A 2000s kid from Manila, always out playing by 4pm.
I'm a UX and UI designer specialising in web and app interfaces, usability evaluation and design systems, and I build what I design. Over an MSc and four projects, three of them live, I've taken products from first idea to launch, most recently finding and fixing 11 usability issues in a study app and cutting its slowest page's script by 98%.
- Skills
- Interface and interaction design, usability evaluation, design systems, UX writing, and prototyping in Figma and in code.
- Where I excel
- Untangling a confusing flow into a clear order, explaining things in plain English, and seeing a design through to the working product.
- Consider me for
- Junior UX and UI designer or product designer roles, anywhere in the UK. Available with two weeks' notice.
01 / Beliefs
- I believe a design isn't finished until someone has used it.
- I believe in testing it properly, then fixing what turns up.
- I believe in building what I design, so nothing gets lost in the handover.
- I believe in plain English over jargon.
- I believe in changing my own decision when it turns out worse.
- I believe a website can be useful and still be fun.
- And that 4pm is still the best time of day.
02 / Roots
Made in Manila, finished in the UK.
- Mandaluyong, Manila
- Grew up in a white condo with green lettering. Out playing by 4pm, birthdays by the pool on white plastic chairs.
- My grandparents' place
- A sari-sari store on every corner. My pocket money went on Choc Nut.
- Windows XP
- MS Paint, a Game Boy Advance, a PSP, Pokémon and Naruto. Where screens first got interesting.
- The UK, at 15
- Moved over. In every computer science project since, I ended up on the design team.
- University of Lincoln
- BSc Computer Science, High 2:1, with a First for the dissertation. MSc Computer Science, Distinction.
- Loughborough, now
- Designing, testing and building. Happy to relocate, two weeks' notice.
03 / How I work
Design it, test it, build it.
- 01DesignStart with what the person is trying to do, then the order they need things in.MMDriving. One page, in the order a learner decides.
- 02TestUse it properly, with real people where I can, and write down what goes wrong.Distill. 11 usability issues found, all fixed.
- 03BuildBuild it myself, so the design that ships is the design that was tested.BaconAI. Live, after three rounds of redesign.
04 / Tools
The tool follows the job.
These are the ones I reach for most. New ones get picked up as a project needs them, and that has happened on nearly every project so far.
Design with
- Figma
- Mobbin
- Replit
Methods
- Heuristic evaluation
- Usability testing
- Design systems and tokens
Build with
- HTML and CSS
- React and TypeScript
Leave out
- Jargon
- Guesswork
- Lorem ipsum
- Handover gaps
05 / Off the clock
- Mechanical keyboardsBuilding and tuning them
- CookingEvery day
- Football and volleyballPlaying, not only watching
- Pokémon cardsSince the 2000s
Friends sayDependable, funny, consistent.
06 / References
- Olivier Schockmel-SzymanezykSenior Lecturer in Computer Science, University of Lincoln
- Heriberto Cuayahuitl PortillaSenior Lecturer, University of Lincoln
- Helen HarmanSenior Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence and Programme Leader, University of Lincoln
A note
Thanks for reading this far. If the work looks like a fit for your team, I'd like to hear about the role.
Salamat po, ColeSalamat po means thank you.