Coffee Chats

Martin did not start in product design. He started with a camera.

Before digital product development, there was a fascination with capturing real moments through photos. While studying, he began building websites to showcase his own work and the work of other photographers. That small act of making, part necessity, part curiosity, turned out to matter. It opened the door to design, and eventually led him to study Digital Media at Hyper Island.

From photography to product thinking

There is a thread running through all of it.

Photography teaches you to pay attention. It teaches you to look closely, to notice what is happening, what people are doing, what they are not saying, what feels awkward, what feels natural. Good product design isn't so different. It also begins with observation. It asks you to look past what a product says it does and understand how people actually experience it.

“I like products to be simple, easy to understand, and a delight to use, it’s those unexpected, clever details that make the experience truly enjoyable.”  

Shaped by different cities, different speeds

Martin has worked in Sydney, Paris, and Oslo, through very different kinds of work and very different cultural contexts: e-commerce in Sydney, fashion websites in Paris, and later a deeper move into user-centred problem-solving in Oslo. Each taught him something different about pace, aesthetics, users, expectations, and what good digital experiences need to do in the real world.  

The core challenge remains strangely consistent: make something people can understand, trust, and actually enjoy using.

Martin brings that perspective into his work as a digital product designer. He understands that good products need to do more than function. They need to feel considered. They need to reduce friction without becoming dull.

On simplicity, and what it really takes

Simplicity is one of those words that sounds easy until you try to achieve it.

Most digital products do not become confusing because people set out to make them confusing. They become confusing because too many needs, opinions, systems, and edge cases pile up on top of one another. The work, then, is not to make things empty. It is to make them clear. To understand what matters, what can be removed, what should be highlighted, and where a small touch of thoughtfulness can change the whole experience.

That is where Martin feels most at home.

He is drawn to products that are intuitive without being simplistic, and to experiences that reward attention with small moments of delight.

Designing for people, not just screens

His route into design was not linear. It came through image-making, experimentation, self-initiated projects, digital media, and years of working in different places and contexts. That kind of background often produces a better kind of designer: one less interested in polish for its own sake, and more interested in what the product is really doing for the person on the other side of the screen. To make digital things feel a little less digital. A little more natural. A little more obvious in the best possible sense. Something people do not have to wrestle with. Something they can trust quickly, understand easily, and maybe even enjoy more than they expected to.

From photojournalism to product design. From Sydney to Paris to Oslo. One consistent instinct throughout: pay attention, keep it clear, and make it better for the people using it.      

Learn more about Martin here.