About

I close the gap between “we should use AI” and “we built something with it.”

Originally from the USA, now based in the Netherlands.

I'm Laura Rademaker. I built my first website in 2005, and have spent the two decades since leading UX research and design inside large organisations, always within real security, brand and stakeholder constraints. The work has always been the same underneath: figure out what's actually worth building, and why.

Then AI-assisted building got good enough that the gap between a clear brief and a working thing collapsed. I found I could take a vague idea in the morning and have a real, working version by the afternoon. Not a mock-up, something people could use and react to.

20+
Years of experience
8
Years in e-commerce
Laura Rademaker

Building fast with AI is easy to start and easy to get wrong. Anyone with a laptop can now generate something that looks like a product. The part that still takes real experience is knowing what's safe to build (where data can't leak, which systems can't be touched, what will hold up in real use) and what's actually worth building at all.

To be clear about what I am and am not: I'm not a developer-for-hire. I bring years of knowing how systems work, how people think, and where business constraints really sit. AI is the tool I use to turn that judgement into working products, fast.

That combination, knowing exactly what to build, how to scope it, and how to keep it safe while it's built quickly, is what most teams are missing internally. It's what I now teach the next generation of ICT professionals at Hogeschool Utrecht, and it's what I bring to businesses directly.

redfrontdoor is where that comes together: a framing method, a way of building real things quickly, and a way of handing that ability to your team so it doesn't leave when I do.

Now, and ongoing

Coach at Hogeschool Utrecht

Since September 2023 I've been a Coach and Expert in UX/UI for the Open-ICT programme, guiding students in agile, multidisciplinary teams as they build real products for Dutch businesses. Still there, still teaching.

Experience

Where the judgement comes from

Sep 2023 to present
Coach and Expert UX/UI, Open-ICT
Hogeschool Utrecht, NL

Guiding students in agile, multidisciplinary teams to deliver products for Dutch businesses. Using my experience to strengthen both teamwork and technical skills.

May 2021 to Jun 2023
Global UX & PO Manager E-Commerce (Head of Product)
G-Star RAW, NL

Led a team of customer-centric Product Owners and UX Designers, optimising e-commerce across web and app. Defined the shared product vision and roadmap, delivering solutions that drove business value.

Sep 2018 to Apr 2021
Senior Product Designer
De Bijenkorf, NL

Led product discovery and design in a cross-functional scrum team, shaping vision and roadmap with the Product Owner. Improved UX processes with a design system and structured research, aligning the roadmap across teams.

Mar 2015 to Aug 2018
UX Designer
Bestseller, NL

Established DesignOps standards for the UX team, ensuring consistent, validated web and app solutions. Implemented a customer-centric redesign across a 17-brand website platform.

Apr 2011 to Mar 2013
Strategic Interaction Designer
Whirlpool Corporation, USA

Defined interactions for digital touchpoints on home appliances, following a user-centred approach from initial storyboard concept through to final high-fidelity prototype user testing.

2009
Digital & New Media Intern
Oxygen Media, NBC Universal, USA

Researched SEO for oxygen.com and produced a user guide, a Drupal site-management wiki, and training.

Jun 2005 to Feb 2011
Project Manager / Interaction Designer
VoyageurWeb, USA

Managed web projects from startups to large custom builds. Worked with clients to assess needs and deliver solutions, and led QA, database planning, web-standards research and UI design.

Education

Where it started

2008 to 2009
Master of Science in Information, Human-Computer Interaction
University of Michigan, USA

Relevant courses: Analysis and Design of Online Communities, Evaluation of Systems & Services, Human Interaction in Information Retrieval, Interface and Interaction Design.

2001 to 2005
Bachelor of Science, English Technical Communications
Minnesota State University, USA

Graduated Magna Cum Laude in English, with minors in Art and Marketing. Presented at the 2004 Undergraduate Research Conference. McNair Scholar, 2004.

What people say

Testimonials

“She blew the audience away with her expertise, passion and enthusiasm about her strategy to deliver an impeccable customer experience.”

Elise Cuthbertson

“I could always count on her to bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm into anything from packaging design to new user interface concepts for connected appliances.”

Brandon Satanek

Let's talk

Tell me the one thing you wish already existed at your company.