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Booking new projects from January 2027

I design and build products that make complicated things feel simple.

I'm Clara Mendes, a product designer and front-end developer in Lisbon. For ten years I've helped startups, studios and healthcare teams turn tangled problems into software people enjoy using, from the first sketch to the shipped code.

Experience
10 years designing and building products
Shipped
40+ products and features
Based in
Lisbon, working with teams worldwide
Clara Mendes smiling in a bright studio, surrounded by sketches and plans

About

I care about the small details that make a product feel right.

I started out designing posters and websites for friends in Porto, and quickly realised the part I loved most was watching people use what I'd made. That curiosity became a career: first at Studio Pátio, then leading patient services design at Carewell Clinics and building the Atlas design system at Northway Logistics.

Since 2024 I've worked independently with a small number of teams at a time. I usually join early, while the problem is still fuzzy, and stay through launch. Because I write production front-end code as well as design, ideas move from Figma to the browser without getting lost on the way.

When I'm not working, you'll find me at a local ceramics studio, cycling along the Tagus or slowly making my way through a pile of books on typography.

What I do

  • Product strategy and discovery
  • User research and usability testing
  • Interaction and interface design
  • Design systems and documentation
  • Front-end development in React and TypeScript
  • Accessibility reviews

Tools I use

  • Figma
  • FigJam
  • Framer
  • React
  • Next.js
  • TypeScript
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Storybook

Experience

  1. 2024 – NowIndependentProduct designer and front-end developer
  2. 2022 – 2024Northway LogisticsDesign systems lead
  3. 2019 – 2022Carewell ClinicsSenior product designer
  4. 2016 – 2019Studio PátioUI designer

Get in touch

Have a project in mind? Let's talk.

I'm booking a small number of new projects from January 2027. Tell me what you're working on and I'll reply within two working days.

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