Hi there!
Nice to meet you, I’m Karoline Strand, a Norwegian in Madrid, and I love technology and humans!
What I do best is end-to-end product development. I have done that for 8 years and in 3 countries. My educational background is in engineering, human-centered design, and entrepreneurship. I have worked with many aspects of product development; project management, user research, design engineering, manufacturing, testing and robotics. In my free time, I dabble with photography, sketching and I make niice playlists.
Feel free to connect with me! I would love a coffee/beer to ask you about you, discuss different design methods, or any opportunity to help each other making the world a little bit better for someone else.
But since I got your attention so far, I’ll add some more details to those interested!
I believe the world needs designers to solve the wicked problems we’re tangled in. That is why I do what I do. I think functional is beautiful and simple is complex. I’m curious to go deep enough to understand the real issues, but I’m too hands-on to spend too much time in that space before I need to test something. I will stretch my neck to get an outlook on the big picture. I need to know why we do what we do. Meaning I will put in extra effort to analyze and understand why we are doing something and speak my mind if it’s not clear.
I completely zone out if I get to put my headset on and work in front of my laptop (check out my monthly playlists on Spotify btw), to the point where I forget to blink. That work can and has been; to meticulously adjust surfaces before my next 3D print, balancing tight project budgets, manically making sure my next presentation or visual map really gets our message across, sketching out user stories on my iPad, or that I’m cheekily trying to code a robot with java (not my realm, but hey I tried).
However, I’m too curious, and I need variation in my work. That’s why I love working in teams because I thrive in the environment of others people’s energy, experience, and personalities. Cross-functional and dynamic teams are the best. Even if we get stuck (a lot), I do not get easily stressed out. I love following products end to end, and I’d like to learn something new every day, be it a deep user insight or a shortcut in photoshop.
Me relaxing can look something like walking around Madrid or up a mountain in my hometown. Watching Into the Wild for the 10th time or a mind-blowing documentary that I will tell you all about during lunch. Fitting into tiny tents to have tea with my nephew and niece, or cooking risotto while sneakily pouring wine into my guest’s glasses to make sure I’m not the most tipsy person in the room.