Designing Germany’s Digital Funding Platform
Over 1.5 years, I worked on the experience design of a nationwide digital funding platform aimed at making public funding more transparent, efficient, and user-friendly.
The project focused on two key user groups — funding seekers and funding providers — brought together through research, co-creation, and iterative testing to shape a scalable, human-centered digital service.
Role
Strategic Designer
Industry
Public Sector
Duration
1,5 Years
AREAS OF FOCUS
User
Research
Understanding the needs, pain points, and motivations of applicants and funding providers through qualitative research, journey mapping, and hypothesis-driven interviews.
Service
Design
Translating research insights into holistic service blueprints that connect user experience, operational processes, and digital touchpoints within a scalable public service ecosystem.
Interaction
Design
Designing intuitive, testable prototypes and interaction flows in Figma to simplify navigation, improve usability, and enable smart discovery and configuration features.
Design
Systems
Creating a reusable design component library and governance model to ensure visual consistency, design efficiency, and long-term maintainability across future digital products.
CHALLENGE
Public funding in Germany was fragmented, opaque, and inefficient — spread across disconnected portals and paper-based processes.
Funding Seekers struggled to find suitable programs, while funding providers lacked modern tools to publish and manage them.
The project required a platform that addressed two fundamentally different user groups with equally complex needs:​​​
Funding Seekers
​
Citizens, SMEs, and organizations searching for and applying to relevant programs.​​
Funding Providers
​
Ministries and agencies responsible for creating, managing, and updating funding programs.
APPROACH
Observe​
Understand
Ideate
Envision
Solution
Observe​
Insight Synthesis
Design System & Prototype development
Refinement of flows and interactions
Design System Finalization
Observe​
Ideation Workshop
Qualitative Interviews: Seekers/ Providers
User Testing
Recruitment
Ecosystem mapping
Preperation for rollout
OBSERVE & UNDERSTAND
The project began with a structured kick-off and an ecosystem mapping to understand the broader funding landscape.
Qualitative interviews followed to capture insights, needs, and challenges from both applicants and providers.
IDEATE
Insights from qualitative interviews with both seekers and providers were analyzed to identify key needs, patterns, and barriers.
The findings were synthesized into clear design directions and early system requirements.
ENVISION
User testing sessions were conducted with both seekers and providers to validate prototypes and interaction logic. Insights from testing informed iterative refinements of flows and the finalization of the design system for scalable implementation.
Funding Seekers ​
Funding Providers ​​
REFINEMENT
Applying insights to refine the prototype and improve the design.
8
Reactions
Expectations & Considerations
20
Findings, requirements & possible solutions
22
Design improvements
SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS
Funding Seekers ​
Search & Discovery
Intuitive, Google-like search to easily find relevant funding programs
Save-Progress Feature
Applicants can pause and continue their application anytime without losing data.
Smart Filtering
Tailored program results based on profile and eligibility.
Application Status
Clear progress tracking and updates throughout the application process.
Funding Providers ​​
Modular Form Editor
Create, configure, and publish funding forms independently —
no developer handover required.
Guided User Interface
Real-time previews, validation, and logic transparency for efficient workflows.
Role-Based Access
Editors, reviewers, and administrators only see relevant tasks and data.
Smart Templates
Predefined defaults based on funding types and policy frameworks for faster setup.
LEARNINGS & REFLECTIONS
Early involvement of real users was key to validate assumptions​
Designing for public sector requires balancing user-centered design with strict administrative requirements