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Niek Van EschNV

Niek Van Esch

Digital Art Director & Design/UX Chief

€880/day
Raalte, NL
15+ years
Digital Leadership
Art Direction
UX Management
Design Leadership
Creative Problem Solving

Average response time: 1 hour

About Niek

Ik ben een design leader en creatief denker met ruim 15 jaar ervaring op het snijvlak van UX, product, art direction en digitale strategie. Wat mij typeert is dat ik complexe systemen en abstracte technologie weet te vertalen naar heldere, menselijke ervaringen. Ik werk graag aan vraagstukken waar design niet alleen mooier maakt, maar richting geeft aan gedrag, vertrouwen en betekenis.

Naast mijn professionele werk ben ik sterk geïnteresseerd in digitale autonomie, ethiek en de impact van technologie op ons dagelijks leven. Ik haal energie uit het bouwen van sterke teams, het coachen van talent en het uitdagen van bestaande denkpatronen. Nieuwsgierigheid, scherpte en een duidelijke visie vormen de rode draad in alles wat ik doe.

Mijn expertise ligt in UX- en productstrategie, art direction en design leadership, met een sterke focus op schaalbare digitale ecosystemen. Ik werk op het snijvlak van visie en uitvoering en help organisaties om complexe digitale vraagstukken terug te brengen naar duidelijke keuzes en consistente ervaringen.

Binnen teams en organisaties richt ik mij op het versterken van ontwerpvolwassenheid, het ontwikkelen van heldere designrichtlijnen en het begeleiden van digitale transformaties. Mijn ambitie is om design in te zetten als strategisch instrument dat organisaties helpt toekomstbestendig te blijven, met technologie die mensgericht, verantwoord en duurzaam is ontworpen.

Banking and Financial Services
Insurance
Culture
Fashion and Cosmetics
Healthcare payors

  • Dutch

    Native or bilingual

  • Portuguese

    Native or bilingual

  • English

    Fluent

Remote only
Primarily works remotely

Experience

  • CENTRAAL BEHEER
    Digital Art Director & Design Lead for Division Centraal Beheer
    January 2024 - Today (2 years and 5 months)
    Apeldoorn, GE, Netherlands
    Running Projects
    - Head of Design & Art Director for the total rebrand of Avéro Achmea, a top-3 intermediary insurance brand with nearly €1B turnover.
    - Art Director for the Centraal Beheer rebrand, in collaboration with TBWA/Neboko.
    - Core Team Member of the Centraal Beheer’s Digital Channels Strategy 2030, where we focus on a long term vision for our new Digital Eco-System

    Day-to-Day Impact
    - Driving product-wide improvements and developing new digital concepts.
    - Applying Design Thinking and facilitating sprints & co-creation sessions.
    - Strengthening brand consistency across digital channels.
    - Building design maturity within the Design Centre of Excellence.
    - Coaching and mentoring design specialists in their professional and personal growth.
    - Providing art direction for Centraal Beheer, Avéro Achmea, and FBTO.
    Art Direction Digital Leadership Design Leadership Brand Design Brand Strategy
  • Centraal Beheer
    UX Lead & Digital Art Director for Financial Services
    September 2023 - January 2024 (4 months)
    Apeldoorn, GE, Netherlands
    - Led product-wide improvements and introduced new service concepts to enhance customer experience in financial services.
    - Embedded Design Thinking practices across teams, facilitating high-impact sprints and co-creation sessions to accelerate innovation.
    - Advanced UX maturity, strengthening design as a strategic driver for business transformation.
    - Directed digital art direction with a focus on brand consistency across web platforms, aligning design execution with business strategy.
    - Guided the Design Community, building collective maturity and expertise in digital design.
    - Developed creative concepts and branding strategies that balanced customer needs with business objectives.
  • Independer
    UX & Growth Lead - Art Director
    January 2021 - August 2021 (7 months)
    Hilversum, NH, Netherlands
    Led product-wide improvements, new features, and concept innovation in line with Independer’s strategic goals.
    Facilitated design sprints and creative workshops to drive cross-functional alignment and accelerate delivery.
    Advanced a growth culture within Online Marketing and Digital Product teams, coaching specialists to experiment with agility and a user-first mindset.
    Oversaw multi-channel brand consistency, ensuring cohesive storytelling and design execution across digital touchpoints.
Check out Niek's experience

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Education

  • Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner, Growth Hacking Crash Course, Introduction to Web Accessibility.
    Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner, Growth Hacking Crash Course, Introduction to Web Accessibility.
  • Bachelor's Degree
    Cibap vakschool voor verbeelding
    2003
    Bachelor's Degree
Check out Niek's education

Skill set

Branding & Identity
Team management
Team Coaching
Workshop Facilitation
Figma (Software)
Design System
User Experience Design
Growth hacking

Categories