A woman with black hair and glasses working on a laptop at a wooden table in a modern office space, with a small potted plant nearby and a tiled wall in the background.

ABOUT

I’m Anna Saarmila, a Nordic product designer and innovation consultant with over a decade of experience working with digital products in complex environments. This is my lean, independent practice.

  • I’m a product designer and innovation consultant working at the intersection of design, technology, and real user needs. I help teams bring clarity to complex product challenges and turn ideas into things people actually use. My work often starts when things feel unclear: when a product isn’t landing, when an idea needs validation, or when decisions matter.

    I work hands-on with teams to: frame the right problem, explore and prototype solutions, test assumptions with users and design work through to shipped work. Always balancing user needs, technical constraints, and business goals. I help teams bring clarity to product challenges — whether they’re shaping a new idea, improving an existing product, or deciding what to build next.

  • I’ve worked with teams across startups, scale-ups, and large organizations, including work in innovation incubators, finance, and healthcare. This range has shaped how I work: practical, adaptive, and focused on what’s actually useful in context.

    Examples of past work and case material are available on request. Many of my projects involve internal teams, early-stage ideas, or sensitive contexts, so I share details selectively.

  • I work with early innovation ideas and digital product design. Depending on the situation, this can mean shaping an initial concept, improving an existing product, or speeding things up with a focused sprint. I work closely with teams, coaching innovation and design practices and grounding decisions in real user insight. This often includes talking directly with customers, testing assumptions early, and helping teams learn quickly rather than debating opinions.

    I’ve worked with startups, scale-ups, and larger organizations, and adapt my way of working to the team, context, and constraints at hand. I value practical progress over polished decks. I focus on testing assumptions early, learning fast, and delivering tangible results.

  • I’m currently based between Amsterdam, Helsinki, and Dubai.
    I work with teams both remotely and on site, depending on the project and what’s most useful for the work.

Good product work is about knowing what to focus on.

and what to leave out.

A woman with dark hair and glasses working on a laptop in a bright office or cafe with large windows and indoor plants.

Lumi Product Lab / Anna Saarmila

Let’s work together