Elsa Volschenk de Roos — Senior Product Designer

Designing Beyond
the Interface

As Head of UX at TFN, I lead experience strategy within a complex enterprise environment in the fuel sector, shaping systems that connect operational realities with evolving user expectations.

My work spans higher education, government, public health, continental institutions, and financial services – contexts that require well-designed processes and platforms to integrate data, policy and governance.

Through service design, I bring systems thinking into product environments – aligning stakeholders, clarifying complexity and shaping resilient experience ecosystems that extend beyond individual interfaces.

Expertise

Systems Thinking

I analyse relationships between people, workflows, and technology before refining interfaces – preventing reactive fixes and building long-term systemic stability.

Structural Clarity

I quickly identify gaps in visual consistency, interaction logic, language, and overall usability – transforming misaligned environments into cohesive, structured experiences.

Alignment Facilitation

I design and lead collaborative sessions that move teams from ambiguity to informed direction – grounding decisions in user behaviour and translating discussion into focused, actionable outcomes.

Human Insight

I build trust through intentional listening and structured yet open conversations that evolve over time – recognising that meaningful perspective develops progressively.

Approach

01

Define the Landscape

Mapping people, workflows, dependencies, and constraints provides a holistic view of the environment; revealing where challenges originate before solutions are considered.

02

Shape Direction

Structured collaboration clarifies assumptions, sharpens priorities, and defines a clear path forward – integrating user behaviour and operational realities into decision-making.

03

Design with Intent

Interface refinement follows strong design principles – ensuring every visual, behavioural, and linguistic element supports the broader experience.

Selected Service & Platform Work

Outcome-focused examples of enterprise service design, systems improvement, and experience transformation within complex organisational environments.

01

Transactional & Customer Workflow Ecosystem

Redesigned TFN's point-of-sale system, TFN Pay App and customer portal to extend its service offering and improve efficiency for customers and stakeholders. Mapped process flows between POS, TFN Pay App and Customer Portal to determine potential areas of improvement based on customer and support staff feedback. Designed front-end Dashboard for wholesale customers to view and order deals at a glance and conducted research and initial planning for light commercial vehicle fuel industry product design.

FuelDesk Dashboard Redesign and UI Simplification

Fuel Industry Mobile App Comparative Analysis

Process and Journey Flow Mapping to Inform Product Design

Research Questionnaire for LCV Fleet Owners

Mock-ups for Initial LCV Product Concept

02

SME Credit to Cash Solution

Partnered with the product manager to deliver design and systems thinking for Moneyit – a SME funding initiative, enabling small businesses to convert outstanding debtor balances into cash quickly. Mapped end-to-end product planning and process flows, designed dashboards and interfaces for desktop and mobile including service provider onboarding. Facilitated UX workshops with the development team to improve quality and provided creative input for the promotional video, ensuring a cohesive experience across the platform.

Final Onboarding Design for Service Providers

03

Fuel Credit & Driver Platform

Engaged as Product Designer in the development of KiloMITA, a fuel credit and driver financing platform built on the foundations of TFN's enterprise systems. Shaped the mobile application platform and web-based administration system supporting account management and transaction oversight. Designed mobile onboarding flows, credit visibility interfaces, and Uber integration touchpoints. Coordinated the design and development of a shared design system enabling theming flexibility, scalability and consistency across all products.

KiloMITA Quality Assurance Improvements on Initial Implementation

KiloMITA In-App Onboarding Screens for Uber Integration

Figma Design System Based on Material 3 and Existing Components

Figma Design System Implemented with Flutter and Widgetbook

04

Matriculation Board Workflow System

Contributed as business analyst and usability designer for Universities South Africa's system for issuing exemption certificate applications. Mapped existing processes and user requirements in collaboration with internal staff to improve flow and efficiency. Designed system mock-ups prior to each delivery sprint for input and approval. Ensured continuous quality assurance and change management of system transitioning.

05

Continental Cross-border Trade Reporting Systems

Managed product design and quality assurance of online reporting tools enabling traders to report non-tariff barriers and trade grievances across African borders. Worked with organisations such as the AfCFTA, COMESA, EAC, SADC and ECOWAS to facilitate capacity building for delegates from 26 countries in multiple languages. Assisted in expansion of systems to mobile and text-based applications and ensured alignment of SADC non-tariff measures to UNCTAD database.

Borderless Alliance for ECOWAS Reporting

Tripartite for COMESA-EAC-SADC Reporting

SADC NTM Capacity Building Impact Measurement

06

UP Information Audit & Staff Intranet Redesign

Coordinated an institution-wide information audit at the University of Pretoria, analysing data flows, information architectures and management practices across the postgraduate student lifecycle. The findings informed the redesign and redevelopment of the university-wide staff intranet – introducing a central repository, RACI governance, collaboration spaces and microsites.

Mindmap of UP Postgraduate Student Touchpoints

MIKE 2.0 Information Maturity Assessment Results for UP

UP Postgraduate Student Information Flow

Work by Discipline

Selected projects in product design, communication design, data visualisation, and web & mobile platforms across public health, government, and continental organisations.