About Maria João Abrantes — Product Strategist & Designer
User researchUser interviewsUser interfaceProduct designSaaS designMobile nativeDesign systemsAccessibilityWorkshop facilitationMotionAI workflowsUser TestingReact Prototyping
I'm deeply curious about how people experience the world and how technology can work better for them.
I've spent 9+ years working across the full spectrum of design: graphic, web, UX/UI, and now product strategy. Not because I couldn't pick a lane, but because I was always more interested in the problem than the discipline.
I'm Maria João - a product strategist and designer.
I'm deeply curious about how people experience the world and how technology
can work better for them.
I've spent 9+ years working across different spectrums of design: graphic, illustration
, video, web, UX/UI
, and product.
Not because I couldn't pick a lane, but because I was always more interested in the problem than the discipline.
I've been teaching UX and Product Design
since 2021.
For my master's thesis I made a VR short film
about sexual harassment - research, victim interviews, script, directing, 360° shooting, and production.
The viewer experiences it entirely from the victim's perspective, placed inside the situation through 360° immersion.
It was later shortlisted for the Berlin Lift-Off Film Festival 2022%20.png&w=1920&q=75)
.
I once volunteered
at a school in Nyambori, Tanzania - and decided I could do more.
So I started a crowdfunding campaign, wrote the budgets, contacted over 100 organisations, threw a fundraiser
, and did a radio and TV interview
.
We raised €3,000 in less than 6 months.
Over 500 students now have access to clean, safe water
, doors on their toilet stalls
, and an independent infrastructure that will serve the school for years.
I am currently building Piranha Studios, a zero-to-launch digital agency, and Klink
, a language learning app built around CEFR progression - the structure of a real language course, not a game.
I speak Portuguese, English, a bit of Spanish, and I'm currently learning Dutch.
I like Queen
, live music, and caldo verde
.
Caldo verde is a Portuguese soup.
I love all things soup.
What people say
“Maria is a highly thoughtful designer who consistently strives to deliver experiences that are aligned with business goals, while also ensuring strong visual quality and attractive, well-crafted interfaces. She has a sharp eye for consistency and coherence, which made her work reliable and impactful across different initiatives.”
“I've worked with Maria on multiple design system projects, and she consistently delivers excellent UI work that puts users first. Her documentation and developer handoffs are clear and detailed, keeping design and code perfectly aligned throughout the process.”
“I had the pleasure of working with Maria on the same team at OutSystems, where she was the primary driver behind our new UI framework for building mobile apps. Her impact on the project was huge: she led the creation of our component library from the ground up, ensuring every design decision was grounded in deep research and market-leading benchmarks.”
Talks