About me

About me.

My ongoing story

I was born in Argentina, the son of Portuguese parents, and grew up in a small, working-class city called Rafael Castillo in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. As a teenager, I remember feeling hungry for new experiences, new places. I moved to Buenos Aires while finishing my degree in Graphic Design, studying and working at the same time. That’s also when I started taking drama classes. I found my place there: with humans, creating something together. I also found my people.

Chasing new experiences, I later discovered UX and moved to Spain, where I began my career as a Product Designer. I lived first in Barcelona, then in Granada; two places that contrast in almost every way. After working remotely for the past 3 years, I feel ready to return to a hybrid model. In the end, I’m my better self when I work closely with people, in the flesh. As a human interaction designer, I’ve realized: I need to be with humans.

Happy endings

A black and white childhood photograph. It shows myself as a 8-year-old boy, wearing a plaid shirt and leaning casually against a white fence in a sunny, grassy field. My little 6-year-old sister is crouching happily next to me.

When I was a kid, I loved stories — movies, books, and especially the ones my grandfather used to tell me about ghost boats in Portugal. Stories helped me make sense of the world. They still do.

As a product designer, I love listening to users’ stories. There are desires, tensions, and obstacles. But users aren’t the only ones with stories — businesses have theirs too. They carry pressure, goals, and growth challenges. And my role isn’t just to listen; I step in to help co-write the happy ending. One where what the business offers meets what people actually need.

UX + Improv

A few years ago, I discovered improv. At first, I was hooked by the thrill of creating stories on the spot. But over time, I realized what I truly loved was making people laugh, offering a moment of ease, of joy, that they come looking for. Just like when a design finally works for someone who’s been struggling. That feeling of helping someone feel understood; that’s what drives me.

The other thing I love about improv is that it’s never a solo act. We create the story together, in real time. That’s exactly how I work in product, too: co-creating with PMs, engineers, stakeholders, and other designers to shape meaningful outcomes. The best work happens when we build on each other’s ideas — just like on stage.

I am on a stage with a group of people, under bright stage lights. I am in the center, dancing energetically and smiling, seemingly as part of a performance or a fun group activity.

A human focus

It shows me standing and leading a workshop. I am pointing at a large board covered in sticky notes.

My focus areas are growth design, storytelling, and inclusive design. I believe accessibility isn’t just a checklist, it’s a mindset rooted in empathy. Mostly because everyone deserves to be the main character in their own story.

We’re living through times of great complexity and, in many ways, growing dehumanization. That’s why I see my role as a responsibility. To bring back human connection into the services we build. To remember that behind every metric, every user, and every business goal, there’s a real person with real needs.

Design isn’t just about solving problems. It’s about making sure the solutions still feel human.

How I work

Collaboration first

I thrive in teams, not just within my squad, but across disciplines like sales, operations, and analytics. I take initiative in leading conversations, aligning early with stakeholders, and building shared understanding through workshops or spontaneous check-ins. I don’t wait for a final design to share; I prefer co-creating from the start: framing the problem together, exploring possibilities, and shaping the solution as a team.

At the same time, I believe the best work happens in teams that feel safe, curious, and joyful. That’s the kind of space I try to foster, where colleagues feel trusted and encouraged, even during tough moments. Because when we work with openness and care, we make better things.

Priorities that make sense

I love digging into data. I’m comfortable navigating dashboards, reading business metrics, writing my own queries, and partnering with analytics to uncover insights. I enjoy crossing that quantitative data with qualitative findings I seek out, to spot patterns and shape stories that make users’ needs visible and actionable.

I’m not afraid to make decisions when needed or to lead conversations that bring clarity and alignment. I always advocate for working on well-defined problems, ones that are clearly connected to both business goals and users’ needs.

Care in the craft

When it comes to interface design, I care about the details: rhythm, hierarchy, clarity, harmony. I enjoy building or refining design systems, and I make sure every component I design aligns with them. Accessibility is always on my mind. To me, inclusive design isn’t a layer you add; it’s a foundation you build on.

With engineers, I aim to make handoffs seamless, providing clear specs in Figma, animated prototypes, documenting edge cases, and helping QA spot anything we might’ve missed. I test implementations because I know the final product is what truly matters, not just the design file.

Pragmatic, not precious

I adapt to the team’s rhythm and the business’s pace. Sometimes what we need isn’t a polished solution, but a quick test to validate an assumption. In those cases, I shift gears: prototype quickly, learn fast, and iterate from there. Design doesn’t need to be perfect at first, it just needs to be grounded enough to move us in the right direction.

What former colleagues think

Here are some comments from former colleagues I had the pleasure to work with:

“He has helped to drive the topics of user advocacy and accessibility and has been a pivotal addition not only to the Design team but also to his Product and Engineering team.” Chris Roy, Director of PD at Stuart

“He has a gift for storytelling that brings designs to life and shows stakeholders the value of design in the user experience.” Marcela Bernal, Senior PD at Stuart

“I saw Martín become a complete Product Designer in less than a year, being capable of leading research initiatives and creating UI kits and user flows to solve the most prominent problems defined by Product.” Mário Santos, Senior PM at Signaturit

“I would like to highlight Martin crucial role in the development and implementation of the company design system. Also, his willingness to take new challenges, positive can-do attitude and his excellent communication skills.” Ariadna Romeu, Design Director at Hostmaker

“He is also a curious and quick learner when it comes to new skills. Ideating and designing together with him was really easy and fun, as he’s a very idea-rich and helpful person who’s constantly open to try new things.” Elina Nenonen, Full Stack UX Designer at Robbie