Roots in IT.Work in product.
Senior Product Designer with 15+ years shipping end-to-end product across agency, startup and platform work.

Today I lead product design and the design system at SkillUp, a B2B LMS used across the USA, India and Europe. I design multi-role workflows for admins, instructors and learners, and handle team onboarding and permissions.
My foundation is technical. I started as an IT Manager, and it shows in how I partner with engineering: I read and adjust components, open small PRs when it unblocks the team, and use AI to work through anything past my level.
I use AI tools in production every day, not as a novelty. Claude with MCP integrations sits at the centre of my process, plugged into Figma, docs and research. I know what these tools do well, where they break and how to design around it.
Outside work I play federated roller hockey in the Portuguese National Masters +35 Championship, play padel and futsal, train at the gym, and I am a father of two.
Experience
- 2025 — now
SkillUp (Kautak Learning)
Senior Product & UI/UX Designer · Remote
Sole designer owning design direction for the SkillUp Learning Management System, a B2B SaaS across the USA, India and Europe. Owns the design system and multi-role flows for admin, instructor and learner.
- 2023 — 2025
Appsellerator / Gamearound
Senior Product & UI/UX Designer · Remote
End-to-end product design for software and games. Flows, prototypes and production-ready UI at startup pace, in tight partnership with product owners and engineering.
- 2020 — 2023
WOWDigital
Senior UI/UX Designer & Project Manager · Almancil
Product redesigns for real estate, e-commerce and service clients. Multi-stakeholder projects owned from research to delivery.
- 2016 — 2020
Creathing.pt
Founder & Product Designer · Almancil
Full-cycle product design for fintech, health, real estate and e-commerce: research, prototyping, UI and iterative validation.
- 2007 — 2016
Prefangol & Way2DS
IT Manager & Graphic Designer · Faro
The technical foundation: network management, brand design and internal digital projects. It shapes how I think about systems and partner with engineering.
Why work with me
Real experience
15+ years shipping product, so everything runs without surprises.
InexperienceDesign inconsistencies and overlooked details.
AI in the process
AI speeds things up, sparks ideas and automates the repetitive, so time goes to the real problems.
All by handManual work that limits speed and falls behind in a market that rewards iteration.
Future-ready design
Modern, scalable solutions that grow with the business.
Outdated conceptsStale design that does not keep up with the brand.
Close collaboration
Your vision leads. I work closely with you, with precision and creativity.
Detached communicationPoor feedback loops and misaligned results.
Regular updates
Frequent progress updates and on-time deliverables.
Unstructured workUncertain timelines and last-minute changes that compromise quality.
Clients and teams
Brands I've worked with over the years, from the Algarve to the world.
Also: Golden Visa Portugal · SulSaúde · Almancil Clima · Don Alfonso · Stone Valley · Mutant Velocity · Algodão d’Água · MegaBetão
What clients say
From people who worked with me and/or with my studio, Creathing.pt.
Working with Creathing means a professional, exemplary standard of service.
Read the full testimonial
“Working with Creathing means a professional, exemplary standard of service. Led by Nelson and João, it is a highly cohesive team. Efficiency, competence, loyalty, full availability and a fast response to our requests rest on a spirit of mutual help, the pillars of our current successful partnership, which we intend to keep and grow in future projects.”
Translated from Portuguese
More than designers and developers, these professionals stand out for the attention they give our projects
Read the full testimonial
“It is a great pleasure to congratulate Creathing. We were lucky to start working with this talented, well-coordinated team and we are sure our partnership will be a long one. More than designers and developers, these professionals stand out for the attention they give our projects and the constant input that refines the final products. Always helpful and fair, we can only thank them for the partnership and friendship and wish them continued success.”
Translated from Portuguese
What I thought would be really complicated became very simple with Creathing’s help.
Read the full testimonial
“A few years ago I started a project almost for fun, to keep myself busy in my free time and earn some money. After two years selling on Portuguese marketplaces (OLX, CustoJusto), Nelson suggested I open an online shop where I could sell in an organised way. Honestly, at first it sounded good but I was wary and thought it would be too much work for me. He insisted so much that we found a name, registered the domain and built the shop. What I thought would be really complicated became very simple with Creathing’s help. They set up the online sales platform and all the design, and taught me to add products and categories simply and easily. Thanks to Creathing, GoLikeAPro.pt keeps growing, and whenever I need them they are ready to help.”
Translated from Portuguese
AI in my daily work
- Claude + MCPThe centre of my daily process, plugged into Figma, docs and research.
- Figma AILayout generation, UI kits and automation.
- ChatGPTUX writing, ideation, personas and flow planning.
- HiggsfieldImage and video generation, concept exploration.
- UX PilotAI-assisted UI generation and rapid layout drafts.
Skills
- End-to-end product design
- Design systems & token architecture
- Atomic Design
- Multi-role SaaS workflows
- AI-native design workflows
- Prototyping & rapid iteration
- Accessibility (WCAG)
- UX writing & microcopy
- Visual craft, typography & motion
- Agile & Scrum
- HTML, CSS, React, Git
Education
- 2025 —User Experience Design Certification (UXDC)The Starter · in progress
- 2025 —Google UX Design Professional Certificate (with AI)Coursera · in progress
- 2026Prompt Engineering For EveryoneSkillUp Online
- 2025Accessibility in UX DesignThe Starter · UXDC
- 2008Engenharia Informática / Computer EngineeringUniversidade do Algarve · incomplete
Recent training
- 2026Prompt Engineering For EveryoneSkillUp Online
- 2026UX/UI Design (Intermédio) — UXDC, curso 2The Starter
- 2025Accessibility in UX Design, Foundations to Practice — UXDC, curso 1The Starter
- 2021Utilização e proteção de dados pessoais em plataformas digitaisACRAL
- 2020Gestão da presença de empresas nas redes sociaisACRAL
- 2018Design e comunicação para redes sociaisEtic Algarve
Languages
- Portuguese — native
- English — B2
- Spanish — B1
- French — A1
I also do
- Branding
- Graphic design
- Packaging
- Communication
- Copywriting
- Email marketing
- Content management
- Motion graphics
- Posters
- SEO & social media
- Framer migration
- Site optimisation
Personal skills
- Owner mentality
- Self-taught
- Systems thinking
- Fast learner
- Velocity & bias for action
- Persistence
- Cross-timezone collaboration
- Motivation
- Direct communication
- Sports
Daily tools
- Figma
- Claude
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- Framer
- WordPress
- ChatGPT
- Midjourney
Shall we createsomething with AI?
WhatsApp +351 911 529 191 · Call to a Portuguese mobile network