About
Updated March 2025I’m Thilko — a digital product designer with a focus on design systems. As my name suggests, I grew up in rural East Frisia, but my design journey has taken me through Cologne, Paris, and Stockholm. After successfully running my design studio for a couple of years, I joined sipgate in Düsseldorf, where I’ve spent the last six years strategically evolving their design system from the ground up. Outside of work, I teach user interface design at an online university, sharing my passion for good design and mentoring emerging designers to develop their unique creative voices while pushing the boundaries of digital design.
Work
Staff Product Designer | Design System
sipgate
Düsseldorf, Germany · Hybrid
- Design System Leadership and Development: Initiated, developed, and maintained a scalable design system in Figma and code, ensuring consistency across all platforms.
- Design Tokens and Theming: Architected a token system using semantic naming in Tokens Studio and Style Dictionary, enabling flexible theming and a dark mode. Conducted workshops training designers on effective use.
- Rebrand Rollout: Contributed to the successful rollout of the rebranding across products and websites, ensuring consistency and high-quality visual standards.
- Figma Environment Leadership: Spearheaded the company’s transition to Figma in 2020, establishing and managing the entire organization’s Figma environment ever since. Led comprehensive onboarding.
- Engineering Collaboration: Actively collaborated and cross-paired with developers, independently contributing over 1,000 times to our GitHub repository.
- Technical Documentation: Comprehensively documented interaction patterns, which served as a foundational resource for designers and engineers, promoting adherence to design standards.
- Mentorship: Successfully onboarded and mentored two new Design System Designers over a year, enhancing their skills and integration into the team. Additionally, mentored an apprentice for three years, guiding them through a transformative journey that culminated in their successful transition to a full-time role.
- Peer Recruiting: Led the interview process for dozens of candidates, successfully identifying and hiring top talent to drive the expansion of our design team.
- Internal Newsletter: Co-founded and authored over 20 issues of "IDEA" (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility), promoting a more inclusive work environment.
- Diversity Initiatives: Initiated and organized the company’s Pride group, participating in the Cologne Pride parade for four consecutive years, promoting diversity and inclusivity.
Certified Tutor for User Interface Design
DIPLOMA University of Applied Sciences
Remote
Beyond my full-time position, I dedicate myself to tutoring as a certified professional. Here, I combine my extensive industry experience with a passion for teaching and mentoring, empowering the next generation of designers.
Freelance Designer
Neithernor & Co.
Cologne Area, Germany · On-site
Education
Köln International School of Design
Bachelor of Arts · BA, European Studies in Design
Cologne, Germany
North Butler High School
Exchange Year during High-School
Iowa, USA
Gesamtschule Veenhusen
High-School Diploma / Abitur
Veenhusen, Germany