UX Sweden 2025
Meet the speakers
Mai Lee Yap and Maria Marklund
UX designer and DesignOps Lead HiQ Göteborg and Hogia
Mai Lee Yap is a UX designer with over 20 years of experience in product development. Her work has always been driven by a desire to understand both user needs and business goals – and to create sustainable value at the intersection of user experience and business strategy.
With a background in designing, innovating, educating and collaborating across teams, cultures and countries, she brings a mature and strategic perspective to design. Today, her focus lies in shaping how design contributes to long-term value – not only in the product, but in the organization as a whole.
Maria Marklund is a design strategist, business manager and educator that holds empathy as close to heart as business success. During her almost 20 years in product development and design she has influenced several organizations to get closer to the customer through honing human-centered practices and cultures, celebrating the individual as well as the team. With engagement and vulnerability she drives the evolvement of the design organization at Hogia Group, with the goal that every designer will have all possibilities to practice their craft to the full and evolve beyond.
Case study: How to land a unique Career Development Framework for design organizations - that actually does the job
Design organizations all over the world shares some common challenges. One of those challenges is how to reach and uphold a high design maturity amongst all internal stakeholders, from the designer’s team members to the highest management. Another common challenge is how to facilitate transparent career development and continuous individual growth to maintain interest and engagement from the individual designer.
This case study tells the story of how Hogia Group developed a unique career development framework that not only will motivate designers to stay on with the company for years to come, but also directly increases the organizations understanding for the design process and continuous user-centered ways of working.
Meet the speakers
Heidi Ettanen
Design operations lead
H&M
What’s DesignOps - how can it help?
As the design field evolves, so does the way we work. Heidi Ettanen, who established the DesignOps practice at H&M and co-leads the DesignOps Assembly’s Sweden chapter, will share why DesignOps matters, how it can strengthen your organization, and what it takes to get started.
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Per Axbom
UX designer, educator and writer
😇😈 Ethics as a Driver of Design Innovation
Moral concerns are often seen as barriers to innovation—but in fact, they unlock it. Per Axbom explores how ethical design can broaden perspectives, spark entirely new services, and turn compassion into a strategic advantage.
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Pontus Wärnestål
Head of Pedagogy
Ambition Group
Designing AI-Powered Experiences: From Insight to Initiative
What happens when digital services start making decisions on their own? In this talk, Pontus Wärnestål dives into designing predictive, adaptive, and initiative-taking experiences – with real-world examples and hands-on tips. No tech background needed – just a curious design mind.
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Victor Bergh Alvergren
UX Designer
Hogia
Workshop: From Business Goals to User Goals
Tired of hearing your user-centered ideas “don’t align with the business”? The Goal Alignment Method shows how user and business goals can work together – with a shared focus and clear success metrics. A practical way to get everyone on the same page.
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Lina Bodestad
Senior UX researcher
QESTIT
Design Psychology: Creating better products through deeper user insight
Why do users sometimes surprise us – acting in ways we didn’t anticipate? In this session, Lina Bodestad explores how psychology can help us understand these unexpected behaviors, avoid common UX pitfalls, and sharpen our user research techniques. With real-world examples and actionable advice, she shows how psychological insights can lead to smarter product design and stronger alignment with real user needs.
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