Wouter de Bres

I’m Wouter de Bres, a psychologist turned product designer and founder from the Netherlands. I’ve spent roughly two decades designing digital products, which is a decent amount of time to learn that most complicated things usually get better when you stop making them so complicated. My background in psychology turned out to be surprisingly useful. It helps me understand how people think, what they notice, what they ignore, and why so many products make life harder than necessary.

I started out as a psychologist, then moved into product design when it became painfully clear that this was the work I truly loved. Since then, I’ve co-founded Bread & Pepper, an agency, and Gibbon, an edtech startup. After Gibbon was acquired by Degreed, I spent several years leading and growing product design teams.

I now work as a freelancer, partnering with startup founders to design simpler, more effective user experiences. Along the way, I developed a deep appreciation for simplicity and a strong allergy to bullshit. Both have proved very useful.

I’m also the father of twin daughters, which is by far my best work. When I need to clear my head, I ride my motorcycle. When I work, I try to make products more useful, more human, and a lot less confusing. That is also what this book is about: better design starts with understanding people.

I used to say follow me on Twitter , but since that platform is now a smoking crater, I guess we should connect on Linkedin .