Marko Malle, BA

What are you working on right now?  

I’m currently working as a senior user experience designer at WRCO in Vienna, where we support companies such as ARD Online, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Group in developing digital products. 

I’m currently involved in two client projects: One is with Vodafone/Giga TV (a digital TV offering from Vodafone with linear channels, media libraries and streaming services that can be used on various devices and apps). Here, I am involved in the entire design process – from strategic planning and conception to feature development, prototyping and testing, through to implementation in a consistent design system and handover to development. And secondly, at ARD Online where we act as a strategic partner and design expert for the ARD audio and media library. My specific task at the moment is to establish the design system developed jointly with ARD Online across all online offerings – in other words, to create a uniform, comprehensive, and, above all, scalable design system.

What does your typical working day look like? 

We usually work on projects as a team consisting of several designers. Every Monday, we start with a weekly design meeting where we discuss current projects and upcoming tasks. I structure the tasks in advance, define work packages and distribute them individually – so that everyone can work independently on specific topics. As our team is spread across several locations – Vienna, Salzburg, and Bonn – further coordination usually takes place digitally. In video calls or directly in Figma, we present our explorations to date, develop further concepts, exchange ideas, and discuss customer feedback together. 

Additionally, we regularly coordinate with our clients, usually several times a week. At ARD, we work with an internal design team. My team and I support them primarily with our expertise in conception, UX design and design systems. For example, we prepare wireframes and user flows based on the user stories we have developed and translate these into expressive user interfaces. We also help to create and document design library components and their guidelines, such as correct usage, behaviour, and accessibility. 

At Vodafone, on the other hand, there is no internal design team – here, we take care of the entire operational design. We are responsible for the entire software design process from start to finish. In addition, we also design the necessary hardware – from TV boxes and remote controls to surround sound systems with satellite speakers and subwoofers.

How do you deal with criticism at work? 

As a designer, the main thing is to come up with solutions. There’s never just one right way – usually there are lots of different approaches to solving a problem. If I present something and someone doesn’t like it, that’s not a problem for me – as long as they give good reasons. It can then lead to an interesting discussion. It only becomes difficult when there is a lack of arguments. For example, if someone says, “I showed it to my wife and she doesn’t like it,” then I expect them to explain why. Simply saying “I don’t like it” is not enough – I want to understand why.

What skills do you need as a designer today? 

I believe that the tools themselves are no longer that important. As a designer, you are now much more of a manager, especially when working with larger companies. There are a whole range of stakeholders, all of whom have their own ideas and needs. You have to communicate with everyone, organise their feedback, coordinate your own design team, make sure tasks are distributed, and keep track of everything. 

Of course, a passion for the actual design work is still part of the job – and you have to understand the users, but the operational design is often only a small part of everything that needs to be done. 

What was your biggest screw-up in your professional career? 

Before I became a designer, I was a technical draughtsman and worked in a civil engineering office. I was allowed to help draw up plans for an apartment building – still completely on paper, drawn with ink. At the time, there was a fairly classic mistake that happened among the many changes: The chimney in the upper and lower floor was no longer aligned. Of course, this only became apparent once construction had already begun – suddenly, the chimney at the upper floor was in a completely different location to the one on the lower floor.

Which projects from your studies have stayed with you to this day? 

I particularly remember working with the artist Jörg Schlick – and Orhan Kipcak, of course. He was a real enabler, with great contacts in the art and culture scene in Graz. That was particularly exciting for me. We were a group that didn’t necessarily want to do classic commercial projects. We were madly in love with the art and culture scene. It felt like there were no rules or norms, and we could try our hand at anything and break new ground. 

Many of our teachers came from this very field themselves – artists such as Stella Rollig, Monochrom and others. I found this world simply fascinating. It was also great to be able to participate in the steirischer herbst festival and to use audio-visual technology in spaces – to be part of the event. These were moments when our work went out into the world – and that was really cool. 

But what I also really started to appreciate is the broad scope of the programme. It wasn’t just about design, but also about strategic and marketing aspects. At the time, I may not have taken it so seriously – I wanted to do creative things and have fun – but in retrospect, this broad foundation was extremely valuable. Understanding where design takes place and how it works was enormously important for my future career.

How do you see the future of your professional field? 

Due to the rapid development of artificial intelligence, we are currently in the midst of a transformation process. You have to try to stay on the ball, find out where the journey might take us, recognise trends early on, and, ideally, help shape them right away. But exactly what that will look like is still completely open; and in any case, it will be disruptive. Until now, it has been a steady evolution, but now the revolution is beginning. 

And that’s exactly why I’m doing this interview – WRCO is always looking for UI/UX designers who want to join us on this exciting journey!