The Centigrade Team
An outstanding user interface is an elegant symbiosis of usability, aesthetics and technology. With this goal in mind, our agile team of psychologists, computer scientists and designers manages to think, communicate and create across disciplinary boundaries. Interested in becoming part of our team?
Management
Thomas Immich is the owner & managing director of Centigrade, one of the leading UX & Gamification agencies in Germany. For around 20 years Thomas focuses on user-centered design methods with respect to their technical feasibility and tool support. During this time, he worked as an advisor for his Continuous UX method toolkit in numerous client projects, consulting agile development teams in the optimization and integration of modern UX processes. He is also a speaker at relevant UX conferences such as "Mensch & Computer" or "World Usability Congress" and has received several design awards, including the "iF communication design award" as well as the "Best Session Award Usability Professionals". Thomas Immich holds a Diploma in computer science from the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, having completed his studies of Digital Media with an award-winning thesis on user interface prototyping. Thomas started his professional career as a video game developer.
Florian Moritz takes care that everything runs smoothly behind the scenes at Centigrade. Furthermore, he coordinates the Centigrade branch office Frankfurt am Main. As former Head of Design, Florian contributed his longtime experience of UI Design and Conception to Centigrade. As Head of Operations, he applies his experience in project leadership and UX Management to combine highest quality and economic efficiency. His motivation is to enable user centered design in all processes – whether it is for a customer or colleague. Thus, Florian is making essential contribution to the fact that Centigrade not only carries human centered design to the world but also brings this paradigm to life in all structures of the company.
Aline Barré
Head of Visual Design · Senior Visual Designer
Master of Arts in Communication Design, Bachelor of Arts in Intermedia Design
Aline Barré is Head of Visual Design at Centigrade. She is passionate about innovative design ideas and optimal user experience paradigms. Together with her team, she creates award-winning designs that can be systematically scaled and engage users. In the design process, she relies on fresh perspectives and interdisciplinary, integrative thinking. Her broad, professional focus is on design thinking, brand experience, intermedia design, storytelling and research. During her communication design studies at the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar, she specialized in typography, graphic design, branding and screen design. She worked on her final project at the DFKI (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence) in the field of Innovative Retail and Smart Home. Before that, she completed a bachelor's degree in Intermedia Design and an apprenticeship as a media designer for digital and print media.
Kai-Dominik Kuhn
Head of Engineering · Senior Software Engineer
Master of Science in Computer Science
As Head of DevOps Engineering, current web, app and hardware technologies and their efficient use in customer and Centigrade projects represent Kai-Dominik's core competence. He advises customers on process automation, new technology, infrastructure and software architectures. Kai-Dominik represents DevOps as key to process automations and use of modern cloud technologies in combination with secure IT and data protection. He takes on this responsibility for both clients and Centigrade infrastructure - especially to ensure smooth remote collaboration. Already during his studies of computer science at Saarland University, he developed a passion to combine business and technology by participating as a co-founder in two IT start-ups and intensively dealing with IoT, web and app-based technologies.
Steffen worked several years in the computer games industry as a project manager, producer and studio lead. Even there, he was fascinated by the management of complex projects in which specialists from a wide range of creative disciplines such as visual design, software development, research and user interface design work together. He brings his experience as a Certified Scrum Master to UX Management, but knows exactly that each project requires its own individual strategies. He has been able to successfully demonstrate this adaptability in different projects as Lead Project Manager in recent years with clients from the medical and industrial sectors. In project controlling, his experience in using REST APIs and creating KPI dashboards in PowerBI come in very helpful. Steffen Roche received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts from the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida.
UX Management
Martin Hesseler
Senior UX Manager
Master of Science in Computer Science and Media
Martin Hesseler studied media informatics with a special interest in human-computer interaction. With several years of experience at Centigrade, he is leading large projects, always having the overall user experience of the product in mind. He is cooperating closely with software engineers in agile and user-centered working processes and continuously developing the integration of user experience into the software development process of clients.
Britta Karn works at Centigrade in the fields of UX Management, Account Management and UX Research. In the project business, she has a comprehensive view on the continuous UX process and ensures this in projects. Furthermore, she represents the user perspective and feeds the user feedback back into the team in order to iteratively and user-centeredly improve solution ideas. In the acquisition process Britta Karn makes first contact with potential customers or places inquiries in the appropriate departments. Britta Karn studied psychology at Saarland University. During her master studies she chose media informatics as a minor subject, whereby she was particularly interested in the topic of user experience as an interface between psychology and computer science.
Sven Strauß
UX Manager
Dipl. Designer
Sven Strauß has many years of experience in the visual design of Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) at Centigrade. As UX Manager, he supervises large projects as a key account manager as well as small and new customer projects. In doing so, he keeps an eye on the overall process to ensure a user-centered and agile approach – from requirements management to conceptual and visual development to implementation. Sven Strauß studied Media Art & Design at the University of Fine Arts Saarland and primarily worked on audio-visual media. Before his study, he completed an apprenticeship as a digital media designer and gained experience in the e-learning sector – especially in the realization of interactive and animated training content.
Sarah Kempf
UX Researcher
Diploma in Media Art & Design
Sarah Kempf is passionate about Research because she knows that users are the ones who deserve the leading role on the stage of the design process. She gained her interdisciplinary experience in the areas of storytelling, UX thinking, visual, concept and brand design in the agency environment and in software development. During her studies in Media Art and Design at the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar, she was intensively involved in film production (feature films, documentaries, and commercials) and comic drawing. She also developed the brand and concept design as well as an interactive app for a social entrepreneurship in her final project. Before that, she completed an apprenticeship as a media designer in digital and print media.
Alessandra Rodrigues Eismann
UX Researcher
Master of Science in Psychology
Alessandra Rodrigues Eismann graduated with a master's degree in psychology from the University of Bielefeld. During her studies, she developed a passion for user experience and usability. This passion led her to Centigrade, where she works in UX research, getting in direct contact with users through interviews and testing and being the advocate for users in projects. She also leads research-related projects at Centigrade.
Marvin Mader
Assistant UX Research
Student Psychology
Marvin Mader is studying psychology at the University of Würzburg. For his master's degree, Marvin aims to study in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. Through internships he was already able to gain experience and skills in the field of User Testing/Research. At Centigrade he supports the user research team as an assistant user researcher.
Conception
Miriam Julius
Field Master Concept Design · Senior Concept Designer
Master of Arts in Interface Design
Miriam has many years of experience in the user-centered design of Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) according to the principles of LeanUX. As a Field Master Concept Design, she works in various agile projects as a key account manager, but also models appealing innovative concepts. Her focus is on requirements engineering and information modeling. She also supervises various formats as a trainer within the Centigrade UX Academy. Miriam studied Interface Design at the FH Potsdam, which she completed with a Master o. A..
Jonas Enck
Senior Concept Designer
Bachelor of Arts in Intermedia Design
Jonas has an exceptionally good technical understanding as a concept designer, which makes it easy for him to get through even exotic domains with complex workflows. This allows him to simplify interaction flows and, thanks to his understanding of UML, model them in a way that makes his concepts easy to understand even for visual designers and engineers. Jonas always focuses on the essential information for the user to create interfaces with high usability and learnability. He is also passionate about (visual) storytelling and motion design, which he expresses through lively presentations and prototypes, among other things. He draws his comprehensive knowledge from his daily routine, but also from his studies of intermediate design as well as his training as an information electronics technician.
Lisa Karapatzakis
Concept Designer
Master of Science in Advanced Systems Design
Since 2022, Lisa has been working at Centigrade as a concept designer and uses her technical understanding to create concepts for customer projects. After her Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics with a focus on Technical Writing, Lisa expanded her skills with a Master of Science in Advanced Systems Design at Aalen University. The core of the master was the research project 'User-Centered Assembly Instructions', which she explored over the entire duration of her studies.
Catharina Kelle
Concept Designer · UX Writer
Master of Arts in Linguistics
Catharina is a concept designer and UX writer. Her focus is on turning complex ideas into clear concepts, user-centered storytelling and conversational design. Her heart beats for helping users achieve their goals with a feeling of competence. She studied German Linguistics and English Language and Literature at Saarland University. After graduating, she worked in the fields of branding, content writing and creative conception and completed a journalism apprenticeship. Since her training at Content Design London 2021, she has been working in the UX field.
Kim Qazi
Concept Designer
Diploma in Digital Animation
Kim is a driven and analytical professional with experience in motion design, digital animation and education, who found her true calling in user experience design. She is a client driven specialist due to her unique position of having experience on agency as well as on client side, in Germany as well as internationally. She strongly believes in developing solutions based on user research, advocates for user testing and navigates problem spaces with ease, experiencing a true state of flow while ideating creative solutions. Her combination of technical expertise, including as an e-commerce B2B and B2C user experience designer, and her creative problem-solving skills make her well-equipped to tackle any challenge in the concept design field.
Visualization
Marius Hubertus
Field Master Visual Design · Senior Visual Designer
Bachelor of Arts in Virtual Design
Marius Hubertus completed an apprenticeship as a media designer for digital & print media and subsequently studied Virtual Design at the University of Kaiserslautern with a focus on conception and design in virtual spaces. With his experience in print and web, game development and 3D design, Marius creates innovative interface designs, 3D visualizations and interactive prototypes at Centigrade.
David Patrizi
Senior Visual Designer
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Media
David Patrizi holds a bachelor's degree in computer science and media at the University of Furtwangen. As a passionate user interface designer at Centigrade he develops high-quality icon and screen designs in an ongoing dialogue with the customer. Using technologies like WPF he brings the User Interfaces to life, mastering disciplines like micro interaction design and motion design to bring the UI elements together.
Günter Pellner
Senior Visual Designer
Bachelor of Art & Technology
Since 2012 Günter supports Centigrade and their clients to create intuitive and efficient user interfaces. Starting in web and game-development, he now works closely with engineers to create design solutions in various technology contexts. With his experience in new and old GUI technologies, he creates and specifies most notably pragmatic solutions to enhance the user experience fast and effectively.
Roger Towae
Senior Visual Designer
Media Designer
Roger has been passionate about visual design for almost 20 years. After finishing his apprenticeship as a digital and print media designer, he worked as an art director in advertising agencies. His experience ranges from print to online, from graphic design and visual conception to photography, image editing, logo design and typography. At Centigrade, Roger uses his experience to design engaging interfaces and controls, coordinating and leading UI projects with a visual focus.
Lara Wüst
Senior Visual Designer
Diploma in Communication Design
Lara Wüst studied communication design with a focus on digital media at the Academy of Visual Arts in Frankfurt. She gained her experiences in various digital agencies in different areas such as UI design, brand design, website redesigns, app design and social media branding. At Centigrade, Lara creates appealing user interfaces, infographics and icon designs.
Fabienne Scherer
Visual Design Assistant
Student Virtual Design
Fabienne is studying Virtual Design at the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern. At Centigrade, she currently supports the visual design team by creating icons and illustrations.
Implementation
Matthias Frauer
Field Master Software Engineering · Senior Software Engineer
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Media
Matthias Frauer studied Media Informatics at Saarland University. Early on he focused on web development with an emphasis on usable security and developed the routing-based authentication scheme GeoLock in his thesis. At Centigrade Matthias contributes to the engineering team by planning and implementing web-based applications, mostly with TypeScript and Angular.
Iris Hesseler
Senior Software Engineer
Dipl. Computer Computer Science and Media
Iris studied media informatics at the University of Ulm with a focus on computer graphics. She started her career at one of the most well-known UX service providers in Germany. After moving to Centigrade, Iris took over the responsibility as project manager due to her long experience mainly with WPF and C# in complex .NET software projects. For several years, she has also been responsible for the implementation of web-based applications with TypeScript, HTML5 & CSS3, preferably in the Angular Framework. In the projects, Iris brings her enthusiasm and experience for agile software development processes in close cooperation with our customers. Beyond project work, Iris has been involved in the ChanceMINT.NRW program at the University of Duisburg-Essen on several occasions. The program gives female students from engineering and computer science disciplines an insight into professional practice and prepares them for their career entry through targeted measures.
Frederic Frieß
Senior Software Engineer
Master of Science in Computer Science and Media
Frederic’s works starts where visualization and implementation meet with a special focus on 3D design engineering. With many years of experience in this field, he is engaged in the disciplines of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, 3D design engineering and motion design. Frederic Frieß studied at the Universities of Applied Science in Wiesbaden and Trier and works at the Centigrade branch office in Frankfurt, where he realizes intuitive and immersive experiences for industrial scenarios.
Clemens Poblotzki
Senior 3D Design Engineer
Dipl. Communication Designer
Clemens Poblotzki creates 3D environments for static, animated and interactive perception. With years of experience in web-technologies and frameworks he refactors them for the use in different target media. No matter if it is about classical desktop applications, virtual reality or mixed reality environments, Clemens is keeping a firm focus on optimized user experiences. He is passionate about visualising complex scenarios and rethinking workflows along the interfaces between conception and presentation, tooling and authoring, technical integrity and design innovation.
Patrick Andre Decker
Senior Software Engineer
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Media
In 2012 Patrick Andre Decker finished his studies of Computer Science and Media at the Trier University of Applied Sciences. After his studies he worked as a .NET software engineer where he was highly involved in the development of an address- and eventmanagement software using WPF in all layers of the MVVM pattern. Since 2015 he supports Centigrade with the development of visual appealing user interfaces with clean and maintainable code. Through the collaborative work with various customers in different sectors he gained lots of insights in multiple methods of agile software development. He uses this knowledge to assist the continuous improvement of the development processes of customers. Beside his knowledge in .NET Patrick has also practical knowledge with modern technologies like Angular or Elasticsearch.
Mikhail Shabanov
Senior Software Engineer
Diploma in Engineering
Mikhail studied Spacecraft Automatic Control Systems in the Moscow State Forest University. At the beginning of his career he was a C++ software engineer in the Russian Spacecraft Industry. He has major experience is in commercial software development and had jobs at the largest russian telecom company, a world-known bank and in the largest world antivirus company. He has strong knowledge in databases, backend and microservice systems, and of course in UI creation with WPF and Angular. Here at Centigrade he uses these skills to build systems and applications that deliver a great UX.
Julian Lang
Senior Software Engineer
Master of Science in Computer Science
Julian Lang studied computer science at the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern and within his master thesis he worked on the concept and creation of a design system architecture, which aims at integrative collaboration between UX design and software development. With the help of various web-based technologies, interdisciplinary teams can collaborate remotely and effectively. At Centigrade, Julian supports projects of all sizes as a web developer and shares his knowledge from several years of professional experience as an instructor in Angular trainings or as a coach within project teams. Julian is also involved in open-source development and in 2020 he started his own project, ngtx, an Angular testing-library which simplifies the development of Angular component tests, leading to more robust and readable test cases.
Adrien Zdanski
Senior Software Engineer
Master of Science in Computer Science
Adrien Zdanski studied media informatics in the bachelor's program and subsequently completed his master's degree in computer science at the TH Nuremberg. The focus of his studies was on computer graphics, 3D programming, pattern and speech recognition. In his bachelor thesis he focused on generatively designed layouts on the web and in his master thesis he analyzed and developed a JavaScript, WebGL and WebRTC based hand gesture recognition using Hidden Markov Models. During his many years of freelance work, he initially worked as a full-stack developer. Over the years, he specialized in front-end web technologies, which he uses to implement web-based applications in agile projects. Before his studies, he completed an apprenticeship as a media designer for digital & print in the field of UI/UX, which allowed him to gain experience in user interface design and usability.
Peter Gressler
DevOps Engineer
Information Technology Officer
Peter Gressler completed his training as Information Technology Officer in 2004. Since then, his responsibilities have included the design, administration and further development of IT infrastructures for medium-sized companies. His focus here lies on the use of modern cloud technologies. At Centigrade Peter works as a DevOps engineer and, in addition to the introduction of new systems, he also ensures the reliable functioning of the IT infrastructure.
Julia Schulz
Software Engineer
Master of Science in Computer Science and Media
Julia Schulz studied computer science and media at Saarland University and completed her master's degree at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) investigating the effectiveness of gamification. During her studies she worked at DFKI in web development and research on fitness assistance systems, gaining extensive experience in implementing engaging and user-friendly web projects with AngularJS and Django. During an internship semester, Julia supported the Centigrade engineering team in programming modern single page applications. Today, she continues to work as a software engineer implementing intuitive web-based applications using Angular and React.
Communication
Luzie Seeliger
Employee Experience Manager
Magistra Artium in German and Comparative Literature
In 2010 Luzie Seeliger graduated from Saarland University in German and Comparative Literature. After working in the journalistic field as a copywriter and as a press officer at a parliamentary group in the state parliament of Saarland she moved to Centigrade in 2013. As a Employee Experience Manager, she contributes to a good working atmosphere, an enjoyable atmosphere in the team and to the employee satisfaction. In addition to onboarding new Centigrade colleagues, she is also responsible for the company's own guidance program. Furthermore, she is a mediator and advisor for team problems and keeps an eye on the value & cultural fit between candidates and Centigrade in talent management.
Sebastian Oberger
Senior Online Marketing Manager
Bachelor of Science in Digital Media Marketing
Sebastian Oberger studied Digital Media Marketing at the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern. During his studies, he discovered marketing in the field of digital media for himself and quickly specialized in it. After successfully completing his bachelor thesis, which involved the conception and marketing of a web platform, he took responsibility in the project management of large IT projects and gained experience in self-employment. At Centigrade he works as an Online Marketing Manager and leads projects for the online marketing of the business offer.
Administration
Petra Ripplinger
Corporate Administrator
Bank Officer and Language Secretary
Petra Ripplinger has a long work experience as personal assistant on management level. As trained bank officer and language secretary she has worked in diverse sectors (chemical industry, advertising, banking) and is therefore perfectly acquainted with all tasks and procedures in modern office management. As first contact person for Centigrade's clients and suppliers, she is in charge of commercial correspondence, time scheduling and all matters of organization and administration.
Andrea Degel
Corporate Administrator
Bank Officer and IT Customer Advisor
Andrea Degel has a long work experience in the banking and finance sector and as IT Customer Advisor for the data processing service center of savings banks. For Centigrade she is responsible for the accounting and financial controlling as well as for matters of organization and administration.
Additional Team Members
Yuki Kelle
Emotional Support Specialist
Bachelor of Arts Sit and Down
Yuki works at Centigrade in the area of employee satisfaction and motivation. She contributes to a positive work environment through her even-tempered nature and extensive experience in the areas of happiness, office napping, and communication. She graduated from the dog school My Partner Dog.
Arya von Winterfell-Barré
Junior Welcome Experience Designer
Master of Destruction
As a Junior WX Designer, Arya is responsible for making all colleagues and guests feel comfortable and warmly welcomed. She achieves this through her soft floppy ears and cheerful, accommodating nature. She has extensive experience in pawing, the Kung Fu roll and the grizzly pose. Her daily routine includes reminding colleagues about breaks and meal times. She also takes great care of things lying around. In addition to her employment at Centigrade, she is currently studying at Dog University.
Phoebe Müller
Field Lead Creative and Motivational Design
Master of Fuzz
Phoebe is the inspirational muse of our design team. With her charm and curious nature, she is able to unleash the creativity of her colleagues and put the entire team into a productive flow. Her penchant for belly rubs acts as a welcome oasis of relaxation in the sometimes hectic workday. Phoebe's ability to exude an aura of calm and motivation through her gentle eyes and fluffy shaggy fur is remarkable. In her presence, creative ideas bubble up almost unstoppably and give the team a boost of inspiration and drive.