Hertje Brodersen
Hertje is a freelance Design Strategist and UX Consultant based in Berlin.
She works with small agencies and large organisations, planning and creating experiences with a lasting impact. Her background is in literary sciences and cultural anthropology.
Not the typical start for a career in UX, but it helped shape a creative and analytical mind that likes complex problems that can’t be shoe-horned in a sitemap or a user journey.
About the talk
Hertje Brodersen (DE) – It’s Not Simple, Stupid! Dealing with Complex Systems and Wicked Problems
Our toolbox is full of shiny new things. We know our interaction patterns by heart, map journeys in our sleep, build design systems in no time at all, and pull frameworks and processes for any occasion out of our hats. Our concepts and designs are efficient and effective. Our discipline is mature and recognised. We know what we are doing.
Except we don’t. Some of the large-scale systems we created are so complicated and interrelated that it is no longer possible to fully grasp them. There is no way we can map and define all of a system’s facets and connections, or predict how it will develop in the future. And yet we keep trying – it’s our job. Our tools need to adapt to this increasing complexity. But our thinking has to change as well.
This talk explores how we can do our work well even when the complexity feels overwhelming and clarity seems elusive.