João Monteiro · Portfolio 2026
One portfolio, seen three ways.
Each option only changes what's emphasized, not what's here.
Turning complex products into clear, intuitive experiences, designing how they look, flow and feel so people just get them.
Navigating research and ambiguity to solve the right problems and deliver a high-impact product direction.
Embracing technical constraints to engineer the leap from a static canvas to a seamless web experience.
Selected projects where interaction, clarity and considered detail shaped how the product feels to use.Selected projects where rigorous research and clear vision actively reshaped the product roadmap.A look at the architectural logic and technical constraints behind fully deployed, robust products.
Micro-tools that clear the repetitive work so I can focus on the experience itself: design critique, accessibility and UX fundamentals.Leveraging AI micro-tools to process research faster, turning raw information into actionable product roadmaps.Teaching models to navigate constraints, generate complex logic, and stress-test the foundations of working prototypes.
Turns a raw product idea into a traceable backlog — problem framing, stakeholders, a domain model, typed requirements, and Gherkin user stories.
A collection of seven self-contained UX skills — usability studies, heuristic and accessibility audits, personas, competitive analysis, and inclusive design.
The roles where interaction, product judgment and building a design culture mattered most.
The moments where the work was less about polishing a brief and more about changing its direction.
The path from software engineering into design systems, data lineage, knowledge architecture and AI.
Designing AI-powered knowledge experiences across complex B2B systems and global product surfaces.
Built the design team from zero and helped lead a full product redesign with product, engineering and executives.
Reset a real-time product through fast iterations, close collaboration and learning through shipping.
Shaped the product over three years, built its design system and grew into leading the design team.
Research and product work across large organizations, regulated industries and national-scale services.
Research into an accessible mobile product for elderly and vulnerable users, mentoring two fellows and presenting the work at conferences.
Software architecture, human-computer interaction, design thinking and a thesis graded 19/20.
Three operating principles that remain constant across every project.
The most valuable insights are found in the friction, workarounds, and hesitations that a polished answer tends to hide.
Products improve the moment dependencies, constraints, and information architecture stop being somebody else’s problem.
Leadership is about creating clarity, elevating the right perspectives, and leaving fewer decisions trapped in a single person’s head.
From global enterprises to national institutions and startups, with a few words from the people I worked alongside.
João completely changed the design and experience of our product for the better, always putting the user needs and pain points front and center. He is a strong and empathetic leader who makes everyone feel valued and heard.
The product grew exponentially over the fifteen months we worked together, and João was a key factor in that. He is a hard-working person with a creative, brilliant mind who adds value to any product.
João is a great professional: honest, hard-working, resilient, and full of creativity and initiative. Exactly the kind of person you always want to complete a strong team.
I write and speak about the parts of product work that get clearer when identity, language and perspective are allowed into the room.
Why the “average user” is a design decision — and how questioning the defaults around identity, language and culture builds products that serve everyone. An expanded, plain-language take on my article, pitched to mixed audiences, including people new to UX.
“The idea of the ‘default’ setting was something I’d never considered — now I’m thinking about how it can negatively affect people.”Attendee, 2025
Also happy to speak on
Essays on accessibility, inclusive design and product ethics. Published on Medium and in publications such as UX Collective, Bootcamp and The Startup, with work also featured on Pplware, the biggest online tech community and daily news portal in Portugal.
When I’m not designing, I’m usually running through Lisbon or playing games.
Together with my partner, I lead a run club in Lisbon for the queer community, and I designed its visual identity too.
Favorites include the Guild Wars and Sid Meier’s Civilization franchises.
I built an AI companion trained on my background, projects, writing and working principles. It answers follow-ups about how I think, collaborate and decide — without waiting for me to check my inbox.
Try askingtap a question to copy it in
The same assistant runs as a Model Context Protocol server. Connect it once and you can ask about my work from inside Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP client, without coming back here.
https://mcp.joaommonteiro.com