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Hi, I’m Stefan. An American Web & Visual Designer.
I craft strategy, identity, & digital experiences. Interested in how visual & strategic design inspire new spheres for imagination.
From startups to B2B firms,
a brief overview:
I've leveraged a combination of concept projects, freelance work, and agency experience to create products and identities that stand apart. I've worked on larger teams for B2B firms and award-winning marketing sites to smaller projects with non-profits & startup schools looking to establish a polished identity for their bold ideas and programs.
As a growing designer, I'm confident I won't have all the answers, but I'll never be short of questions. I prioritize honest communication and an analytical approach that sidesteps trendy visuals for the longevity of functional use. And my personal bent towards self-examination and humility affords a "beginner's mind" that gives teams a viewpoint of what's possible rather than what's not.
Clients
Guild
XQ Schools
x8 Data
Peoplegrove
Dirt Rich
Technical Skills
Figma
InVision
Notion
Webflow
After Effects
InDesign
Photoshop
Illustrator
UX /UI Skills
User Research
Information Architecture
User Flows + Journey Mapping
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Design Skills
Strategy
Concept Development
Creative Direction
Web Design
Web Development
Content Design
Languages:
English – Native speaker
Portuguese – A1
Spanish – A2
Education
Certificate Interface Design
Shift Nudge (Late Summer 2023)
Certificate Graphic Design
Shillington School of Design(Summer 2022)
Certificate UX Design
Springboard(Summer 2022)
BA Communication & Rhetoric
Texas A&M University(Spring 2010)
Approach
Relentless about the Research
To create an effective design future, it's important to understand the design past. Stakeholder conversations, user interviews, brand architecture, product research, competitive reviews, internal audits, etc. all give shape to a clear sense of where to go and how we'll know what success looks like.
Clarity in Communication
Design that is only understood by other designers is already an extinct artifact. Modules and components that can't be described, reasoned, or clarified fail to win converts. I try my level best to focus on communication with developers, project managers, clients and others as a hard skill--to express ideas clearly, explain decisions concisely, and listen more attentively.
Scalable Branding
Product UI is a single asset. A larger brand picture exists that includes other digital assets such as brand foundations, marketing principles, experience drivers and motion principles. Designing a coherent UI requires seeing the forest for the trees so that the local styles (type, color, image treatment, tone of voice) correspond to global directives (art direction, physical rollout, user journeys, developer libraries, etc.)
Design = System
Design systems exists for a reason--they coordinate, corral, and guide a team's consistent changes. I've made a habit of pushing local, mid-sprint changes to the global system (once client-approved). I've learned the hard way that between convoluted canvas boards and the next iteration of requests, local changes have global impact and these details can easily become lost when keeping apace with project timelines.
Attitude > Aptitude
As I continue to narrow gaps in my skillset and exceed expected outcomes, my (cautious) excitement to fail and commitment to risk is the all important formula that ensures that as the challenges of work change, my attitude does not.
Experience
Athletics
UX / UI Design Intern
Jan 2023 - April 2023
Freelance
Digital Designer
May 2022 - current
Foxtail Förskola
Co-Founder / Project Director
June 2018 - current
Glacier Institute
Program Manager
May 2016 - May 2018