# Peter Marc

> Senior, lead, and staff-level product designer helping technical founders turn messy product ideas, unclear AI features, and half-built MVPs into dev-ready prototypes in about two weeks.

## About

Peter Marc is a product design partner for startups and scale-ups. Based in Europe, working globally. Fifteen years of product design across fintech, SaaS, mobility, logistics, and AI-driven products. Past clients include Klarna, Guesty, Rakbank, Wolt, Amazon, EasyPark / Arrive, and Sector Alarm.

Work spans the full range from senior IC to staff-level lead: shaping product direction with founders, leading design in cross-functional teams, and shipping to production. Not an agency. One designer, focused engagement, no account layer.

## Services and Engagement Models

Three engagement levels:

**Diagnose** (from €1,500) — A focused session to identify what is not working, what to fix first, and whether it makes sense to continue. Typically 3–5 days. Delivers a written audit and a prioritised action list.

**Plan** (from €5,000) — Full design direction: research synthesis, IA, key flows, and a validated prototype. Typically one to two weeks. Delivers something the team can hand to engineering.

**Execute** (custom scope, usually from €8,000) — Full design execution from brief to dev-ready prototype. Typically two to six weeks depending on scope. Works directly with the founder or PM, no intermediary.

Service areas:
- Activation and onboarding
- Demo and sales experience
- AI workflow sprints
- Design systems and UI debt

## Who This Is For

Technical founders who have built something and now need to make it usable, explainable, or scalable. Common situations: an MVP that users drop off from before the first meaningful action; a product that is hard to demo or pitch; a design system that is slowing engineering down; an AI feature that needs to make sense to a non-technical user.

Not a fit for: companies that need a full-time embedded designer indefinitely, teams that need a designer to own a design system long-term with no ownership transition, or founders who want to validate a business model rather than a product.

## Case Studies

### Wolt — Multi-model courier onboarding
Took over Wolt's multi-model courier onboarding mid-flight as part of the DoorDash platform consolidation. Restructured web entry as a model-routing layer across four legal engagement models in nine countries, after concrete PM feedback that the original approach was misrouting users. Four legal models (independent contractor, fleet operator, direct employee, temp agency), nine countries, unified routing spine with model-specific branches. Compliance exposure was the real constraint — showing the wrong model-specific content to the wrong user type created legal risk, not just UX friction.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/wolt

### Rakbank — Design system: one token layer, 15+ product teams
Led Rakbank's design system from scratch: token layer, 200+ components, adopted across 15+ product teams. Built tokens-first so engineers had the same source of truth as designers, with Arabic/English RTL switching in the token layer itself. Handoff time went from three weeks to four days.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/rakbank

### Klarna — Shoppable video: from MVP to multi-market launch
Led Klarna's shoppable video from zero. Replaced the redirect-to-product-page pattern with embedded commerce inside the video layer, validated in the US, then scaled across four European markets.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/klarna

### Guesty — Mobile onboarding: from 70% drop-off to 38% trial conversion
Redesigned Guesty mobile onboarding by splitting Lite and Pro users into separate flows instead of a single flow with conditional logic. Based on 5,000+ session analysis and user interviews per tier. Trial-to-paid: 23% to 38%. Support tickets: ~500 to ~150/month. Onboarding completion: 62% to 89%.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/guesty

### EasyPark / Arrive — Apple Pay as a stored payment method
Redesigned EasyPark's Apple Pay implementation from inconsistent hardcoded authorisation to a recurring MIT payment-profile model spanning subscriptions, parking sessions, and camera parking. Designed a 3-variant Maze test to resolve the duplicate-card trust problem, built to separate stated preference from measurable selection accuracy.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/easypark

### Amazon — Fire TV Studio IDE, reframing the brief
Reframed a sidebar polish brief into a workflow-driven IDE redesign. The brief was "fix icons." The real problem: the sidebar exposed tools as a flat list while developers think in phases, and device registration blocked first launch for users who didn't need it. Shipped for Amazon's public September 2025 launch in 8 weeks.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/amazon-kepler

### Sector Alarm — One token layer, seven platforms
Led the Sector Alarm design system: one token layer serving 7 platforms simultaneously (iOS, Android, tablet, Apple Watch, Wear OS, web, desktop). Built all platforms from the same token layer rather than iOS-first. CSAT: 48% to 91%. Red Dot + iF Design Award 2022.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/sector-alarm

### Klarna — Merchant portal: from fragmented tools to unified workflow
Led the Klarna merchant portal redesign for Shoppable Video. 35% of merchants weren't using the portal after signup. Root cause: each tool had its own mental model. Redesigned IA around one mental model, made the portal the hub for analytics, editing, and publishing. Task time: 7 to 3 minutes.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/klarna-portal

### Rakbank — Mobile banking redesign for three user types
Led Rakbank's mobile banking redesign across retail customers, SME owners, and relationship managers using one shared token system. Reframed the brief from "improve the design system" to a full digital transformation after an audit showed inconsistency was a systems problem. App Store rating: 3.2 to 4.6. Task completion +34%, support calls -28%.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/rakbank-mobile

### EasyPark / Arrive — Discount flow: from 80% abandonment to 90% conversion
Redesigned EasyPark's discount application flow on 457,000 annual transactions with 80% abandonment. Inverted the input hierarchy (text first, not camera scanner) with auto-apply, then added a proactive checkout prompt. iOS: 20% to 90% conversion, 32 seconds to 5 seconds.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/easypark-discount

### SonarHome — PropTech platform: brand and product rebuilt together
Led the full redesign of SonarHome, an early-stage Polish PropTech platform. Tackled brand and product simultaneously. Bounce rate: 65% to 30%. Valuation completion: 62% to 86%. Task time: 4:10 to 2:20.
URL: https://petermarc.com/portfolio/sonar-home

## Writing (Blog)

Posts on product design, AI workflows, design systems, and startup execution — published on LinkedIn and cross-posted to the blog.

- [Most people think AI learns in one place it actually learns in three](https://petermarc.com/blog/most-people-think-ai-learns-in-one-place-it-actually-learns-)
- [Most designers treat AI as a shortcut — it's actually a ceiling you borrow until it becomes your floor](https://petermarc.com/blog/most-designers-treat-ai-as-a-shortcut-its-actually-a-ceiling)
- [I stopped writing UX research reports — Claude does it in 12 minutes](https://petermarc.com/blog/i-stopped-writing-ux-research-reports-claude-does-it-in-12-m)
- [Freelance design work shrank 17 percent in eight months after ChatGPT launched](https://petermarc.com/blog/freelance-design-work-shrank-17-percent-in-eight-months-afte)
- [5000 is not the goal](https://petermarc.com/blog/5000-is-not-the-goal)
- [Your best work will never be in your portfolio — that is by design](https://petermarc.com/blog/your-best-work-will-never-be-in-your-portfolio-that-is-by-de)
- [AI isn't replacing product managers. It's replacing status meetings.](https://petermarc.com/blog/ai-isnt-replacing-product-managers)
- [Most product teams have the same three bottlenecks. They just give them different names.](https://petermarc.com/blog/most-product-teams-have-the-same-three-bottlenecks)
- [Most design reviews fail before they start. The problem isn't the designer. It's the format.](https://petermarc.com/blog/most-design-reviews-fail-before-they-start)
- [We are designing AI products with patterns built for forms](https://petermarc.com/blog/we-are-designing-ai-products-with-patterns-built-for-forms)
- [Last week I fixed a bug, rewrote an onboarding flow, and shipped a feature to GitHub](https://petermarc.com/blog/last-week-i-fixed-a-bug-rewrote-an-onboarding-flow-and-shipp)
- [I stopped sending Figma links three months ago](https://petermarc.com/blog/i-stopped-sending-figma-links-three-months-ago)
- [Fintech onboarding loses two thirds of users before the first transaction](https://petermarc.com/blog/fintech-onboarding-loses-two-thirds-of-users-before-the-firs)
- [Mid-level design roles are quietly disappearing — the market split in two](https://petermarc.com/blog/mid-level-design-roles-are-quietly-disappearing-the-market-s)
- [Every fintech card picker looks the same](https://petermarc.com/blog/every-fintech-card-picker-looks-the-same)
- [Design systems were built to help humans agree on what a button looks like](https://petermarc.com/blog/design-systems-were-built-to-help-humans-agree-on-what-a-but)
- [Companies hire full-time designers to feel safe. They hire contractors to move fast.](https://petermarc.com/blog/companies-hire-full-time-designers-to-feel-safe)
- [Fixed price. Unlimited scope. That is not a contract. That is a trap.](https://petermarc.com/blog/fixed-price-unlimited-scope-that-is-not-a-contract)
- [Agentic payments hit 140 million transactions — nobody has solved who is actually in charge](https://petermarc.com/blog/agentic-payments-hit-140-million-transactions)
- [AI made everything look polished. Now polished looks fake.](https://petermarc.com/blog/ai-made-everything-look-polished-now-polished-looks-fake)
- [Smart users are your biggest research risk](https://petermarc.com/blog/smart-users-are-your-biggest-research-risk)
- [Designers are losing confidence — not because they are getting worse](https://petermarc.com/blog/designers-are-losing-confidence-not-because-they-are-getting-worse)
- [AI did not break design — it revealed which parts were already broken](https://petermarc.com/blog/ai-did-not-break-design-it-revealed-which-parts-were-already)
- [Your design system has a new job. It does not know it yet.](https://petermarc.com/blog/your-design-system-has-a-new-job)
- [Mid-level design roles are quietly disappearing](https://petermarc.com/blog/mid-level-design-roles-are-quietly-disappearing-the-market-s)
- [Design schools teach you to design — they do not teach you to lead](https://petermarc.com/blog/design-schools-teach-you-to-design-they-do-not-teach-you-to-)
- [We spent 20 years removing friction — now we are realizing friction was sometimes protecting people](https://petermarc.com/blog/we-spent-20-years-removing-friction-now-we-are-realizing-fri)
- [Everyone rushed to add AI to their workflow — most are using it like an air-fryer](https://petermarc.com/blog/everyone-rushed-to-add-ai-to-their-workflow-most-are-using-i)
- [AI eliminated time as a bottleneck — now judgment is the only thing that matters](https://petermarc.com/blog/ai-eliminated-time-as-a-bottleneck-now-judgment-is-the-only-)
- [Your average user doesn't exist](https://petermarc.com/blog/your-average-user-doesnt-exist)
- [Anthropic engineers just described a design process](https://petermarc.com/blog/anthropic-engineers-just-described-a-design-process)
- [Figma just shipped AI agents that work directly on the canvas](https://petermarc.com/blog/figma-just-shipped-ai-agents-that-work-directly-on-the-canva)
- [An LA jury just ruled that Meta and YouTube designed addictive products](https://petermarc.com/blog/an-la-jury-just-ruled-that-meta-and-youtube-designed-addicti)
- [Your face is no longer proof that you're you](https://petermarc.com/blog/your-face-is-no-longer-proof-that-youre-you)
- [The more AI tools I add the less I finish](https://petermarc.com/blog/the-more-ai-tools-i-add-the-less-i-finish)
- [I just launched my GitHub as a designer](https://petermarc.com/blog/i-just-launched-my-github-as-a-designer)
- [Real-time AI vision just changed how I think about context](https://petermarc.com/blog/real-time-ai-vision-just-changed-how-i-think-about-context)
- [Designers have been undervalued for a decade — not because of the work](https://petermarc.com/blog/designers-have-been-undervalued-for-a-decade-not-because-of-)
- [The faster the solution appears the more suspicious I get](https://petermarc.com/blog/the-faster-the-solution-appears-the-more-suspicious-i-get)
- [A French philosopher wrote it centuries ago — we still have not solved it](https://petermarc.com/blog/a-french-philosopher-wrote-it-centuries-ago-we-still-have-no)
- [Work from anywhere is a logistics problem dressed up as a lifestyle](https://petermarc.com/blog/work-from-anywhere-is-a-logistics-problem-dressed-up-as-a-li)
- [I wore my Apple Watch to bed every night for a year](https://petermarc.com/blog/i-wore-my-apple-watch-to-bed-every-night-for-a-year)
- [Anthropic just shipped a design tool that starts from your codebase](https://petermarc.com/blog/anthropic-just-shipped-a-design-tool-that-starts-from-your-c)
- [Claude Code and Cowork just got computer control access](https://petermarc.com/blog/claude-code-and-cowork-just-got-computer-control-access)
- [Figma just opened the canvas to AI agents](https://petermarc.com/blog/figma-just-opened-the-canvas-to-ai-agents)
- [Apple shipped Liquid Glass as a bold redesign — now they are adding toggles to reduce it](https://petermarc.com/blog/apple-shipped-liquid-glass-as-a-bold-redesign-now-they-are-a)

## Frequently Asked Questions

**What does a product design partner do for a startup?**
A product design partner takes ownership of the full design process — from diagnosing what's unclear or broken in the product, to producing dev-ready prototypes. Unlike a freelancer who executes on briefs, a design partner helps founders define what to build and why, then shapes it into something the team can actually ship.

**How long does a product design engagement take?**
A Diagnose engagement (from €1,500) typically takes 3–5 days. A Plan engagement (from €5,000) produces a full design direction in one to two weeks. An Execute engagement (from €8,000) is scoped per project and usually runs two to six weeks.

**What is the difference between a product designer and a UX designer?**
A UX designer typically focuses on user research and interaction design. A product designer works across the full product — strategy, flows, UI, design systems, and shipping readiness. At the senior or lead level, product designers often work directly with founders or PMs to shape product direction, not just polish interfaces.

**How much does product design cost for a startup?**
Engagements start at €1,500 for a focused diagnosis, €5,000 for a full planning phase, and from €8,000 for execution. Sprint-style engagements typically produce a dev-ready prototype within two weeks.

**What industries does Peter Marc specialize in?**
Fintech, SaaS, mobility, and AI-driven products. Past clients include Klarna, Guesty, Rakbank, Wolt, and Amazon. Most engagements involve complex flows, multi-step onboarding, or design systems for fast-moving teams.

**Can a solo designer handle a full product sprint?**
Yes, for scoped sprints focused on one problem — an onboarding flow, a demo experience, or a specific product moment. Peter Marc works as the sole designer, moving from diagnosis through prototyping without the coordination overhead of an agency.

## Key Pages

- Home: https://petermarc.com/
- About: https://petermarc.com/about
- Services and engagement: https://petermarc.com/startups
- Portfolio: https://petermarc.com/portfolio
- Blog: https://petermarc.com/blog
- Contact: https://petermarc.com/contact
- Book intro call: https://petermarc.com/intro

## Contact

- Email: contact@petermarc.com
- Book intro: https://petermarc.com/intro
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermarc
- Writing (Substack): https://designisdead.substack.com
- Blog RSS: https://petermarc.com/feed.xml
- Sitemap: https://petermarc.com/sitemap.xml

Last updated: 2026-09-03