Hello, I’m Nando
I’m a Brazilian-American artist-turn-designer, living and working in the Pacific Northwest.
This page is an attempt to capture my 26-year design journey in a few words.
My discovery years in art, print, web, brand, and motion design
My path as a designer began in my hometown of Rio de Janeiro, where from a young age, I was driven by a curiosity for the arts. I spent much of my teenage years immersing myself in local museums and small galleries, as well as dedicating time to exploring various creative mediums, such as figure drawing, painting, sculpting, and photography.
As I discovered the world of Graphic Design, I found myself applying the skills I had learned in fine arts to formal design challenges. At first, this transition felt unnatural, but as time passed, I discovered that in general my interest in craft and aesthetics could be easily re-applied to the design practice. It all fell into place.
In the late 90’s, I ended up in the United States where I spent the next years delving into brand design, web design, and illustration. It was in this mix of elements that I discovered the world of animation, and it turned out to be a pivotal moment that shifted the way I approached design problems.
When embracing motion graphics as my core focus, I realized the importance of understanding my clients' brand ethos, business challenges, and customer needs, which are all valuable ingredients to infuse into a company’s storytelling practices. This also meant I could have deeper and more meaningful partnerships with clients in an industry where that traditionally had not been the case.
Re-energized, I dedicated the following years to evoking feelings and telling stories through this newly acquired lens and have continued to do so to this day.
To see some of the press around the work from those early days, visit this page.
Hello (tech) world
As I progressed in my career, I found myself at Microsoft, where I was honored to be recruited to work on the operating system of the revolutionary HoloLens. During the early days of its development, there was a vast expanse of uncharted territory to explore as we sought to invent and define new interaction models, solve complex technical design challenges, and conceive of entirely new experiences.
For the subsequent five years, I was deeply immersed in the world of AR, VR, and MR, applying the skills I had once used towards storytelling and branding to the realm of immersive user experience. Alongside my talented colleagues, I was fortunate to have been a part of the team that shipped the HoloLens Developer Edition, as well as our VR experience known as Windows Mixed Reality, and laid the foundation for the next generation, the HoloLens 2.
While at HoloLens, I helped propel Microsoft’s design language forward, evolving it from Metro to Fluent, which was initially heavily influence by 3D. Eventually, I transitioned to a different division of Microsoft, Office. During my tenure there, I had the privilege of occupying a variety of roles, where I at first, I led the envisioning of productivity apps in Mixed Reality. Later, I led a team dedicated to the seamless unification of the core experiences across the Office suite. This included productivity apps on the web, Windows, and all of Apple’s ecosystem.
As a result of these efforts, I found myself at the forefront of our collective effort to evolve the design language for Office experiences across all platforms and endpoints, and to bring rich collaboration scenarios to life across Microsoft products such as Microsoft Loop.
My time at Office gave me an opportunity to influence how those experiences were visually modernized, as well as how we told external stories about them. It was there that I spearheaded a new initiative in product storytelling, which resulted in the creation of 30 UX films that have fundamentally helped transform the public perception of Microsoft, its commitment to design and attention to craft.
As my tenure at Office progressed, so too did the products, which are now collectively known as Microsoft 365 - a comprehensive suite of tools designed to address the diverse needs of customers across the globe. As the scope of our offerings expanded, so too did the need for tighter integration between all these tools.
Finally, I shifted to focus on redefining the essence of each of our apps, strengthening the connection between products and their branding, and making both more expressive.
I led several initiatives to empower our customers to better express themselves within our ecosystem of experiences. These include the implementation of a new emoji and reactions system, more comprehensive theming and personalization options, filters and lenses for video calls and recordings, and a fresh approach to UX sounds and illustrations.
Looking ahead
In recent years, two common themes have come into focus as areas I want to lean in more:
First and foremost, creating more humanistic digital experiences, and secondly using product storytelling as a tool to align and advance product internally and externally.
To learn more about my approach, have a look at some of the articles I have published on these topics.
Humanistic Experiences
As technology digitizes our lives at and ever faster pace, and the practice of user experience design continues to mature, it is natural for the apps and services we use at home, school, and work to increasingly resemble one another.
I enjoy putting design and digital art to work in ways that help experiences not only differentiate from the norm, but that also offer us more authentic and personal ways to interact, reflecting our uniqueness.
Storytelling, inside & out
I have seen first-hand that advancing digital products beyond their regular cycles of innovation requires a clear shared vision to be communicated in compelling and inspiring ways.
Getting to this perfect equation takes partnership and practice, but when successful, the impact can go beyond internal alignment and inspiration. It can also transform brands, and steer products in new and exciting directions.
Get in touch
Hello!
I am always interested in meeting new people! Reach out for a casual hello here, or on LinkedIn.
Please note that I have a full-time commitment, and therefore don’t accept any commercial work. However, I will seldomly collaborate on an art related project.
Lastly, time-permitting, I will sporadically take on speaking engagements at conferences or private events.