About me

My professional path is defined by curiosity and depth rather than a single discipline. Throughout my career, I have explored different creative fields in order to understand not just how things look or work, but why they work.

I focus on building a broad, connected skill set that allows me to move between design, systems, and strategy with confidence. Continuous learning and expanding my perspective are central to how I work—and to how I approach every new challenge.

Only who tries the impossible, will achieve the possible.

Two principles guide my work:

Taking responsibility and challenging assumptions.
I believe that meaningful progress happens when people question existing solutions, explore alternatives, and are willing to tackle complex problems rather than avoid them.

What I do

UX/UI Design & UX Strategy
System & Process Design
Product Management/Owner
Software Development

Entrepreneur

For most of my professional life, I have worked as a self-employed entrepreneur. This allowed me to pursue ideas independently, build businesses across disciplines, and adapt quickly to technological and cultural change.

I founded and led design and digital agencies in Germany and the United States and have worked on projects spanning design, publishing, digital products, and consulting.

Selected ventures include:

Mitomedia Digital Agency, Augsburg
Audrey’s Pleasure (Snack Manufacturing); New York
Mitomedia Inc.(Design Agency), New York
Michael Baumgardt Publishing, Munich

Entrepreneurship shaped my ability to think systemically, balance creativity with feasibility, and translate ideas into sustainable structures.

Designer

Design has been a defining part of my life from an early stage. I studied design at art school and was among the early adopters of Desktop Publishing in Germany, working with digital layout systems long before they became mainstream.

My background spans print design, branding, editorial design, and early digital interfaces. This foundation strongly influences my UX work today—particularly my focus on structure, hierarchy, semantics, and clarity.

Over time, my role evolved from designing individual artifacts to designing systems: interfaces, workflows, and frameworks that enable others to work efficiently and consistently.

2009 / 2012

Writer · Journalist · Author

Writing has always been a parallel track to my design work. I started as a freelance writer, later became editor and editor-in-chief of specialized magazines, and eventually authored numerous books on design and digital topics.

My writing career culminated in more than twenty published books on Desktop Publishing and Web Design, several of which ranked simultaneously in the Top Ten sales charts in Germany. My publications were released internationally and translated into multiple languages.

Authorship trained me to formalize knowledge, explain complex topics clearly, and think in reusable concepts—skills that directly influence my current work in UX, system design, and consulting.

Since 1981

Music

Music was my first creative discipline and continues to influence how I think about structure, rhythm, and composition. I studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston and worked on various band and solo projects over the years.

While music never became my primary profession, it remains an important creative counterbalance and source of inspiration.