Hi!

I’m Elina Ontronen and I live in Tampere, Finland. I don’t take myself too seriously, and I don’t think the things we use every day should feel serious either. A little play makes almost anything better. I laugh hardest at the moments I’m not supposed to, and I’ll never say sorry for a good dad joke.

Why not make it fun to use?

To me, design is like clay. It moulds to the situation, the need and the function. It isn’t only looking nice, and it isn’t only good usability. It’s emotions, needs, safety and fun.

Life is boring and filled with expectations, so why not make the UI feel fun to use? Anyone can make a button that works. I want to make one that feels good to press, whether the fun is in the visuals or in the words.

The materials I work with have changed over the years. The question hasn’t. What does this person need, what is getting in their way, and what would actually help?

Elina in black and white, peering through her glasses with a cheeky look, rising out of an orange clay blob

Hand-drawn figure pointing up at a lit light bulb

I’m not new to design. I’m new to doing it digitally.

I think in connections. I see how one part of a system pulls on another, and I can often feel when something isn’t working before I can say why. Then I keep looking until I can. I’m also endlessly curious about why people do what they do.

So I start from the inside out. What is the person carrying when they meet the service, and what do they need to trust it?

Good enough for now, safe enough to try

I work iteratively and I’m comfortable with uncertainty. Years of facilitating taught me to make decisions with incomplete information and to ask the questions that clarify a brief.

I’m often the person who bridges languages. Coaches and managers, HR and technology, organisations and the people they serve.

I use Figma, Miro and Adobe Creative Cloud, and AI as a design partner to push against rather than follow.

I lead processes, not people.

I’d rather clear the way than crack the whip. People are experts in their own work, so my job is to keep the process running and the blockers out of the way.

What I bring along

User research
Service design
Interviews
Workshops
Prototyping
Design systems
Facilitation
AI
Figma
Everyday tools
Illustrations
Graphics

Design has always been part of my work

1996 to 2002
Product and interior design
Trained in product design, then designed interiors for public spaces as a key account manager.
2010 to 2012
Craft design and instruction
Built models and wrote knitting and crochet patterns at Taito Pirkanmaa, and completed my craftsman qualification in Ikaalinen.
15+ years
Designing services for people
As a coach, HR specialist and team lead I designed webinar services, online coaching, onboarding and a learning platform.
Now
Adding digital to the toolkit
Studying UX and service design and mentoring a startup design team.

Salsa, audiobooks and yarn

When I’m not looking for inspiration for my next project, you’ll most likely find me dancing salsa. At home I listen to audiobooks and knit or doodle something.