Malte Völkner, portrait

I’m Malte, a Berlin-based product design lead.

I focus on personal finance and retail brokerage.

My work combines design, strategy and research to help teams build clear and usable products.

Hand holding an iPhone showing the SMARTBROKER+ retirement portfolio, with plants in the background

Read more about my work

Currently, I lead the product design team at Berlin’s Smartbroker AG.

Hand holding an iPhone showing the Dienstplan app in a sunlit lounge

About my time at SMF

Before that, I built apps at SMF.

Talks

In these talks, I ramble about design practice from a product perspective.

Talk: Voice of Customer at Smartbroker, Deutsche Bank Technology Talks 2024

Watch on YouTube

How we make user feedback actionable with “Voice of Customer” at Smartbroker

2024 at Deutsche Bank’s Technology Talks, Berlin

Talk: You are not your user, Smart Mobile Factory Berlin 2020

Watch on YouTube

Explaining to product people, devs, and CEOs why you are not your user

2020 at Smart Mobile Factory, Berlin

Talk: Do's and Don'ts of voice user interfaces, Smart Home Conference Cologne 2019

Watch on YouTube

Do’s and Dont’s when designing for voice user interfaces

2019 at Smart Home Conference, Cologne

Academia

After doing both my Bachelor’s and Master’s at the University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam, I came back as lecturer, starting in 2023. I’d say that most of my way of working stems from there.

Projects

They’re quite a few years old, but still catch the core of how I do design. More recent projects are, unfortunately, not publicly available. For a more recent impression, check out my work at Smartbroker AG.

VIA brainstorming tool project

This project is not public.
Contact me for access.

Use less post-its with VIA

2019 Student project

Finn financial assistant project

This project is not public.
Contact me for access.

Finn, a financial assistant

2018 Student project

Google Streams table-less calendar project

This project is not public.
Contact me for access.

Google Streams, a table-less calendar

2019 Student project

Pet projects

Were you looking for something else? Here’s a few of my non-work projects.

Wartekorb iOS app showing an item waiting before a purchase decision

More about Wartekorb

Wartekorb, an iOS app that puts time between impulse and purchase

Grand ohne Vier – Skatlisten-App

More about Grand ohne Vier

Grand ohne Vier, a modern iOS score tracker for Skat

CABO card game rules project

More about CABO

Rules for CABO, our flowery interpretation of the famous card game

3D printing and published models on Makerworld

Go to Makerworld

My collection of 3D printing models, published on Makerworld

Associate Lecturer · FH Potsdam · Winter 2025/26

From Mockup to Market

In collaboration with Smartbroker, I brought everyday product design into the classroom. Students took an idea through concept development, user feedback, stakeholder presentations and developer handoff. The course focused on making design decisions that hold up beyond the mockup.

Explore student projects on Incom

Associate Lecturer · FH Potsdam · Summer 2023

AI, but make it practical.

With 18 students, I explored practical applications of AI in UX design. We worked with AI tools, developed interface concepts and discussed the ethical questions involved. The course focused on where AI can support everyday design work.

Explore the course on Incom

Master’s thesis · FH Potsdam · In cooperation with Smartbroker AG

Trading apps, investor risk and the influence of interface design

For my Master’s thesis, I studied how trading app interfaces can influence investor behaviour. I compared seven German neobroker apps and explored design changes that add considered friction to support more deliberate trading decisions.

Read the abstract

Bachelor’s thesis · FH Potsdam

Countering fake news online with interaction design and friction

My Bachelor’s thesis explored how interaction design could use friction in response to fake news online. It asks how interfaces might encourage people to pause and assess information before engaging with or sharing it.

Read the thesis