I'm Roelof
Otten.

I design SaaS and workflow apps with purpose and a lot of user research. Senior UX designer at Arcady.

10+ years in product UX Senior UX designer SaaS & PLG specialist Based in the Netherlands Senior UX at Arcady 10+ years in product UX Senior UX designer SaaS & PLG specialist Based in the Netherlands Senior UX at Arcady
About

Ten years of designing the unglamorous parts of software.

I'm a senior UX designer based in the Netherlands. Most of my work happens in SaaS and product-led growth - onboarding flows, activation funnels, the second-week experience. The screens that decide whether a trial user sticks.

The other half of my work happens in heavier-duty workflow applications - government, fintech, anything where a real person has to get a real job done. Those projects sharpen everything I do in SaaS: less polish, more decisions.

Senior UX designer at Arcady since July 2026. Previously three years independent as saasmeister.

10+
Years in product UX
40+
SaaS products shipped on
200+
User interviews logged
3
Featured cases below
Selected work · 2023 - 2026

Six cases.
Six different shapes of done.

Each one is a different domain, a different team, and a different definition of what "shipped" means.

01 / 06
User research Workflow design Design system

DUO.

How VSO students sign up for state exams - without the school's admin office grinding to a halt.

Project
Staatsexamen vo
Role
Senior UX Designer
Year
2023 - 2024
Staatsexamen Stap 1 van 5
Wilt u in dit examenjaar uw diploma behalen?
Ja, ik wil mijn diploma behalen
Nee, ik wil een certificaat behalen
Verder →
02 / 06
Workflow tooling User research Process redesign

Kadaster.

An internal tool that finally lets clerks hit their daily targets - without working around the software.

Project
Akteverwerking
Role
Senior UX Designer
Year
2024 - 2025
Akteverwerking 47 in queue
AK-2419 Hypotheek - 24 May Done
AK-2420 Overdracht - 24 May Check
AK-2421 Hypotheek - 24 May Done
AK-2422 Splitsing - 24 May Waiting
03 / 06
UX research SaaS · Fintech Full redesign

Matterhorn.

A regulatory reporting platform retooled around the people who use it every day.

Project
PLG retool
Role
Lead Designer
Year
2025 - 2026
fundinfo
Reports - Q4 2025 · status
142 / 168 +18%
Time per report−42%
Manual follow-ups−68%
04 / 06
SaaS · construction Design system App + website

Simjo.

A project management SaaS for the construction sector, rebuilt from the bottom up.

Project
App + website redesign
Role
Lead UX Designer
Year
2025 · 6 months
+ Activiteit
W100 WBS - Constructie 29-11-24
W110 Voorbereiding terrein 20 jan - 6 jun
W120 Funderingen 3 sept.
W130 Opbouw casco 23 aug - 3 okt
05 / 06
SaaS · MarTech Product-led growth +153% conversion

TAGGRS.

A server-side tagging SaaS, turned into a self-serve growth machine.

Project
PLG redesign · app + website
Role
Lead UX · saasmeister.
Year
Multi-year
TAGGRS
Trial → paid · 30d
+153% vs prior
Time to first value 11 min
06 / 06
Enterprise SaaS Design system Design tokens

PTI.

An enterprise design system, built so engineering could ship without a designer in every meeting.

Project
Design system from scratch
Role
Lead UX Designer
Customers
KPN · VAT · Eneco · Ziggo

Components

30+ shipped
Primary Secondary Success Error
Brand Success Info Pending Draft
Approach

How I actually work.

01

Sit with users
before pixels.

Every project starts with at least a week of interviews and shadowing. The fastest way to ship the wrong thing is to skip this.

02

Map the workflow,
not just the screen.

Most "design problems" are workflow problems wearing a UI mask. I draw the whole flow with the business analyst first.

03

Ship one path
all the way.

One happy path delivered end-to-end beats five half-built sections. I'd rather cut scope than dilute the outcome.

04

Hand off so it
actually gets built.

Tight loops with engineers, copy-pasteable specs, no Figma file left behind. The work isn't done until it's live.

Principle
The best user experience is the one you don't notice.
Roelof Otten - on every project, day one