ASTRID BIN
astrid_hood

I make what is perfect more human

I'm Astrid.
I'm a designer, researcher and technologist.

I'm a product designer with over a decade of experience in building technical tools for real people. I specialize in complex workflows, design systems, and beautiful interfaces. My background includes developing brand touchpoints, designing developer environments, conducting user research, and creating scalable systems that serve tens of thousands of users.

My work combines deep usability with strong, expressive visuals across logos and brand assets, multi-pane interfaces with layered navigation, and intuitive, beautiful hardware interfaces.

I'm based in Berlin, and I work globally.

Case studies
The Bela Brand
The Bela Brand
visual design, branding, communication
Designing Metrix
Designing Metrix
research, web development, SaaS design and deployment
The Bela IDE
The Bela IDE
UI design, UX design, UX writing, interface design
Gliss Upgrade Tool
Gliss Upgrade Tool
UX design, workflow, interface design, documentation
Little Character
Little Character
font design, historical research
The Gliss Manual
The Gliss Manual
documentation, graphic design, video production

Products &

Interfaces

I design beautiful interfaces, brands and products that communicate with clarity and intent.

My process considers four interconnected dimensions:

  • Visual
    How it looks (form, composition, rhythm, and tone)
  • Physical
    Its material presence (shape, size, proportion, and tactility)
  • Communication
    How it's understood (what it says and the voice it carries)
  • Behaviour
    How it works in the world (its use, context, and lifecycle over time)

Visual &
Product
Bela stickets on a table
A graphic promoting Trails, a two-dimensional touch module. It features a stylised grid being bent in three dimensions, with a single glowing red point traversing its curves.
A sample of Little Character font, with Lorem Ipsum text in various sizes. The text is at a 30 degree angle, red text on a white field.
A promotional image for SALT and SALT+, showing the top of the module. The text reads
A logo for Women In Music Tech, which looks like a PCB trace making the letters WIMT
A digital render of Bela Gem Stereo. The shot is top-down on the device which is centred on a grey field showing its logo. The Little Character font used as pin and device labels.
Logo for Intersections festival, consisting of two shapes coming together and the text underneath
A Bela Mini facing towards the camera, showing off the Bela logo on its surface. On the left are two audio adapter cables.
A digital rendering of the Bela Gem Multi packaging. It's a brown cardboard tuck box on a grey field, and the product name
A graphic showing the Trill logo and 5 Trill sensors, with arrows showing the axes of touch sensing for each form factor.
A hand on a bank of five Gliss modules, surrounded by other modular objects on a metal table. The text reads
An image with the words
Logo for D_GEN Studio. An arrow separates the D and GEN, and the font is a modified VCR font.

Interface &
Experience Design
sample2
Screenshot of a website
Screenshot of all Gliss menu modes
thumb
A settings panel rendered in light and dark mode
A screenshot of a knowledge base
sample3

Hardware &
Physical Interfaces
20250407_095228
20250510_150439
salt
IMG_3001
2
20240503_152943
Plastic geometric pieces on a table, some lit up.
trails_mockup
kids_gm
keppi1

Research

I have a proven track record of producing insightful, impactful research across culture and technology.

I ask the right questions, design thoughtful methodologies, and apply rigorous analysis to understand how people use things any why.  My work generates meaningful knowledge that informs both design and broader cultural understanding. 

My work has been peer-reviewed and published internationally. 
For a complete list, please see my Google Scholar profile.

Instruments

I care deeply about the way culture and technology intersect through music.

Working both within and beyond my own culutral context I design and build digital musical instruments, typically focused on percussion. This includes software, hardware, and material implementation, often developed in close collaboration with other musicians. 

I love making instruments. I'm driven by the challenge of innovating across materials, forms, and interaction models. My instrument practice forms a vital feedback loop with my interface research, allowing me to test and ground theory in experimentation and lived experience. 

Here are some examples: 
Body, Bend
Body, Bend
instruments
Mission Control
Mission Control
hardware, instruments
Skate Embaire
Skate Embaire
instruments
The Star Trek Instrument
The Star Trek Instrument
hardware design, research, instruments

Speaking

I deliver engaging talks for creative, academic, and industry audiences. 

My talks explore the intersection of technology, creativity, and human behaviour, drawing on two decades of hands-on experience in interface deisgn, digital instruments, and cultural research. I speak with clarity, depth, energy, and an unfailing sense of humour, whether on stage, online, or in workshops.

Need a keynote speaker, panelist, or someone to connect design and culture in surprising ways? There's samples below. Let's talk.

Contact

Email me

Got a problem only I can solve?
Want to talk about a product, brand, or something that doesn't yet exist?
Need a speaker with sharp ideas and a fresh perspective?
Just want to connect?

Reach me here:

heyastrid (at) astridbin.com

Download my CV

Curious about my background in design, research, and public speaking? It's all in my CV:

Click here (PDF)

ASTRID BIN

Making what is perfect more human.


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