About

I’m Nico, a design engineer working on the web with TypeScript, React, and Node. I care about how things feel—visually, technically, and emotionally—and I enjoy the space where design decisions become code and code shapes the experience of design.

I see beauty as a feeling of connection and ease with a product—when it simply makes sense. Lately I’ve been exploring motion as part of that language; you can see some of what I’ve shipped.

Notes to self

Frustration is natural, endure discomfort, it is inevitable and manageable.
Feel connection with your work —chase that feeling.
When the body wanders, the mind follows—walks invite creativity.
Step away—time and distance often finish the thought.
There’s beauty in simplicity and detail.
Craft with care and authenticity.

Work

  • Focus: UI, interaction & animations, systems design and architecture
  • Stack: TypeScript · React · Node
  • Background: IC → Team Lead → Tech Lead → intentionally IC again

After years as an individual contributor and six years in team and tech leadership, I learned to think in systems, to build sustainably, and to treat collaboration as a design material of its own. I’m now returning closer to making things, while keeping that broader perspective.

Process

I’m pragmatic about process—ideas evolve, and beginnings are not destinations. I prefer small steps, real feedback, time and distance, and refining work until it earns its place.

AI & creativity

I’m interested in AI less as a productivity multiplier and more as a chance to return to creativity. The current hype often frames AI as a way to produce more code with fewer people, but complex systems are more than output—they’re understanding, intent, and long-term care.

My hope is that AI gives us time and distance from pure execution: more space to think, to wander, and to arrive at ideas the way they often come—unexpectedly, like solutions that appear in the shower after a long day.

Outside work

I read out of pure curiosity, enjoy contemplation and writing as a way to connect with the universe and understanding. I care about health and presence. Lately, surfing has become my way of returning to the now. I have recently spent a few months in Brazil practicing it.

Elsewhere