Paula Guagliardi

I am a UX designer who enjoys translating insights from users into interfaces for products with a positive impact on people's lives.

I see UX as a bridge, a way to broaden the view of others, understand them, and help people change their behavior by giving them the tools they need.

I recently moved to Berlin, and I've been immersing myself in the UX and Startup community. My goal is to keep specializing in product design, learn new methodologies, and apply my skills to impact business growth and the user's behavior.

I am looking to be part of a product that impacts people in a meaningful way. With a broad view of UX, I like to work closely with a diverse team of professionals and participate in all phases of a product, from discovery to delivery to iteration.

My experience as a Web Designer gave me skills in HTML and CSS to design, prototype, and have better discussions with my teammates.

The problems I am most interested in working are rooted in learning, knowledge, critical thinking, biases, privacy, and productivity workflows, diversity, accessibility, and digital transformation to translate technology to every user.

I want to design solutions to empower people in these areas and think about how a person will be using something to make it more easy, integrated, and with a positive feeling attached.

I am always pushing myself for improvement and value every opportunity to learn something new.

.Background

I started my career in 2005 in Buenos Aires, after graduating as a web designer. I began working in digital advertising, where I learned about design, code, branding, and how to think and communicate creative concepts.

I worked at various agencies with different structures and sizes, where I learned different things.

• In a small digital agency, I learned to wear different hats and to code everything I designed.
• In the bigger digital agency, I learned to work in a cross-functional team.
• In the traditional multinational agency, I learned how to integrate campaigns from other mediums into digital formats.
• In the global media network, I learned about strategy and how to lead projects.

Although I enjoyed working in a creative environment, I was highly motivated when thinking about the user and their goals, content quality, and usability. Still, due to advertising nature, this was never a priority.

Aiming to work with other like-minded persons, I started my design studio, Furycat 😾. We developed digital strategies, social media campaigns, design websites, and e-commerces for companies like Herbalife, Kraft Foods, and Nespresso but also with small businesses and entrepreneurs. I found it rewarding to help small businesses thrive.

I was also a digital partner to graphic design studios doing front-end development, interaction design, and consulting. These were long term relationships that continued throughout the entire time I had my studio.

Furycat was a time for personal growth. I developed new skills to deal with the operational side of the business, like developing processes for managing projects and clients, and putting together flexible teams.

During this period, I started learning about User-Centered design processes and UX methodologies, discovering a whole new world, a magical world. ✨

I realised how my clients could benefit from these methodologies, so I proactively began applying them to the projects getting a better response from both users and businesses. I used the feedback from the projects to find new topics and techniques to learn.

As I continued to learn UX, I became more interested in experiencing the full process of product design by being part of a product team where I could share and learn from others.

I started doing this at Blockinar, a startup developing blockchain-based products. I worked in a cross-functional team using agile methodologies to reach our goals. I defined the design brief and the projects' objectives and designed the UI and UX for our apps. I also outlined the design process for the company.

I enjoyed working in this environment, and I wish I had more time to explore future iterations and business growth, but after my trip, living abroad was something my husband and I were seeking. In 2019 we got an opportunity to come to Berlin, and we took it!

I see this period as a great chance to challenge myself, grow, keep learning product design in a more mature context with broader applications, and different opportunities for my career.

During this long journey, my curiosity led me to be continuously involved in side-projects. I learned techniques like origami, handmade bookbinding, photography, and cyanotypes. I learned how to swim correctly and use this as a metaphor for pushing myself. I also love music, botany, reading, videogames, and philosophy. As if that wasn't enough, I also have a list of future interests I'd like to pursue like creative coding, data disualization, and playing drums.

Yes, this is a lot, but so far, everything I learned, and every interest I had, broaden my view of the world, improving my life and the things I do. So, why not keep going?

If, by any chance, you managed to get to the end of this, thank you.