# Madsen Vale > Design @ Universal Music • Shipping Frido.app Location: Berlin, Berlin, Germany Profile: https://flows.cv/madsen Hands-on at every step, I design, mentor, structure processes, and support bold ideas, using AI to accelerate progress when it helps. I’ve done this for Fortune 500 companies like Mercedes-Benz, Universal Music, and Coca-Cola, as well as for startups across various stages and industries. Outside of work, I build and ship indie apps through Frido & Friends, vibe with Midnight Valley, and offer pro bono guidance to designers. You’ll often see me keeping a positive attitude and advocating for fairness. Currently: § I design experiences for world-renowned artists and fans at Universal Music Group. Previously: § Directed design at a prop tech fighting the carbon neutrality fight. § Managed a team of multi-disciplinary designers at a health tech focused on mental disorders. § Led the design of consumer-facing features at Mercedes-Benz. § Founded the design systems chapter at a video streaming platform. § Crafted interactive experiences for Coca-Cola. ## Work Experience ### Principal Product Designer @ Universal Music Group Jan 2024 – Present | Berlin, Germany Leading design & designers at a music streaming platform. ### Maker @ Frido & Friends Jan 2019 – Present A passion project where I get to design, build and ship my own take on apps to tackle everyday little challenges. ### Head of Design @ Comgy Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 | Berlin, Germany Comgy is a SaaS proptech enabling buildings to achieve carbon neutrality through the intelligent use of energy data. — Led an eight-person design team across product and marketing, setting the mid- and long-term vision, clarifying priorities and making sure design had a steady voice in important decisions. — Shaped the core principles behind Comgy’s operating system, creating a coherent foundation for how the product behaves and evolves. — Designed Comgy’s new brand and led its rollout across product and marketing, making the company’s presence clearer and more credible for customers and partners. ### Product Design Lead @ Selfapy Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | Berlin, Germany Selfapy is a prescription self-help solution for the treatment of mental disorders. — Led a team of product, instructional and character designers, keeping the work coherent and focused on high-value engagement and growth features. — Brought structure to how the team handled design documentation and regulatory requirements for a certified medical device. — Redesigned the learning experience from the ground up, introducing conversational patterns that made the journey clear, supportive and motivating to complete. ### Product Design Lead @ Mercedes-Benz.io Jan 2019 – Jan 2021 | Berlin, Germany Mercedes-Benz is, well, Mercedes-Benz. They make cars, but also perfumes and hats. — Led design for the novel Fuel & Pay feature, allowing millions of drivers to pay for fuel directly through the car’s infotainment system and mobile apps. — Introduced dynamic maintenance states in the mobile service app to make servicing clearer and help users book the right appointments more easily. — Worked across multiple business units to align flows and requirements, helping features scale reliably across apps, in-car systems, and different markets. ### Senior Product Designer @ Zattoo Jan 2016 – Jan 2019 | Berlin, Germany Zattoo is one of Europe’s leading TV streaming providers. — Designed growth and engagement features across TV, mobile, gaming consoles and web, focusing on faster content discovery and smoother everyday use. — Shaped whitelabel products for big telcos like 1&1 and Salt, making sure the experience fit each partner while staying close to the core principles. — Founded the design language system chapter, bringing consistency to 10+ platforms, reducing duplicated work and making features behave predictably. ### Visual Designer @ Graebert - ARES CAD software Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 | Berlin, Germany ### Head of Design @ Savings United GmbH Jan 2012 – Jan 2015 | Hamburg, Germany Savings United integrates coupon platforms into renowned media outlets like The Independent, WIRED and Newsweek. — Built the design and communications team from scratch, setting up clear ways of working and giving the company the capability to produce high-quality product and marketing work in-house. — Designed a scalable platform for international markets that balanced SEO requirements with regional behavior, making expansion across Europe, Latin America and Asia more reliable. — Led large-scale campaigns that improved revenue performance and gave partners an edge in competitive markets. ### Head of Digital @ 101° Macaco Jan 2008 – Jan 2012 | Brazil 101° Macaco was a boutique agency trusted by major brands and known for experiences that bridged digital and real-world customer interactions. — Led award-winning projects for global brands, shaping how they approached emerging digital channels and giving clients new ways to connect with their audiences. — Designed and directed the development of Brazil’s first Coca-Cola Facebook app, opening the door for the brand’s early presence on social media platforms. — Experimented with emerging technologies like augmented reality, geolocation and mixed-reality installations, shaping ideas that fed into future creative paths for our clients. ### Web Designer @ Grupo de Comunicação O POVO Jan 2007 – Jan 2007 | Brazil ### Web Designer @ NOIX Internet Jan 2006 – Jan 2006 | Brazil ### Web Designer @ UNI7 - Centro Universitário 7 de Setembro Jan 2004 – Jan 2004 | Brazil ## Education ### Specialization in Interaction Design UC San Diego ### Postgraduate Degree in Visual Arts Senac Brasil ### Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media Studies UNI7 - Centro Universitário 7 de Setembro ### Reserve Officer in Infantry Brazilian Army ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/madsenvale - Portfolio: https://madsen.today - Portfolio: https://frido.app --- Source: https://flows.cv/madsen JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/madsen/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-31