Sarah Bindszus has a creative role: she works as Senior UX Designer at RIO. Her job is to make software and services as enjoyable as possible for the users. This is why the 31-year-old’s design motto is: “User interfaces and logistic applications should not just look good — they should also be fun for the users and above all simple and intuitive to operate.”
“My favorite thing about my job is that I can switch between different roles,” Sarah Bindszus says enthusiastically. “On the one hand, I am the voice of the users and look at the world from their point of view. On the other, I am the designer that takes in the requirements and turns them into solutions.” Bindszus has been Senior UX Designer at RIO in Munich for four years. “UX” stands for “user experience”: UX designers act as the interface between the developer team and the users. Sarah Bindszus analyzes user behavior in order to put herself in the users’ shoes. After this, she designs the user experience. “My job is not just to make sure that our software looks good,” Bindszus explains. “When I conceptualize and design an interface, I also try to look at it through the end user’s eyes.”
UX Designer
Bindszus is currently working on an interdisciplinary project that aims to minimize paper consumption in the logistics industry. “There is so much paper floating about, say in the form of freight documents and invoices. This is not just expensive, it also adds a high margin of error. Paper often gets lost,” she says. Paper consumption is also an important aspect of sustainability. All of this should soon be a thing of the past thanks to a digital tool that makes freight documents simpler and eliminates a lot of paper waste. However, for a tool to be truly accepted and applied by the users, it has to be suitable for daily use. Bindszus knows: a system is only enjoyable to operate if a software maps out the process step by step.
Knowledge broker
Constant communication is part and parcel of Bindszus’s job — not just with users, but also other TRATON and Volkswagen brands. This is where having connections throughout the Group comes in handy. For instance, these give her access to an entire pool of experts and knowledgeable specialists for interdisciplinary projects and make it easy to join existing networks — even those in other countries. For example in Portugal: another UX team is working in Lisbon. “Systems are used differently in different countries,” Bindszus explains. “Sharing knowledge is important to reach as many user groups as possible.”
Travel enthusiast
“Can I tell you a secret? I actually wanted to be a pilot,” the designer says with a laugh. Even though she mainly worked in the travel industry before joining RIO, she has always been interested in transportation. “My previous job involved conceptualizing and designing the process for booking travel online. Logistics and trucks used to be unchartered territory,” she explains. The designer is still passionate about travel — just outside of work. She loves to go away on vacation, be it surfing in Fuerteventura or horseback riding off the coast of Andalusia.
