Hello again,
I’m Daniela João ✌️ a designer, avid gamer, lego collector and lover of nature who thrives on making complicated software feel effortless.
Swapping sun-drenched Portugal for buttery croissants in France, I eventually headed for the charming pebble beaches of the south of England. These days, I'm building scalable design systems from Glasgow, Scotland, fuelled entirely by a happily growing addiction to sugar-free Irn-Bru!
👩💻 Designing with purpose
I do my best work in ambitious, proactive teams where collaboration drives great products. I thrive in environments that embrace challenges, encourage thoughtful solutions, and prioritise accessibility at every step. I lean on AI to move faster through research and early exploration, so more of my time goes on the thinking that matters. I’m in my element working alongside developers, designers, and stakeholders who care about building things well and bringing their best to a project.
🏅How I approach
design
Design is a tool, not the outcome
Design matters when it solves real problems. I focus on clarity, usefulness, and intent over visual novelty.
KISS: Keep it Simple 😏
If something needs explaining, it probably needs redesigning. I aim for interfaces that feel clear, predictable, and reassuring.
Systems over one-offs
Scalable products come from shared patterns. I design with components and reusability in mind to support consistency and pace.
Outcomes over output
User behaviour is a better measure of success than feature output. I focus on defining the right outcomes first, using design to support meaningful outcomes rather than shipping features for their own sake.
80% beats nothing
Shipping something useful now is better than polishing something theoretical. I’m comfortable with trade-offs when they make sense.
Collaboration with intent
Great products aren’t built in silos. I work closely with others to align ideas with execution and deliver practical solutions.
🤖 Experience
Over a decade working across UI, UX and product design.
Product Designer · ParentPay Group
Remote, UK · Nov '22 - Present 📌
Main designer for the school-to-parent messaging platform, working across two cross-functional teams, and a core contributor to a multi-brand design system spanning four brands.
Merging four fragmented messaging systems into a single platform, so schools work in one place instead of four.
Built and maintained a Figma component library from scratch across five brands, cutting design debt and keeping web and mobile consistent.
UX/UI Designer · Schoolcomms
Worthing, UK · Sep '16 - Nov '22
First and sole designer on a previously design-less team, establishing the UX/UI function from scratch across a broad school software suite (payments, catering, clubs, messaging, reporting), context-switching between multiple product areas and two teams.
Set up the team's design foundations from zero: processes, component libraries and cross-platform patterns still in use today.
Led hands-on design across web and mobile, building production-ready interfaces and streamlining developer hand-off.
UI/UX Designer · MySign
Nancy, France · Aug '15 - Apr '16
Owned the UX/UI process end to end, working closely with business, marketing and development teams.
Typography, layout, wire framing and prototyping across web and mobile, aligning design with brand and marketing.
Web & Graphic Design · IPSantarém
Santarém, Portugal · Feb '14 - Sep '14
Communication and brand design: promotional materials built to brand guidelines to attract prospective students.
🍎 Education
Master’s Degree
Communication Design
Faculty of Architecture of Lisbon, Portugal
Bachelor’s Degree
Design Multimedia
Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, Portugal
🛠️ Skills
//design
UX/UI design
Interaction design
Visual design
Wireframing
Design systems
Information architecture
Mobile & web
//research
User research
User interviews
Surveys
Usability testing
A/B testing
Accessibility
AI-assisted synthesis
Data-informed design
Design thinking
//ways_of_working
Cross-functional collaboration
Workshop facilitation
Agile methodologies
Developer hand-off
//tools
Figma
Framer
Illustrator
Dovetail
Lucid
AI design tools
Open for new projects
Ready to level up your product's experience? 👾
Always up for a good problem to solve. Fully remote across Europe or hybrid in Glasgow, building something people actually enjoy using.
Say hello
View character sheet
👻 Beyond the 9 to 5
I love games with a captivating story and a satisfying mechanic.
👾️ Currently playing: Final Fantasy VII Remake Integrade
⭐️ Favourite game at the moment: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
💙 If I could only pick one game to play forever: Super Mario World
Proud cat parent to an international syndicate:
↪ 1x Portuguese 🇵🇹
↪ 1x English 🏴
↪ 2x Scottish 🏴
“It’s pretty amazing to wake up every morning, knowing that every decision I make is to cause as little harm as possible. It’s a pretty fantastic way to live.” - Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
The millennial in me collects plants like it’s a coping mechanism. A red flag? Probably. A toxic trait? Definitely.
🪴️ My favourite plant is the Alocasia Zebrina
© 2026 DJoão
Designed in Figma • Built in Framer
Online in Glasgow
