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Marco da Silva
Product designer & AI enthusiastic
Product Design & Craft Leadership for start-ups and large orgs.
I'm a Product Designer with 10+ years of experience, including roles at Farfetch, letgo, and currently TravelPerk where my primary focus is designing native mobile apps for travelers, with a strong interest in UX strategy and design systems.
Living in Barcelona area, working fully remotely
As a Senior & Lead Designer, I have extensive experience in handling a wide range of projects, from websites to mobile app design. This diverse background enables me to quickly adapt to new environments and challenges.My approach blends strategic thinking with a deep understanding of user needs and data analysis, ensuring that both customer satisfaction and business objectives are met.
Kind words from colleagues.
I've been fortunate enough to work with, and continuously learn from many talented and inspiring people over the years, from driven product thinkers and designers, to ambitious founders and leaders.
“Marco excels at his job, mentors others, and sets a great example with his productivity and creativity. His contribution was key in defining Casumo’s design system. I highly recommend him as a team member or leader.”
Raquel Vilariño
Lead Product Designer en Shopify
“Marco’s enthusiasm and attention to detail, as a Lead Designer, inspire his colleagues to strive for top-level design. He promotes collaboration among teams and consistently delivers professional, insightful work.”
Sérgio Laranjeira
CTO at Metacore
“You can definitely notice the effort and love in everything that Marco does. His attention to detail and visuals, making sure he’s on top of the latests patterns and web trends, makes him a very important asset to the team.”
José Silva
Head of Experience at Farfetch
Being hands-on,
I enjoy getting involved in the whole process, starting
from ideation and conceptualisation to designing, prototyping, testing and shipping the ideas.
My cross-functional design leadership at letgo enhanced its revenue model, while at TravelPerk,
my craft in a Staff position steered the development of native apps from the ground up.
Across these roles, I've consistently been instrumental in crafting and aiding design systems, bridging the gap between web and native applications.
Throughout my career, I’ve been exposed to a diverse range of business models, development processes, and design challenges.
This means I’ve enriched my experience with every project and team, and have developed a natural inclination toward building complex platforms, especially when working in agile remote teams.
Conceptual designs
and product vision
Recently, I’ve been deeply involved in defining a product vision, outlining our destination and the path to get there. This process is especially intricate when we’re focused on the broader product landscape, rather than just individual features or use cases.
In my work, conceptual design is much more than a simple process. It's about diving deep into creative ideas and figuring out how to make products, services, or spaces that really fit with what the future might need.
Crafting Vision
In creating products, it’s really important to make things people can see and touch early on. Prototyping helps turn big ideas into something real that everyone can understand and talk about.
I bring ideas to life with models that can be seen and interacted with from the start. This ensures clarity and consensus on the direction. Ultimately, I craft well-functioning products that resonate with users.
Shared for Success
As a firm believer in the power of a shared vision, I understand the importance of alignment within a team. In my approach, I emphasize the significance of avoiding guesswork or assumptions, as it’s imperative that every team member is united in working toward a common objective.
Interaction Prototyping
Precision and Engagement
As a mobile designer, my role extends far beyond creating visually appealing interfaces; it’s fundamentally about crafting interactions that are intuitive, engaging, and efficient. Prototyping these interactions is not just a step in the design process – it’s a critical practice that ensures every pixel on the screen is placed with purpose and precision.
Each interaction is designed keeping the user in mind – how they hold their device, how they navigate, and how they expect elements to respond.
Currently,
I'm a contributor to
TravelPerk's native mobile apps.
Lead an initiative to build and modernise the Travelperk mobile product from top to bottom by collaborating across disciplines over the course of nearly three years. I also designed and launched the new app design system, contributing to the company's growth.
I led an initiative to completely revamp and modernize the TravelPerk mobile product. This involved close collaboration across various disciplines over nearly three years. Additionally, I spearheaded the design and launch of the new app design system, significantly contributing to the company’s growth.
My primary responsibilities include developing features for both iOS and Android platforms, and creating a new design system that is compatible across these platforms.
In the past 2 years, my focus has shifted towards enhancing native booking flows, transitioning from a companion app to a comprehensive daily-use product for travelers.
I have contributed to laying the groundwork for TravelPerk’s future, particularly through the development and refinement of the app’s design system.
Building
travel experiences
at scale
Design System
I help to build and define the foundations for Travelperk future through the development of the app design system.
Worked closely with the engineering and design teams to revamp the product’s design system to include semantic colors, handcrafted icons, typography styles, and mobile components.
I’ve been leading the design of the TravelPerk mobile app. With it, we have been exploring different visual directions of the app, coming up with new usability patterns while delivering features.
If you've made it this far, thank you for your time!
I'm always interested in new ideas, opportunities or hearing what you're working on, so drop me a message 📩 marcopslopes@gmail.com or schedule a quick chat 💬.
Experiences
My professional path
Experiences
With the experience I gained as a Senior & Lead Designer working directly with various projects from web to mobile apps, I can quickly adapt to new challenges. Being hands-on, I enjoy getting involved in the whole process, starting from ideation and conceptualisation to designing, prototyping, testing and shipping the ideas.
TravelPerk
Nov 2019 - Currently, Barcelona
Senior Product Design
I’m a Senior Designer at TravelPerk, where I’m leading the design work for a new native app for our travelers on the go, for both iOS and Android. I spend my days creating features that help travelers have a smooth journey, including organizational approaches, design systems, developer hand-off, and everything in-between.
As Designer for the mobile app, I conducted deep research, direct and indirect competitors to understand the uniqueness of the current product.
Based on the insights I gained through research, I created a Product Strategy and a Design Strategy together with the product manager.
I have worked intensively to improve communication between designers, focus on common goals, create appropriate rituals and channels, and distribute the system’s ownership among the entire team. And it’s giving us great results.
Significant tasks I have carried out
Asumed the administration and organization of Figma among other Design Ops activities related to native mobile design. Lead the product design & vision Build product concepts Lead the visual design for the entire iOS & Android Build from scratch the Design System for mobile apps User research (conduct interviews, user testings...) Advocates other designers to mobile Establishing and documenting patterns and best practices Share insights and designs across company squads Led the redefinition of the Design workflow, in order to be more organized internally and externally.
Letgo
Jul 2017 - Nov 2019, Barcelona
Senior Product Design
At letgo I lead the design of several Verticals, from monetization to payments and shipping. I was responsible for leading a series of innovation initiatives aimed at monetization and transforming how design operates in letgo.
I worked in collaboration with Project Managers, Tech Team and Marketing, building new features and improving the existing ones. I was responsible for the letgo design system implementation and adoption across teams.
On the other hand, I helped scale the design system, co-defining a building processes according to the changes that were taking place in the company: from the challenge and its evaluation criteria to the entire process.
The most significant challenge was to channel our efforts towards things that generated the most value in the medium-long term. For this, I had to educate, convince, and help the different stakeholders finally align with each other. That was key to be able to define together a strategy and goals for each new section.
Casumo
Sep 2016 - Jul 2017, Remote, Barcelona & Malta
Senior Product Design
Lead and implement a design system from product thinking to styles guides and processes.
Working on Gamification verticals, create a seamless experience on games, adventure progression mode how to incorporate community features within the product in order to make stronger player loyalty and better player retention.
- Adventure concept defined and entered prototyping phase and design.
- Working on Gamification flows and structure
Farfetch
Sep 2013 - Jul 2016, London & Porto
Product Designer Manager & Team lead
Former Lead Designer at Farfetch, I was part of the product leadership team, responsible for defining and managing the overall company design strategy and execution. Provide direction and lead the design teams between Porto, Brazil and London, where I help to develop and build UX & Research teams, also I’m responsible for all the design language at Farfetch, building and releasing the whole redesign website, www.farfetch.com
I Helped grow the team from 1 to over 20 designers, During Farfetch international expansion, I helped grow our London & Porto design offices, while establishing new processes to support our growth.
Significant tasks I have carried out
Recruit, coach, bringing the right skills for the company to build effective product teams and develop the product further. Lead the global redesign of farfetch.com providing a new brand identify, cross-device responsive interfaces and a new mobile app. Defined product design principles and set up design system, processes and tooling. Work cohesively with other departments Interviewed product and marketing stakeholders, analysed business and user data to define Minimum Viable Product, plan and test its iterations toward the agreed vision. Pro-actively push the level of quality in both thinking and execution Hands-on design - create and design assets/visual content for the Farfetch website and mobile apps Design and develop online content including homepages and website/app features
Being a designer is about believing that there is a better way of doing things.
📃 Download my resume or check my Linkedin profile
About me
I’m Marco
🇵🇹 Portuguese Designer living in ☀️ Barcelona, working fully remotely 💻
I’m a generalist designer passionate about solving relevant problems in a simple, inclusive, and ethical way, I strives to create simple and impactful user experiences.
I take on projects of all sizes — from mobile apps and web designs to design systems.
Starting as a front-end designer back in 2008, although my primary focus since then has been on designing, my technical experience has accompanied me throughout my adventures. I gradually moved to UX/UI over the last 9 years.
My curiosity has led me to dig into how mobile platforms work: their interaction patterns and their more technical ins and outs. And that desire to learn has helped me better understand the details that make a difference, and improve my communication.
I believe experiences for users should be logical, methodical, and most importantly — predictable. I believe in the power of patterns, but also am continuously learning when it’s appropriate to break them. I take pride in the craft of interface design and find so much joy in both getting things out there quickly and in sweating the smallest details of projects.
Involving people from different disciplines and perspectives in the earliest stages of shaping new product ideas. In my experience, this eliminates many uncertainties, and everyone’s communication and engagement is substantially improved, you can read more here on how I work.
I’m a designer who strives to create simple, original, and impactful user experiences. I take on projects of all sizes; from mobile apps, web designs, to design systems. I apply everything I have learned about inclusive design in every new project, and I also invest my time trying to educate others about the matter.
Farfetch
I redesigned the website and defined how designs work within the company by building a design team from ground up. Later to IPO
letgo
I built and improved the letgo monetization model.
TravelPerk
Over the last 2 years, I’ve been building brand new native apps for TravelPerk, defining every small detail since day 1.
Design Systems
I have helped to build cross-platform design systems from scratch, for both web and mobile apps.
🗣 Seek feedback
I love to think, ideate, criticize, and explore ideas as a way of expanding my perspectivem, while also partnering with people who are motivated and strong with follow-through.
👨🏫 Keep learning
I find pressure exhilarating. I grow the most when there’s an external force pushing me to learn something new. On the same note, when I find a subject particularly interesting, I’ll throw myself into it entirely.
📐 Stay consistent
I sweat the details and keep things consistent, right down to the pixel. If you don’t pay attention to this in the design phase, how are developers going to get it right? This is pretty easy if you systemise everything and take the time to lay the foundations.
🕵️♂️ Be curious
Deep curiosity and a quest for knowledge across a broad set of evolving topics drive much of my life. Learning about anything and everything forms a foundational way of thinking that allows me to approach every problem with fresh eyes.
User interviews / User testings
Research projects
Heuristic evaluations
Accessibility audits & solutions
Design critiques
Workshops
Complex projects cross company
Proof of concepts
Design systems for web and mobile natives (iOS, Android)
Full redesigns
Lead & build teams
Some nice things people that have worked with me over the years wrote about our experience together.
If you've made it this far, thank you for your time!
I'm always interested in new ideas, opportunities or hearing what you're working on, so drop me a message 📩 marcopslopes@gmail.com or schedule a quick chat 💬.
Need to see where I've worked?📃 Download my resume or check my Linkedin profile
Marco Homepage
Hi, I’m Marco 👋
a Product Designer who takes pride in the craft of interface design. I get as much joy from releasing things quickly as I do sweating the smallest details.
I'm currently a Staff Product Designer at TravelPerk, where I'm leading the design work for a new native app both iOS and Android📱. I spend my free time building side projects, listening to podcasts 🎙, reading books📚 and play with my daughter 👶.
TravelPerk (Oct 2019 - Ongoing)
Liberate business travelers to book anything anywhere within minutes.
Building experiences from scratch, working across verticals & squads to make sure we deliver the best experience to travelers on the go.
App Design System
Building travel experiences at scale
I build and define the foundations for Travelperk future through the development of the app design system.
Letgo (Jun 2017 - Sept 2019)
letgo is the biggest and fastest-growing app to buy and sell locally.
I led the design of several verticals, from monetization to payments and shipping. I was responsible for leading a series of innovative initiatives aimed at monetization and transforming how design operates in letgo.
CASUMO Sept 2016- Jul 2017
Gamification & Design Systems
I worked on Gamification verticals, create a seamless experience on games, adventure progression mode how to incorporate community features within the product in order to make stronger player loyalty and better player retention.
Farfetch (Sept 2012- Jul 2016)
Farfetch is an online platform for luxury fashion
As part of the product leadership team, I was responsible for defining and managing the overall company design strategy and execution. I provided direction and led the design teams between Porto, Brazil, and London, always having in mind the multicultural and diverse environment.
How I solve design problems
...Through all my processes, my one constant is to ask the right questions before designing.
It frames the way I approach a problem and guides me toward the appropriate UX strategy and tools going forward...
Let’s chat.
I'm always interested in new ideas, opportunities, or hearing what you're working on, so drop me a message or schedule a quick chat.