Vítor Gonçalves

User-Centered Designer | End-to-End Project Specialist | Collaborative & Innovative

resume

Hi! 👋 

I am a versatile designer with user research, marketing, and front-end experience. I'm highly collaborative, innovative, and user-centered.

hello@vitordesign.pt

My versatile skillset has led me through some interesting projects.



  • I have created engagement in a digital product for tech-averse and senior users, by discovering real context in field studies;
  • Transitioned two international scientific conferences to virtual venues using UX methods to understand users’ mental models;
  • Developed new features in an Agile environment using AngularJs and consuming data from an IoT API for a SaaS web platform.

about me

I am a versatile designer with user research, marketing, and front-end experience. I'm highly collaborative, user-centered, and data-driven. I prefer B2B projects, but the team is what matters the most!

I have a master's degree in multimedia communications and 4+ years of industry experience as a user experience designer. I have done graphic design for marketing and printing, web design, user research, and web development. While freelancing web services, my most exciting project was transitioning a scientific conference to a digital venue by studying obstacles in users' mental models, designing in collaboration with the scientific organizing committee, and implementing it in WordPress with custom modules. I always establish good communication with all stakeholders to improve efficiency.

My master's degree focused on developing multidisciplinary skills to use modern web technologies while providing a background in design thinking and project management. It was an excellent opportunity to conduct research as a literature review, surveys, interviews, and usability tests, which I have been using since.

Before this career, I worked for nearly ten years as a photographer for our family business, doing outdoor and studio photoshoots, live social events, ramp shows, and digital composition and editing.

BTW, I make a mean hot sauce!

 abstract watercolor painting of a flowery pattern in pastel tones - image by DALL-E

Sergio Faria, PhD

“We’re very satisfied with Vítor’s service in providing not only a complete platform to host our conference, but also in collaborating on several aspects of administrative processes and graphical design.”


Sérgio Faria, PhD – IT Leiria – CONFTELE2021

Sergio Faria, PhD

“Vitor was very flexible with every request and was able to deploy a complete platform on a very short notice. This allowed for a very successful transition of the conference to a virtual venue and I think I can say that all participants were very satisfied with the experience.”


Luís Nero, PhD – IT Aveiro – CSNDSP2020

experience

  • 07.22-Current • Changing Children's Worlds Foundation

    UX Designer (Volunteer)

    IL, USA 

    • Studying the Service Design Blueprint to find opportunities for improvement.
    • Working with the Digital Marketing team to improve outreach processes and increase acquisition.
    • Studying user cases, personas, and journeys to improve the digital experience.
    • Design and maintain the website in Wix.

  • 04.20-01.22 • Freelancing Web Services

    Web Designer and Developer

    Mainly Portuguese clients

    Working from India, Germany and Portugal

    • Design and wireframe prototypes from low to high fidelity.
    • Working closely with all stakeholders to keep the project on track.
    • Transitioned two international scientific conferences to virtual venues using UX methods to understand users’ mental models.

  • 02.18-02.20 • Watgrid Solutions

    UI/UX Designer

    Ílhavo, Portugal

    • Established branding consistency by creating a design system for development and all marketing channels.
    • Studied and deployed the UX by working closely with all stakeholders aligning business goals with user needs.
    • Developed new features in an Agile environment using AngularJs and consuming data from an IoT API for a SaaS web platform.

  • 03.17-12.17 • My Friends in Portugal

    Digital Media Specialist

    Aveiro, Portugal

    •  Close cooperation with CEO and COO to bootstrap an e-tourism start-up.
    • Website creation in WordPress, custom code in PHP and Javascript.
    • Graphic Design in Adobe Suite.

  • 05.04-07.14 • Foto Felicidade

    Lead Photographer

    Vila Verde, Portugal

    • Outdoor and studio photoshoots, live public and private social events, and ramp shows.
    • Digital photo editing and composition.

    Adobe Creative Suite

education

  • 07.15-12.19 • Master's in Multimedia Communication

    Universidade de Aveiro

    Aveiro, Portugal 


    This degree focused on developing multidisciplinary skills to use modern web technologies while providing a background in design thinking and project management. It was an excellent opportunity to conduct research as a literature review, surveys, interviews, and usability tests, which I have been using since.


    I worked with a time-banking community for my thesis to research and test a prototype. Time-banking communities exchange services denominated by the time they take to provide.


    This was a mainly senior and tech-averse community, but after research and testing, adoption was positive.


  • 07.10-10.14 • Bachelor's in New Technologies of Communication

    Universidade de Aveiro

    Aveiro, Portugal 

skills

Pen+Paper, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, User Testing, Journey Maps, User Surveys, Figma, InVision, Sketch, Adobe XD/Ai/Ps, WordPress + PHP, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Bootstrap, Agile

Miro, Notion, Slack, Trello, Gitlab, Google Docs, Microsoft Suite

languages

English - fluent

Portuguese - native

Spanish - basic