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rudi.design · Vienna

UX & AI – Design, Strategy, Teaching

I help teams build products people trust – with research, design systems that agents can read, and AI that explains itself. And I teach others to do the same.

I'm here as …

Pick what fits you best – the page rearranges itself.

Get in touchSee selected work

Services

Three ways to work together

  1. Design

    Design systems from tokens to components – with machine-readable contracts so humans and coding agents build the same thing. Interface design for complex, safety-critical and data-heavy products.

    • Design systems & tokens
    • Agent-ready component contracts
    • Hi-fi prototyping
    • Accessible UI (WCAG 2.2)

  2. Strategy

    UX audits, discovery and blueprints that turn findings into a plan your team can execute. Consulting on AI features: where they help, how they earn trust, how to test them.

    • UX audit & discovery
    • Blueprint & roadmap
    • AI assistant UX
    • Research & usability testing

  3. Teaching

    Courses, workshops and mentoring on UX, design systems and AI prototyping – hands-on, flipped classroom, built on real projects.

    • University courses
    • Diploma programmes
    • AI prototyping workshops
    • 1:1 mentoring (UXM1)

Selected work

Case studies

Client work is under NDA, so these cases are anonymised. The interfaces are interactive mock-ups that show the idea – try them.

01 · Energy trading platform · 2017–2026

A design system that humans and coding agents both understand

Tokens, themes and components with machine-readable contracts – so a designer, a developer and an AI agent build the same screen.

Theme
Density
Trade ticketBase Q1
Quantity
25 MW
Price
84.20 €/MWh
Buy · 25 MW

Semantic tokens in use

  • --surface#ffffff
  • --surface-alt#f1f3f7
  • --text#16181d
  • --text-muted#5a6070
  • --accent#0b63ce
  • --buy#14804a
  • --sell#c2362f
  • --border#d9dde5
  • --space-row12px
  • --font-size15px

Component contract (read by agents)

# TradeTicket.prompt.md
purpose: place one buy or sell order
props:   side: "buy" | "sell"  (required)
         density: "comfortable" | "compact"
tokens:  only semantic --ds-* (never hex)
do:      confirm side in the button label
don't:   colour alone to signal buy/sell
Read the case: A design system that humans and coding agents both understand

02 · B2B customer portal, regulated industry · 2026

An AI assistant that shows its sources

UX consulting for a customer companion: when to answer, how to cite, when to hand over to a human.

Toggle the patterns to compare a generic answer with one that cites its sources, states its certainty and offers a human.

Customer companion

Why is my invoice for September higher than in August?

Your September invoice is 12% higher mainly because the monthly price index in your contract rose. Consumption stayed nearly the same.

Certainty: high – based on your contract and invoice

Sources

  • [1]Contract §4 Price index
  • [2]Invoice 09/2026, line 3
  • [3]Consumption Aug–Sep
Why this answer?

I compared both invoices line by line. The difference comes from line 3 (index price). Line 1 (consumption) changed by less than 1%.

Read the case: An AI assistant that shows its sources

03 · Standards body for road, rail and transport · 2026

From UX audit to a dictionary for technical regulations

Heuristic audit of three web readers for technical guidelines, then the UI/UX specification for a dictionary add-on built by an external vendor – through to go-live.

Audit findings

  1. highDefined terms are explained only in a separate annex – readers leave the text to look them up.
  2. highToolbar uses unlabelled icons; functions are not found and have no accessible names.
  3. mediumMetadata in light grey fails contrast (2.6:1, needs 4.5:1).
  4. lowThe three readers name the same action differently.
Read the case: From UX audit to a dictionary for technical regulations

Currently & recently with

  • VERBUND
  • TTTech
  • FSV Straße – Schiene – Verkehr
  • Carl Reiner
  • Merck / MSD
  • BFI Wien
  • FH Technikum Wien
  • WU Wien

Names shown as text only. Selected organisations from the last years.

Teaching

I teach what I practise

Since 2020 I have been teaching UX, interface design and design systems at universities and in adult education – and I designed the programmes I teach.

  • BFI Wien

    Diploma programme UX Designer – concept and lead trainer. Four cohorts completed, the fifth starts November 2026.

  • FH Technikum Wien

    Master UX Management (since 2020) and Design System Management in the Master Creative Technologies.

  • WU Wien

    Workshop “Prototyping with AI” for the Innovation Office.

  • Previously

    New Design University

    Tangible prototyping and UX/UI in the Master Management by Innovation.

  • Previously

    Talent Garden & TheVentury

    Prototyping modules, mentoring and corporate workshops.

UXM1 – individual UX course

One learner, one mentor, one real project

UXM1 is my 1:1 mentorship for people who want to learn UX properly without sitting in a classroom: the full material of my UX diploma programme for self-study, plus a mentor who reviews your work every two weeks.

Ask about UXM1
  1. 14 one-to-one online sessions of 45 minutes, every two weeks over one semester
  2. Eight modules from UX basics, research and IA to prototyping, testing and career
  3. One personal UX project from interviews to tested prototype – your portfolio case
  4. Course material, exercises and recordings; certificate and LinkedIn recommendation

About

Hi, I'm Rudi.

Portrait of Rudi Zwieselbauer: long curly dark hair, beard, smiling, dark blue sweaterPortrait of Rudi Zwieselbauer: long curly dark hair, beard, smiling, dark blue sweater

For 18 years I have worked as developer, UX architect and founder. Today I lead UX and the design system of an energy trading platform, design safety-critical medical interfaces, and help organisations bring AI into products responsibly.

I studied Multimedia Arts in London and UX Management in Vienna, and I am a Certified ScrumMaster, IREB CPRE and Certified Professional for Usability Engineering.

Milestones

  1. 2008

    Developer and project manager in Vienna agencies

  2. 2012

    Founded my studio – today rudi.design

  3. 2017

    UX architect & design-system lead for an energy trading platform

  4. 2018

    MAS UX Management, FH Technikum Wien

  5. 2020

    Lecturer at FH Technikum Wien and NDU; safety-critical medical UI

  6. 2026

    Agent-ready design systems; fifth cohort of my UX diploma programme

Contact

Let's talk

Tell me briefly what you are working on. I answer within two working days.

What is the project, the goal and the rough timeline?

Prefer e-mail? rudi@zwieselbauer.com