Ricardo • Product & UX
Product Strategy | User Experience

I turn complex environments into easy-to-use digital products.

With over 17 years of experience, I combine business vision, inclusive design, and leadership to build solutions that truly solve problems in complex and regulated scenarios.

My mission is to simplify the lives of both those who use and those who build the product. I help teams focus on what matters and deliver sustainable results, from federal government systems to major private brands.

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Featured projects

Real challenges, tough decisions, and results

Discover how we transformed business problems into design solutions that made users' lives easier.

  • Design System accessibility pattern documentation
    Design System in a government context
    Interface scale with governance and consistency across squads.

    Gov / Education

    PM + Senior UX/UI

    Impact: WCAG incidents: baseline set for quarterly reduction

    Read the full story
  • Frontend development tools and library dependencies
    AI agents for product operations
    Agent orchestration focused on operational gains and governance.

    AI / Digital product

    PM + AI Strategy

    Impact: Operational time: baseline under validation with reduction target

    Read the full story
  • Editorial layout and professional portfolio design
    Distance-learning systems in public health
    Experience structure for large-scale distance learning platforms.

    Health / Digital education

    UX/UI + Product management

    Impact: Engagement and completion: baseline and target under public review

    Read the full story

Portfolio

Evidence by category

Curated selection by practice area: each card opens the full category gallery.

How I can help

Design, Product, and Leadership hand in hand

I believe great products are born from aligned teams. My role is to ensure this happens by working across three essential fronts:

Product management
  • I turn scattered ideas into a clear action plan, focused on company goals.
  • I help the team decide what to build first, prioritizing maximum impact with the lowest effort.
  • I investigate users' real pain points deeply before designing any solution.
UX/UI design
  • I create Design Systems that organize the interface and speed up developers' daily work.
  • Accessibility is non-negotiable. I ensure the product works perfectly for everyone.
  • I review screen details with an absolute focus on clarity, consistency, and ease of use.
Empathetic leadership
  • I closely mentor team members to boost their careers and talents.
  • I foster an environment where the team works with clarity, psychological safety, and autonomy.
  • Direct mentoring to help designers and PMs overcome blockers and make decisions.

My way of working

Less bureaucracy, more clarity and empathy

My workflow is designed to avoid guesswork and focus on what truly moves the needle for the user and the business.

Understanding the problem
  • We talk to the people who matter: the users. We understand their motivations before acting.
  • We map out all solution ideas to choose the best path together.
  • We look at actual behavior and what people are asking for in support tickets.
Choosing the path
  • We decide what to do first with complete transparency, so everyone understands why.
  • We define inspiring and clear goals so we know if we are on the right track.
  • We focus on delivering maximum value while minimizing the risk of our bets.
Making it happen
  • We monitor whether people are enjoying the product even after launch.
  • We keep the interface clean and organized using a solid Design System.
  • We hand off designs to code smoothly, without communication noise.

What they say about me

Work partnerships that left a mark

More than just deliverables, I value the relationships of trust I build with the teams I work with.

  • “Ricardo has the rare ability to organize chaos. He took a project full of uncertainties and gave us clarity, connecting business needs with a flawless user experience.”

    Juliana Castro

    Product Leadership

  • “With him, long and confusing discussions turned into practical plans. Ricardo brought incredible focus to the team, greatly easing the developers' routine.”

    Marcos Andrade

    Engineering Management

  • “Besides a clinical eye for design, he genuinely cares about people and accessibility. The result of his work is always a more human and inclusive product.”

    Renata Silva

    Design Leadership

My journey

From visual care to business vision

I've always believed that technology should make people's lives easier, never more complicated. That's why I work at the intersection of design care, business reality, and users' needs.

In recent years, my career has naturally evolved into a hybrid role. Instead of just designing screens, I now structure paths, facilitate tough decisions, and lead teams so everyone builds with purpose.

My focus is turning difficult problems into simple solutions. I want the team to be proud of their work and the user to feel relief when using what we built.

Galleries related to this journey:

Branding & presentationsUX Research & Discovery

Contact

Let's grab a virtual coffee?

I'm always open to meeting amazing people and talking about leadership, product, and design challenges.

Current availability: Open to chatting about leadership roles and projects seeking genuine transformation.

Chat on WhatsAppConnect on LinkedInSend an Email

Or if you prefer, email me at: jmricardolessa@gmail.com