Tim Milwa

Interaction Designer

I design interfaces and systems that give form to ambiguous questions. To me, good design is coherent, honest and obvious in hindsight. The future is malleable and should be alive, strange and made.

Currently, I'm researching reflective human-AI interactions at HfG Schwäbisch Gmünd . Previously, I studied Interaction Design and Strategic Design , and worked as a UX Designer at Neugelb .

Open to new opportunities starting in August 2026.

pick a theme

Designing AI for meaning-making is a constructive design research on how to sustain human contribution in the AI-assisted creative practice.

The Couple Company is a speculative and critical design concept on quantifying human relationships using AI and ubiquitous data.

food loop bridges the action and knowledge gap of consumers about more sustainable ways to grow food with a communication system and new label.

MakerPort is a software system to manage and book equipment, rooms and workshop offerings at the Startup Lab of Hochschule Osnabrueck.

Marcus guides visitors through the Varus Battle at Museumspark Kalkriese using context-adaptive audio play and AR artifacts.

A space for experiments and curious detours

My first iPod Touch

The device that introduced me to personal computing and the internet.

YouTubearrow_outward

Dynamicland

Bret Victor's vision of a communal computer. A place where computation lives in the physical world rather than behind screens.

Websitearrow_outward

The Hill Climbing Metaphor

A framework by Norman and Verganti that changed how I think about design-driven innovation.

ResearchGatearrow_outward

WWDC Talk: Fluid Interfaces

The talk that convinced me to study interaction design. It's about the fundamentals of interface design that shape how technology feels.

WWDC Videoarrow_outward

HyperCard

Bill Atkinson's powerful yet accessible tool to build interactive software without code.

Websitearrow_outward

Notion Blocks

Rethinking taking notes from the bottom up through primitives and new abstractions.

Notionarrow_outward

A small collection of ideas that shape my work

Hover and click to explore

Hi, I am Tim.

As an Interaction Designer, I create interfaces between people and technology that shape what we are able to think and do. I see design as a combination of “technology, cognitive science, human need and beauty to produce something that the world didn't know was missing”^[1].
Currently, I research and prototype human-AI interactions that support reflection through friction at HfG Schwäbisch Gmünd. Some other areas of interest include:

Play as a design approach: The tools I keep coming back to are the ones that invite tinkering and fidgeting as a way of thinking. Play often seems inefficient, yet it's fundamentally human (homo ludens). How can play become a deliberate design choice for supporting cognitive engagement?
Malleable software: Software becomes more personal when people can shape it, but complete freedom can become overwhelming. How much should be designed and opinionated by default, and how much should be left for people to make their own?
Tools for Thought: Every interface shapes how we think. The challenge is that every representation also emphasizes some possibilities while hiding others. How can we design tools that enable thinking without fixating it?
Radical innovation: Human-centered design is good for improving what people already know and desire. Design-driven innovation happens by questioning the existing understanding and not through iterating within an existing framing. Where should design listen to users and where should it deliberately move beyond them?

If any of this resonates, feel free to reach out via tim@timmilwa.com.

PS: I am open to new opportunities in interaction, product and experience design starting in August 2026.