

Constructively critical sociologist and interaction designer: human-centred design, user research, values/ethics in tech, privacy as UX, accessibility. (he/him)

Currently

Freelancer since 2010; Berlin-based, working remote or on-site for pan-European clients. Speaker at past and upcoming events.

Background

Previously Senior Designer at digital agencies in Helsinki (Valve, Satama Interactive) and research/teaching gigs at Aalto University Dept of Design.

Education

M.Soc.Sc. in Sociology (University of Tampere, 2003) and M.A. in New Media (Aalto University, 2011).

Pronouns

he/his

Availability

Sometimes very busy, sometimes less …get in touch:

Location

Berlin, Germany

Contact

msg@sebastiangreger.net

Image credits