Hi, I’m Maria.
I’m deeply curious about how the world works and I believe that to better understand the human experience in a digital world, we need to look at it from different standpoints.
My main goal is always to keep learning and finding new, creative ways to connect people, design and technology through digital products that work.
Graphic Design, Illustration, and Virtual-Reality filmmaking are some of the fields I've dabbed into in the past years.
Simultaneously, having a passion for education and fostering positive connections, I’ve been mentoring Design students since 2021, helping junior UX Designers navigating the world of UX as well as facing the challenges of changing careers.
For the past 8 years, my main focus has been optimising digital products as well as building and scaling Design Systems through companies and teams.
Mentions, talks and such
Figma Layers 2025 - Building Mobile UI by Uniting Design and Dev
2025 [Scheduled]
A conference talk about Design to Code collaboration, UI Kits, and Design Tokens.
Designando Podcast - Episode #38
2023
A chat with the Designando Podcast where I talk about Design, changing careers and thriving in the UX UI field in today’s market expectations (PT only).
Official selection for the Berlin Lift-Off Film Festival for the Trendsetter Shorts category.
2022
“Just a Compliment” is a VR short film, filmed and edited for 360º display on VR headsets. This work provides an immersive experience about sexual harassment where the viewer takes the victim’s POV.
What people are saying
I’ve collaborated with Maria on several occasions over time, primarily focusing on providing feedback for the library components she creates and shares.
I find her methodology to be excellent. By encouraging people to interact with the components, she collects user perspectives and simultaneously gathers feedback on specific items.
Through the visibility she provides for her work, Maria not only showcases her efforts but also offers insight into the process for other designers. This openness is fantastic! I believe sharing our work fearlessly is crucial; it’s the key to the growth of our design maturity, fostering confidence and teamwork.
— Caio Arias, Sr Product Designer @ PandaDoc
I’ve worked with Maria on multiple design system projects, and she consistently delivers excellent UI work that puts users first. She has great design taste and strong craft skills that show in every interface she creates. Maria’s really skilled with Figma and builds component libraries that hundreds of designers actually want to use.
Her documentation and developer handoffs are clear and detailed, keeping design and code perfectly aligned throughout the process.
Beyond her technical skills, she brings genuine humor and positive energy that makes every project better, and I’d work with Maria again in a heartbeat.
— João Conceição, Staff Product Designer, Design Systems @ PandaDoc
Maria has been an absolute pleasure to work with! Her ability to collaborate seamlessly with the development team makes our workflow smoother and more efficient. She is always quick to respond when we have questions or need clarification on UX designs, ensuring that we can keep moving forward without delays. Maria does an excellent job explaining her designs and the reasoning behind certain behaviors, making it easy for us to implement them accurately. (…) Her responsiveness, expertise, and commitment to teamwork make her someone we can always count on. We truly appreciate her dedication and the positive impact she brings to our projects!
— Brandy Smith, Sr Software Engineer
Would you like to hear more?