Behind the canvas

Hi, I’m Yajie, the designer behind designthatsmiles

Design That Smiles was founded in 2025, after years spent designing analytics dashboards. I wanted to bring design back to what I love most, the craft, the people, and the thinking behind how design shapes a business.

Every project is led end-to-end, with collaborators, illustrators, developers, and photographers, brought in when the work calls for it.

I believe 'Real Life over Perfect Pixels', some of my best ideas show up at running through another miles or quiet my body on the mat. Progress matters, but consistency wins, and it's important to smile along the way :)

Work together

Our story

Designthatsmiles started as a simple idea: what if design could make people's days just a little bit brighter? Too many digital experiences felt cold, confusing, or just plain tiring, there had to be a better way.


We believe digital spaces can also feel warm. When it does, people notice… and they come back. From our studio in Amsterdam, we collaborate with thoughtful brands around the world who care about creating great experiences for it's people.

Our principles

01

People first, always

Design is about serving real people, not just pixels. Cookie-cutter isn’t our thing. We listen, learn, and shape every project around your story and your business's needs

01

People first, always

Design is about serving real people, not just pixels. Cookie-cutter isn’t our thing. We listen, learn, and shape every project around your story and your business's needs

02

Craft in detail

We sweat the tiny details, the microcopy, the loading states, because they add up to trust and people notice when you do

02

Craft in detail

We sweat the tiny details, the microcopy, the loading states, because they add up to trust and people notice when you do

03

Clarity beats clever

If mom can understand the flow on her phone, we're on the right track

03

Clarity beats clever

If mom can understand the flow on her phone, we're on the right track

04

Design is a process

There’s no place for overnight success. We work in short iterations, moving to the result bit by bit, and expect your consistent feedback

04

Design is a process

There’s no place for overnight success. We work in short iterations, moving to the result bit by bit, and expect your consistent feedback

From people I worked with

Working with Yajie transformed my challenge website project into a smooth process. She listened to my vision and built a cohesive plan that allowed me to launch confidently in very little time. Her collaborative approach kept me accountable as a solo founder, and she turned my input and feedback into a website that I feel proud of.

Kris Licciardello

Founder, Weaverbird

Working with Yajie transformed my challenge website project into a smooth process. She listened to my vision and built a cohesive plan that allowed me to launch confidently in very little time. Her collaborative approach kept me accountable as a solo founder, and she turned my input and feedback into a website that I feel proud of.

Kris Licciardello

Founder, Weaverbird

Yajie is a creative and opinionated designer. Although you may not always agree with her, she is able to explain extremely well why she wants to design things in a certain way, while at the same time being flexible towards clients.

Mario van Rooij

Quantitative Risk Analyst, ABN AMRO

Yajie is a creative and opinionated designer. Although you may not always agree with her, she is able to explain extremely well why she wants to design things in a certain way, while at the same time being flexible towards clients.

Mario van Rooij

Quantitative Risk Analyst, ABN AMRO

Yajie is an incredibly thoughtful designer and communicator. What stands out is her attention to detail and how deeply she cares about creating designs that genuinely work for users. She approaches feedback with openness and curiosity, turning every project into a true partnership

Peter Ford

Sr. Product Designer, Instapro Group

Yajie is an incredibly thoughtful designer and communicator. What stands out is her attention to detail and how deeply she cares about creating designs that genuinely work for users. She approaches feedback with openness and curiosity, turning every project into a true partnership

Peter Ford

Sr. Product Designer, Instapro Group

Yajie is amazing, creative, thoughtful, and genuinely supportive. Working with her on the Weaverbird project was both fun and inspiring, she brought all my branding ideas and illustrations to life beautifully through the website.

Liam Nguyen

Graphic Designer, Illustrator

Yajie is amazing, creative, thoughtful, and genuinely supportive. Working with her on the Weaverbird project was both fun and inspiring, she brought all my branding ideas and illustrations to life beautifully through the website.

Liam Nguyen

Graphic Designer, Illustrator

Yajie is a fantastic designer who is just as comfortable in digging into the smallest design details as she is in ideating about a brand direction. Her curiosity, determination, and playfulness mean that’s she’s great at striking the balance between producing exceptional work and having fun while doing it.

John Oswald

Knowledgement Management Lead, Pebl

Yajie is a fantastic designer who is just as comfortable in digging into the smallest design details as she is in ideating about a brand direction. Her curiosity, determination, and playfulness mean that’s she’s great at striking the balance between producing exceptional work and having fun while doing it.

John Oswald

Knowledgement Management Lead, Pebl

Let's start something great

Every great project starts with a conversation. Tell us about your vision and we'll help bring it to life

Email

hi@designthatsmiles.com

Instagram

designthatsmiles

Substack

designthatsmiles

Medium

designthatsmiles

Linkedin

designthatsmiles

Book a call

Work together

Design that SMILES ®

©

2026