About
I'm Denise, a Staff Product Designer. I work on design systems and frontend quality, and I design in code.
In my current role, I lead the design system at an AI startup in financial services. I design it, I write its code, and I review the changes that go into it. I also built the tools that show where the product drifts from the system, and I help the team fix it, one batch at a time.
I've worked in product design for more than 10 years, mostly in fintech and financial services:
- Formations (2021–2024): design lead and design system lead for a tax and accounting platform for self-employed workers in the US.
- ImmigrantSociety (2019–2021): co-founder. A platform to find and support small businesses run by immigrants.
- Logyc (2015–2020): creative design director. I led design of an e-commerce platform for FEBRABAN, the Brazilian Federation of Banks.
Before design, I spent six years in finance at Itaú Unibanco in São Paulo, and I have a BS in Information Systems. So I understand both the domain and the code.
I work closely with engineers, PMs and founders, and I mentor other designers. The goal is simple: make complex products easier to use, easier to build, and strong enough to grow.
How I work with AI agents
Most of my code is written with AI agents. I run them like a small team.
- An orchestrator plans the work and hands out short briefs.
- Workers each own one lane, so they stay out of each other's way.
- A second AI reviews each PR before it reaches me.
- I set the bar, and I look at every visual change myself.
The agents give me speed. The briefs, checks and reviews keep the quality up.
This site was built the same way. See how it was built.
Outside work
I'm Brazilian, based in the Seattle area. Portuguese is my native language, and I'm fluent in English. Off-screen: my cats Luna and Apollo, good coffee, and jazz, blues and old rock and roll.