Hi, I'm Renan

Interaction Design (IxD) focuses on creating engaging interfaces with well thought out behaviours.

This is where I spend most of my time and what I like doing the most. From paper prototyping to high-fidelity prototypes on Figma (and other tools), I am very experienced in this field. I can create complex prototypes using design tools and integrate/manage design systems using developer tools like Storybook. I love working with micro-interactions like CSS/SVG animations that surprise and delight users, and I hope to specialise further in this area.

User Interface (UI) Design focuses on anticipating what users might need to do and ensuring that the interface has elements that are easy to access, understand, and use to facilitate those actions. Visual Design focuses on the aesthetics of those elements and related materials by strategically implementing images, colors, fonts etc.

This is my comfort zone because of my years of experience in Graphic Design. Even though UX is not UI, the market usually expects UX Designers to be responsible for it, and I like keeping my visual design skills sharp. Hence, I'm usually involved in projects from research to "pixel perfection." I have experience using/managing design systems and following standards (platform, product, or others) like Google's Material and Apple's Human Interface Guidelines (HIG).

Web Analytics is the collection, reporting, and analysis of website data. The focus is on identifying measures based on organisational and user goals and using the website data to determine the success or failure of those goals.

I use data to find possible issues in the application, to ratify findings from qualitative studies and to guide decisions. It's a great way to remove the subjective aspect of opinions from the decision-making process while still keeping everyone happy. In various previous roles, I was responsible for setting up Google Tag Manager (GTM), Google Analytics (GA), and other analytical tools.

Front-end (FE) Development, also known as client-side development, is the practice of producing HTML, CSS and JavaScript (JS) for a website or web application so that a user can see and interact with them directly.

Front End is not a typical responsibility for a UX professional, but it can bridge the gap between designers and technology. As I worked on multiple small projects without a complete team, I also wore the hat of the Front-end Developer. I have experience implementing HTML, CSS and JS using frameworks and libraries like React, Vue.js, Svelte, Bootstrap, Foundation, and others. I like working as a UX Developer focusing on the implementation part of Design when a Design/Research team is working with me.

Project Management focuses on planning and organising a project and its resources. It includes identifying and managing the lifecycle to be used, applying it to the user-centered design process, formulating the project team, and efficiently guiding the team through all phases until project completion.

I co-founded a design agency (Flamba) with just me and a partner, where we managed all sorts of design services for small companies, from print to web. In most of my roles as a Designer, I worked closely with Project Managers, liaising between the development team and upper management and being responsible for parts of the project. In previous roles as team lead and director, I also performed many tasks related to project management.

User Research focuses on understanding user behaviours, needs, and motivations through observation techniques, task analysis, and other feedback methodologies.

In many of my roles, I worked as a "UX team of one" together with professionals from other areas, and we didn't have resources to do research as often and as deeply as I'd like to. These environments helped me become resourceful and able to include qualitative and quantitative research methods whenever I saw an opportunity, including contextual interviews, personas, heuristic evaluations, usability testing, and card sorting, among others. I also mentor aspirant designers in two platforms (Springboard and Harness Projects) to teach them research techniques and prototyping.

Usability Evaluation focuses on how well users can learn and use a product to achieve their goals. It also refers to how satisfied users are with that process.

Most techniques I use are applied in-house and not as often as I'd like due to "UX team of one" scenarios. Nevertheless, I incorporate usability testing as much as possible and ensure the team understands the importance of involving the user. Ideally, I would like to integrate usability tests as a fixed event in the team's calendar where every couple of weeks (or even weekly), we have a dedicated day to do it as a team and gather insights.

Information Architecture (IA) focuses on organising, structuring, and labelling content effectively and sustainably.

Only a few projects in my career allowed me to do a significant IA study, including rounds of card sorting, tree testing, and content validation, even before the visual design work started. In most cases, I incorporate IA into tests (usability, A/B, multivariate) and work with the team to constantly improve the content and content structure of our product. IA is an integral part of the product, and I always look for ways to improve it.