“Kerstin supported me in decision-making during a rebrand. She makes trade-offs explicit, cuts through stakeholder noise, and turns ambiguity into a clear next step.”
Five ways to work
Every format is scoped to what the business needs now.
Fractional or project-based.
Clarity first → Strategy Sprint / Diagnostic
One direction across stakeholders → Alignment Workshop
Senior leadership for a phase → Fractional Lead
Steady course correction → Ongoing Strategic Direction
An outside view on your own decision → 1:1 Work / Strategy Sparring
We confirm the fit in a free 20-minute call.
Strategy Sprint / DiagnosticFind what’s blocking you. Decide what to change.
- For
- Something isn’t moving and nobody can say exactly why.
- You get
- Diagnosis, priorities, decision points, a workable setup.
- Model
- Fixed-scope package.
1:1 Work / Strategy SparringA thinking partner with experience to share.
- For
- People looking for advice, an outside view or someone to sharpen and challenge their thinking—whether they’re doing something for the first time or building on years of experience.
- You get
- Decision clarity and next steps.
- Model
- Single session or short package.
Fractional LeadSenior leadership for a phase.
- For
- Senior Brand and Design leadership for a phase.
- You get
- Embedded leadership with a defined mandate and capacity.
- Model
- Monthly retainer.
Ongoing Strategic DirectionCourse correction over weeks or months.
- For
- Course correction over weeks or months, without embedding.
- You get
- Steady decisions and fewer false starts.
- Model
- Lower-intensity monthly retainer.
Alignment WorkshopOne direction. Clear owners.
- For
- Teams that need one direction and clear owners.
- You get
- Shared direction, ownership, decision paths. Preparation and follow-up included.
- Model
- Fixed package.
Working together
Topics across all formats
Methods, credentials, and proof
Kerstin Ludwig combines 25+ years of brand leadership with practical systems thinking.
Her work is informed by executive design leadership, strategy, futures thinking, and AI practice: the disciplines needed to make brand systems hold across teams, decisions, touchpoints, and AI.
Certified through the DLX Design Leadership Executive Programme 2025 at Future London Academy, with an AI Expert credential from Section; IDEO U certificates in Prototyping with AI, Foundations in Design Thinking, and Human-Centered Insights; Sweathead’s Strategy Accelerator; and a Futures Thinking programme with Hyper Island and the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.
Rankscale has also recognised Kerstin Ludwig’s AI Search expertise with a personal badge, connecting her brand and governance practice with AI Search.
References
Examples of Kerstin’s work include Shopware’s brand hubs and DAM for brand infrastructure and enablement, and Scout24’s in-house creative studio for team structure and creative operations. The Selected Work & Outcomes overview records her role and the context behind each result.
Recognised by the Red Dot Award in 2022 and the German Brand Award in 2020 for brand and design leadership at Scout24. Featured by HORIZONT and Future London Academy as a DLX alumna; keynote speaker at Marketingtag Austria and Strategic Advisor at SISTERHOOD.
Good fit
- An ambition with real organisational relevance
- Access to decision-makers and relevant teams
- Willingness to change decisions and ways of working
- Need for strategic and operational senior perspective
Not for
- Pure execution or production extension
- Junior briefs without access to ownership and decisions
- A finished solution without internal willingness to change
- Pure AI tool implementation or general AI training
