Recommendations mentioning problem-solving.

I worked very closely with Michael on designing the interactions and user experience on Paperpal features. Much of the trademark Scandinavian simplicity and intuitiveness that you experience on Paperpal is due to Michael's clean aesthetic. Edutech applications can be highly specialized and complex, and there's a bit of a learning curve; Michael's layperson POV helped us innovate and take more risks on — he never once felt compelled to copy from the competition. Throughout the time we worked together, Michael also supported product with UXR initiatives including prototype tests that helped us get a better idea about our users and their needs. Above all, I appreciated working with a designer I could riff ideas off, instead of just working in a directive fashion.

I have had the pleasure of working with Michael for over a year at Cactus Communications, and I can confidently say that he is an exceptional product designer with a broad knowledge of design and development of digital products. He is a team player who is always eager to work with others to turn an idea into reality. Additionally, Michael is motivated by the goal of building great products that solve real-world problems for users, and he is always looking for ways to measure and test the effects of product changes on user behavior. Michael's background in social science gives him a deep understanding of human behavior and how to create engaging digital products. In his current role as a senior product designer at Cactus Communications, Michael has led the design for a web and Word add-in that enhances the writing experience for academic authors worldwide. His skills in ideation and brainstorming, proof-of-concept development, requirements definition, and working with product managers are outstanding. Beyond his technical skills and expertise, Michael is a joy to work with. He is an engaging, collaborative, and straightforward person who is always willing to go the extra mile to ensure the success of a project. I have no doubt that he will be an asset to any team.

Michael is passionate about doing things in a way that makes the end result feel sharp and genuinely useful for the user. He is happy for a solution to be simple, as long as the user is left with the impression that we, as the provider, did our very best to help them with the need they had. That is why Michael immerses himself in the user's situation and combines it with his deep insight into trends and technical possibilities, so he can create the best possible user experience. Michael is never afraid to challenge the established way of doing things — both the solutions we are about to land on and the routines and habits we have built up in the workplace. Maybe it can be even better if we do something different or unexpected? Michael is a great colleague who often takes the initiative on social activities at work. On the whole, he places great value on the connection between the work-related and the social. Michael is not a typical nine-to-five employee; instead, you will very often find that he has come up with interesting new angles on the solutions outside so-called normal working hours.

This recommendation is translated from Danish.

Michael Lajlev has been working as a digital product manager at Center for Digital Youth Care for one year from May 2013 to June 2014. I have been very pleased with Lajlevs commitment and determination to make a difference for children and young people digitally. He has made a great effort to upgrade our counselling platforms Cyberhus.dk and Netstof.dk with new user-friendly features and interactions. He has also been responsible for our digital team, where he has solved digital productions for our customers with great satisfaction and a great outcome. Lajlev has been excellent at cutting to the core of digital projects, focusing on customer satisfaction and profits. Lajlev is a very flexible, co-operative and professionally skilled employee — and it has been of great value for all of us "soft humanists" at CfDP to have an IT tech geek like Lajlev on the team. He has been a good and focused leader for his team — and a great colleague to the rest of the organization's employees. A person we could always count on and who has supported the organization's values. We will miss "Lillefar" on the team and his warm mood and positive energy — but we send him off with the best recommendations, knowing that he will continue to keep an eye on our digital work in the future.

Michael and I have been working closely together on quite few project during his time at Center for Digital Youth Care from 2013-2014. Among others Cyberhus.dk, Netstof.dk and Følgeven.dk. I have come to know Michael as a highly skilled web designer, a sincerely curious observer and a calm and very honest co-worker. Michael is creative, fast and intuitive in his workflow and at the same time he is able to maintain a solid focus on the quality and durability of his products. He has a great eye for simplicity and for boiling down complex situations to minimalist design solutions. I believe any company should consider themselves lucky to have Michael on the team.

It have been a big pleasure to work with Michael from day one in Trustpilot, he is a very skilled and enthusiastic person. Michael always finds great suggestions, solutions and improvements to design elements and features, his mind works best with ways to solve problems and challenges in the best possible way, typically also the easiest way. It is not because he is lazy, my believe is that the simplest solution often is the best one and I think Michael has sort of the same believe.