Our team


Daniela Beyerle
Diplom (M.A. equivalent)

Director

Daniela wants to empower socially disadvantaged people and help them to discover and use their own resources. Working together with them, she wants to develop new solutions and put them into practice.

Daniela is a keen observer and an extremely fast achiever. She knows all Top Gun dialogues by heart.

  • Since 2009: Co-founder and Director of minds & makers
  • 2009: Service Designer for “The LIFE Program“ at Participle in London, one of the most influential agencies in the field of Service Design and Social Innovation in Great Britain
  • Since 2007: lecturer in Service Design and Social Innovation at several universities, e.g. University of Cologne and Köln International School of Design (KISD)
  • 2007–2009 Project Leader at the Service Design Research Centre under Professor Birgit Mager
  • 2006: graduation with a Diplom (M.A. equivalent) in Design from Köln International School of Design (KISD) with a focus on Service Design

Martin Beyerle
M.Des.; Diplom (MBA equivalent)

Director

Martin loves to see people and organisations addressing a task collectively and putting efficient concepts into operation. He is convinced that this must involve all the different perspectives as well as the expertise of all stakeholders.

Martin has a strategic mind and is always glad to help. As well as that he can wiggle his ears.

  • 2011-2014: Co-initiator of the Social Bar Cologne
  • Since 2009: Co-founder and Director of minds & makers
  • Since 2007: lecturer in Service Design and Social Innovations at several universities, e.g. University of Cologne, University of Design of Schwäbisch Gmünd, Design Academy Eindhoven and Cologne International School of Design (KISD)
  • 2008–2009: Project Leader at the Service Design Research Centre under Professor Birgit Mager
  • 2007: Management Assistant at “The Hub“, Berlin
  • 2005-2007 Master’s degree from Design Academy of Eindhoven with a focus on Social Design and Service Design
  • 2005: graduation from University of Mannheim with a in Business Economics; focus on Corporate Responsibility

Jan Schröder
Diplom (M.A. equivalent)

Director

Jan is persuaded that social and economically viable solutions which sustainably improve people’s lives can be developed from current trends in society and technology. When working on concepts, the question as to their viability under real-world conditions is always at the forefront of his mind.

Jan is digital-savvy and likes experimenting. He would love to play the trombone in a brass band one day.

  • Since 2010: Co-founder and Director of minds & makers
  • Since 2011: lecturer in Service Design and Social Innovations at several universities, e.g. University of Cologne, University of Design of Schwäbisch Gmünd
  • 2008 -2010: User Experience Manager, Vodafone Concept Development Team
  • 2008: freelance Project Leader at the Service Design Research Centre under Professor Birgit Mager
  • 2008: graduation with a Diplom (M.A. equivalent) in Design from Köln International School of Design (KISD) with a focus on Service Design and Product Design

Andrea Böer
M.Sc.; Diplom (M.Sc. equivalent)

Service Designer

Andrea thinks that you need to ask yourself and others the right questions in order to gain decisive insights – a vital prerequisite for inspiring innovations.

Andrea is as exact as she is equanimous and would like to be part of the “Mary Poppins” musical at Broadway one day.

  • since 2016: Service Designer at minds & makers
  • 2017: her final thesis “Mobile UX – evaluation of the user experience in mobile purchase situations“ is nominated for the General Online Research Thesis Award. The thesis was published in 2015.
  • 2015: Master of Science degree in Market and Media Research awarded by the Technical University of Cologne, focus on User Experience.
  • 2011: Diplom (M.Sc. equivalent) in Information Economics from the Technical University of Cologne (TH Köln)
  • 2008: practice term and freelance Communication and Media Researcher at Mediascore GmbH in Cologne

Manuel Krings
Diplom (M.A. equivalent)

Service & Interaction Designer

Manuel is constantly creating exciting new interrelationships from the fields of Design Thinking, Interaction Design, and videography, making sure that they enhance and vitalize co-creative projects.

Manuel is intriguingly allergic to low hanging fruit. He is developing a computer game about street dogs in Moscow.

  • Since 2015: Service and Interaction Designer at minds & makers
  • 2012–2015: freelance Interaction Designer; cooperation with several start-ups in Berlin, covering phases from the basic idea to market launch and initial balance sheet
  • 2012–2015: audio-visual projects for the research sector, e.g. for the Design Research Lab Berlin, the Innovation Incubator of Leuphana University of Lüneburg as well as the German Society for Design Theory and Research (DGTF).
  • 2012: Diplom (M.A. equivalent) from Köln International School of Design (KISD); nominated for the Cologne Design Award in 2012; Publication in 2013

Jobs

We are always looking for fresh minds, committed doers and new talent. Feel free to send us an application.


Our network

Innovation is also promoted by cooperation.
This is why we are member of various innovative and international networks. More coming soon.


Reach – Global Design Research

minds & makers are the german partner agency within the international Reach – Global Design Research Network.
Reach is are group of highly skilled and experienced companies around the world with a deep expertise in design research. Broad experience in both design and customer research enables the network to seamlessly integrate research activities in design and innovation processes.
Learn more about the network and see some examples of our work.

Learn More