Oktavio Alexandre
UI/UX & Visual Designer
Design Engineer
Transition plan, Otavio · GOW Design · July 2026.
The principle
None of the names below got there by credential. All of them got there by public proof: a lib, a product, a manual, a site that speaks for itself. Portfolio > diploma. Building in public > climbing the ladder in silence. The whole plan follows from that.
Changelog
Every change to this site is written down as it ships: what landed, when, and why it was worth doing. Building in public only counts if the record is public too, so the log is part of the proof rather than a footnote to it. Read the changelog.
The plan
01
Foundation, now
- Study the canon (below) in order: Rauno → Emil → Jakub → Josh.
- Practice code beyond Framer: plain React, motion, modern CSS (OKLCHPerceptually uniform color space, more predictable than RGB/HSL for building palettes and adjusting tones., text-wrap, springsAnimation based on spring physics instead of fixed time curves. Feels more natural.).
- Keep going with
Design Circuit; evaluate mentorship with
Willian Matiola with a specific goal: deciding which project becomes the public proof.
02
Public proof
- Pick 1 project and open it up: Framer overrides as an open-source lib, or a technical write-up in English of a real system (Caderno de Erros, J3F).
- Personal site in the group's style: white, typographic, no decoration, precise micro-interactions. This document is the aesthetic's prototype.
- Publish in public: X, GitHub. The work pre-validates before any interview.
03
Positioning
- Target product design and design engineering roles where strong visual craft and implementation experience are an advantage. Evaluate level by scope, team structure and growth opportunity, rather than title alone.
- Position as a UI/UX & Visual Designer, building toward Design Engineering through shipped work and a growing frontend practice.
- Resume in English curated for this (base: Lupa's resume, B2B/SaaSBusiness-to-business and Software-as-a-Service: product sold to companies, billed by subscription. projects).
04
Inside the company
- Actively hunt for mentorship: pair sessions, requested code review, get close to the most senior design engineer on the team.
- Network in parallel starting now: contribute to the group's open source, comment, show up. That's how this market notices people.
- Currently based in Brazil and open to remote international work or relocation when the role, team and life opportunity align.
Discarded: a design degree abroad. High cost and weak return in this niche for the current goal of growing through public work and practical experience. Revisit if a specific relocation or study opportunity justifies it.
The people
Courses & materials
Essential reading
Craft references
Similesimulated worlds · product × design × engineeringTheir aesthetic, decoded
White background. One font, one size. Hierarchy through weight, color, and space, never decoration. No icons, no cover images. The site can stand on text alone because spacing and rhythm carry it. Subtle, interruptible micro-interactions. It's the hardest skill on display with nowhere to hide, which is exactly why it works as proof.