About
Hi, I'm Mara. Nice to meet you.
I'm Mara, a product designer and front-end developer based in Lisbon. For the past decade I've helped banks, start-ups and climate companies turn complicated problems into products that feel simple, calm and genuinely useful.
I started out building websites at a small studio in Berlin, which is where I learned that the best design decisions happen close to the code. Since then I've led a design team at a digital bank, helped grow a research tool to 40,000 teams, and built design systems used by hundreds of people every day.
Today I work independently with a small number of teams each year, usually as an embedded partner from the first workshop to launch and beyond. When I'm not designing, you'll find me swimming in the Atlantic, hunting for old azulejos, or mentoring designers at the start of their careers.
- Based in
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Experience
- 10 years
- Languages
- English, Portuguese, German
- Education
- BA Communication Design
How I work
Every team is different, but the projects that go well tend to follow the same rhythm.
- 01
Listen first
Every project starts with the people involved: your team, your customers and your numbers. The first weeks are for questions and for watching how the product is really used.
- 02
Frame the problem
We agree on the problem worth solving and how we'll know it's solved. A one-page brief and a few measurable goals keep everyone honest.
- 03
Design and prototype
I explore widely, then narrow quickly with realistic prototypes tested on real people, so decisions are made with evidence rather than opinions.
- 04
Build and refine
I work alongside your engineers, often writing production code myself, and keep improving the product after launch based on what we learn.
Experience
Ten years across studios, scale-ups and independent work, always close to both design and code.
2023 – Now
Product designer and front-end developer
Independent · Lisbon
Partnering with a small number of teams each year, from the first workshop to launch and beyond. Recent clients include Atlas Mobility, Verdant Energy, Oakhouse Coffee and Parcelwise.
2020 – 2023
Design lead
Lumen Bank · Lisbon
Led a team of six designers through the redesign of Lumen's mobile app and the launch of savings goals, now used by more than a million customers.
2018 – 2020
Senior product designer
Fieldnote · Berlin
Redesigned how research teams capture and make sense of their notes while the product grew from 6,000 to 40,000 teams.
2016 – 2018
Designer and front-end developer
Studio Parallel · Berlin
Designed and built websites for cultural institutions and start-ups at a small independent studio, and learned that the best design decisions happen close to the code.
Skills and tools
A designer's eye, a researcher's curiosity and an engineer's respect for the details that make things work.
Design
- Product and interaction design
- Visual and interface design
- Design systems
- Prototyping
- Motion design
Research
- User interviews
- Usability testing
- Diary studies
- Journey mapping
- Product analytics
Development
- HTML and CSS
- TypeScript
- React and Next.js
- Tailwind CSS
- Accessibility (WCAG 2.2)
Tools
- Figma
- Framer
- Storybook
- Linear
- Notion
Recognition
Some of the moments when the work was recognised by people outside the team.
Calm software, explained
Interface Days Berlin
Talk2024
Ten product designers to watch
Studio Journal
Feature2023
Have a project in mind?
Let's make something people love to use.
Booking new projects for January 2027. I reply to every message within two business days.
Start a project