Ricardo Gonçalves
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Porto, Portugal
Toptal member since May 8, 2019
Ricardo has 11 years experience as a UX designer, with four as head of UX. He has worked from brief to delivery, specializing in user research, creative strategy, and experience design. As a past developer, he understands UX for the technology space. Ricardo is the winner of the Fast Company Innovation By Design award. He is the founder of getdoin', an Airbnb for workshops, and has worked with giants such as Google, Apple, and Disney.
Portfolio
Onboarding Revamp Around Conversion and Trust
Qualitative and Quantitative User Research for Tech Will Save Us
Work Experience
Head of Product Design
Dandy
- Joined as Dandy's first-design hire, hiring and leading a team of seven product designers.
- Helped the company grow from around $50,000 to more than $80,000,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
- Designed every product from scratch, including an industry-leading dental digital scanning experience.
- Became the go-to person for the product's vision, shaping the overall product team's strategy and direction alongside product and engineering leadership.
Co-founder
Getdoin'
- Developed the idea for an Airbnb focused on workshops, with a mission to get everyone consuming less and creating more.
- Designed and developed an MVP to validate the concept and prove the existence of a market for such a business. This was accomplished by setting up Facebook ads and a landing page with multiple experiences.
- Designed and developed a platform from scratch that allowed users to post and book workshops. This included experiences, emails, and in-event options.
- Acquired customers to provide workshops on the platform and grew a steady stream of users booking workshops.
Head of Experience
Tech Will Save Us
- Led the user experience across the business, designing the UX from the moment you first discover the company (eCommerce, retail, and marketplaces), to buying (eCommerce), to using the product (online platform and apps).
- Led the UX and design of an online community for kid inventors, from zero to product owning it which included growing engagement, retention, and MAU.
- Led the UX for an interactive storybook for kids.
- Managed the entire digital department including the design, development, and content.
- Participated as a member of the executive team.
- Led and executed the biggest user research project in the company.
- Participated in the 500 Startups program, and disseminated the growth hacking process throughout the business.
- Hired the entire UX team.
- Created training tools for teams to conduct their own research, and was the flag-bearer of human-centered design.
UX Designer
POKE London
- Designed the user experience for Google's Solve for X community (responsive web), and Google's Moonshot (crazy innovative ideas) platform. Liaised with client and stakeholders, led workshops, and took the project from brief to interactive prototype.
- Designed the user experience for the Game of Thrones touring event, from buying tickets to the in-event digital experience. I was part of the creative team that led the concept.
- Created concepts and designed apps aimed at acquiring a younger customer base, and help lead them to find the house of their dreams for Norway's second largest bank (SpareBank1).
- Created and designed the concept of a second screen for watching sports for EE. Multiple streams of information (social networks, statistics, comments from journalists, and polls) were combined into one stream that allowed fans to engage more deeply with the game, EE and themselves.
- Designed an innovative eCommerce experience for Turnbull & Asser, that focused on the company's heritage and tradition. This is a bespoke, royal shirtmaker that gentlemen and even a 007 agent would want to be styled in.
Web and Mobile Designer and Developer
Information Architects (iA)
- Created concept interaction designs for iA's best-selling app, iA Writer, to vastly improve the overall user experience.
- Co-designed a visionary, online banking experience for Finnova, an online banking provider that offered this service to dozens of European banks. This provided innovative concepts that improved the user experience as well as the bank's bottom line.
- Developed responsive websites for banks, insurance companies, and publishers.
Human-computer Interaction Researcher
Tecla Colorida
- Researched children's needs and behaviors in regards to music, music technology, and learning how to play instruments.
- Co-created a music teaching app with kids. This pioneered a co-creation design method for children. I wrote scientific papers about the process and results based on this experience.
- Designed and developed a proof-of-concept prototype of a music game, then tested and iterated it multiple times with children.
Co-founder
Hardquarters
- Co-founded a web design agency that provided services to local clients.
- Designed a campaign-style website for a local politician who wound up winning the elections and is still the mayor.
- Designed and built a platform (commitz.io) whose purpose is to help people become more productive by publicly reporting progress about their endeavors.
- Designed and built a marketplace (likealocal.com) for tour guides, allowing anyone to be, or find a guide, anywhere in the world.
- Designed and built an experience for an event about happiness in the workplace.
Education
Master's Degree in Human-computer Interaction
Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto - Porto
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science Engineering
Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto - Porto
Skills
Tools
Sketch, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Axure RP Pro, Zeplin, Marvel, Marvel App, InVision, InVision Studio, Adobe After Effects, Framer X, Adobe Experience Design (XD), iA Writer, Fireworks, Mailchimp, Origami, Origami Studio
Languages
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby
Platforms
Figma, Axure, iOS, Android, Mobile, Web, Mobile (Tablet), Adobe Suite
Industry Expertise
Banking & Finance, Real Estate, Fashion
Other
UX Leadership, User Testing, Interactive Prototypes, Web App UX, User Research, User Interviews, Personas, User Personas, Buyer Personas, UX Design, Web UX Design, App UX, UI Design, User Journey Maps, User Journeys, Wireframing, Annotated Wireframes, Prototyping, UX Prototyping, Rapid Prototyping, Interaction Design (IxD), Human Interface Design, Human-centered Design (HCD), User-centered Design (UCD), Stakeholder Management, User Scenarios, Information Architecture (IA), Information Design, User Flows, User Requirements, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Product Design, Digital Product Design, Agile UX, Lean UX, Mobile Web, Usability Testing, Responsive, UX Research, Interface Design, Mobile Design, SaaS Design, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Tablet UX, Tablet UI, Complex Application User Interfaces (UI), Mobile UI Design, Mobile UX Design, Web App Design, Design Reviews, UX Audits, Dashboard Design, Data Visualization, Design Consultation, UX Strategy, Product Discovery, Product Roadmaps, Ideation, Discovery Workshops, B2B, UX Wireframes, Mockups, App Design, Web Design, SaaS, Dashboards, Design Systems, Enterprise, Enterprise SaaS, Validated User Research, Leadership, Mobile App Design, Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, Animated Prototypes, Animated Interactions, Data-driven Design, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Workshops, Workshop Facilitation, Motion Design, UI Motion, Scrum, Agile, Sustainability, Graphic Design, Pen & Paper, Stripe, Ruby on Rails (RoR), Concepting, iPad, Toys & Children's Products, Design Sprints, Toy Design, Apps, App UI, Pitch Decks, Learning, Interviews, Surveys, eCommerce, eCommerce UX, Performance Improvement, Event Ticketing, Web UX, Responsive Design, Agency, Mobile Prototypes, Stakeholder Engagement, Creative Briefs, Creative Strategy, Online Banking, Mobile Banking, Investment Banking, Consumer Banking, Responsive UX Design, Responsive Web Apps, Rapid Interactive Prototyping, High-fidelity Prototypes, Menswear, Branding, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Onboarding, User Onboarding, Fintech, Finance, Data Analysis, Polling, Web UI, Ethnography, Ethnographic Interviews, Internet of Things (IoT), Project Management, Product Management, Product Ownership
Experience
- UX Research - 14 years
- Information Architecture (IA) - 14 years
- User Research - 14 years
- Product Design - 14 years
- UX Design - 14 years
- Interaction Design (IxD) - 11 years
- User-centered Design (UCD) - 11 years
- User Personas - 8 years
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