Roots

The Freelance Product Designer

Kervin Tan

Kervin Tan is a freelance product designer and a mountain seeker. He is currently a product designer consultant at Hometime, a property management startup based in Australia and at BioMark, a health-tech startup based in Singapore. He is focused on working with companies that are building their MVPs, redesigning their platforms, and scaling their systems. Kervin loves to hike and appreciate nature in its raw form but due to the current pandemic situation, he became a plant daddy.

In this episode, we talked about using his programmer background to his advantage, designing in the health and travel industries, deciding to be a freelance designer, and so much more.

Website: https://www.krvin.com/

Behance: https://www.behance.net/krvin

Dribbble: https://dribbble.com/krvin

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krvin/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/learningkerv

Hometime - https://hometime.io/

Biomark - https://www.biomarking.com/

Edukasyon - https://portal.edukasyon.ph/

Raw Studio - https://raw.studio/

Dan Matutina - http://twistedfork.me/

Dan Matutina on Roots - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3B4Mnb9xz5JtFu8q1GWhO8?si=frEzF8kMTqO3pUaYRD0otA

Anjo Bolarda - https://www.behance.net/abolarda

Raxenne Maniquiz - http://instagram.com/raxenne

Oliver Santiago - https://oliversantiago.com/

The Unicorn Chaser

Carla Taruc Porticos

Carla Taruc Porticos is the UX/CX Research Lead and Managing & Founding Partner of Influx Research Philippines. Before her ABCs, she learned research terms from her parents who worked in market research for over 30 years. Shifting from market research to UX was seamless for Carla, having worked on UX projects since 2006. She also rides a 1200cc BMW RNineT motorbike which she calls “Beast.” Now, Carla is building an agritech start-up to uplift the lives of Filipino farmers, and dreams to be the first Filipina unicorn.

In this episode we talk about golden nuggets of wisdom for user researchers, starting a profitable remote-first research company, the differences between marketing t and user research, and so much more.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlaporticos/

The longest year of my life (Carla’s article) - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/longest-year-my-life-carla-taruc-porticos/

Influx Research - https://www.influxresearch.com/

Insight Asia - https://insightasia.com/

UPLB - https://uplb.edu.ph/main/

The Solo Backpacker

Grey Diamante

Grey wanted to be a UX Designer way before it was cool. After spending more than half a decade as digital product manager for the banking and fintech industry, she is now a Product Design Lead for UBX Philippines. She loves conducting design sprints/workshops and user research and testing.  — anything that will allow her to talk to and learn more about people. She also regards herself as a serial solo backpacker. Having seen how cities/towns in other countries are like, her dream job is to become a globetrotting urban designer for the Philippines. 

In this episode, we talk about transitioning from product manager to product designer, being a T-shaped specialist, how to work in the financial and banking industry, and so much more.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/greydiamante/

Justine Win - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ButrGoMsfnsX2FjGiugh8?si=-d0zwUeMTcquwEo5iCTOrA

UBX - https://ubx.ph/

Sentro - https://sentro.ph/home

Ateneo MIS - https://www.ateneo.edu/ls/sose/iscs/bachelor-science-management-information-systems

Ateneo MISA - https://misa.org.ph/

Leroy Almeida - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ZKbObc1BOT39onWENsH1m?si=aaKOL_GkT5aTHNb5CYB9Og

UP Diliman CS - https://dcs.upd.edu.ph/academics/undergraduate-program/

RCBC - https://www.rcbc.com/

Hany Butter - https://www.facebook.com/therealhanybutter/

The Shapeshifter

Jennifer Suazo

Jennifer Suazo is the UX Lead for Singlife Philippines, a digital insurance company that embraces technology to help Filipinos manage, grow, and protect their money. She took her Master's of Science in Interaction Design and Computing at University of Westminster in London with a Merit Award Class, which previously helped her land her first UX role in AXA Philippines. She’s an avid reader and a self-proclaimed Axure fangirl who enjoys turning complex and manual processes into efficient and delightful digital experiences. 

In this episode, we talk about transitioning from web designer to UX designer, Jen’s life as a masters student in London, the challenges of designing in the field of insurance, and so much more.

Website - http://www.jensuazo.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifersuazo/

De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde - https://www.benilde.edu.ph/

MS in Interaction Design and Computing - https://www.westminster.ac.uk/sites/default/public-files/programme-specifications/Interaction-Design-and-Computing-MSc-2016-17.pdf

University of Westminster - https://www.westminster.ac.uk/

IH Digital - https://www.ihdigital.com/

AXA Philippines - https://www.axa.com.ph/

Singlife - https://singlife.com/

Rien Hermans - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rienhermans/

The Keen Observer

Miramark Diaz

Miramark Diaz is a Designer who creates digital products for brands, companies, and startups. Currently he’s a Design Manager at one of the largest airline companies in the Philippines, Cebu Pacific Air, where he looks over the process, people, and the optimization of their work. His drive to learn, do, and create is fueled by his hunger for the mastery of the process, and the continuous cycle of problem-solving. Outside of work, he fiddles around with learning how to brew good coffee.

In this episode, we talk about Miramark’s journey and insights as a freelancer, how he built his network and presence through Dribbble, learning to become a Design Manager in a corporate environment, and so much more.

Dribbble - https://dribbble.com/miwrath

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/miwrathd/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/miwrath

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/miwrath

Cebu Pacific - https://www.cebupacificair.com/

Angela Chua - https://twitter.com/toffeenutdesign

Toffee Nut Design - http://toffeenutdesign.com/

Meng To - https://twitter.com/MengTo

Deviant Art - https://deviantart.com/

Upwork - https://www.upwork.com/

Nico Encarnacion - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoencarnacion/

Samantha Rose Cruz - https://rootspodcast.design/samrosecruz 

Create.ph - http://create.ph/

Ericson Luciano - https://twitter.com/ericsonluciano

Enrico Tan - https://ertsybot.com/

Invisible ESO Designer

Alex Atienza

Alex Atienza is a Senior Product Designer working on the “Carina” Design System and the Hospitality Cloud platform at Cvent. Previously, he was a designer at gaming companies like Bethesda Softworks and Zenimax Online Studios shipping https://Bethesda.net  and leading design for the game platform shipping The Elder Scrolls Online. Alex believes that transparent UX processes, cross functional teams, and a delivery driven work ethic will result in shipping great products. Currently, he juggles a good father and playing FF7 Remake.

In this episode we talk about designing interfaces for mobile before mobile existed, doing design systems for government and beyond, how to design for a game platform like Elder Scrolls Online, and so much more.

Website - https://alexatienza.com/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/alexatienza

Medium - https://medium.com/@alexatienza

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexatienza/

Elder Scrolls Online - https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/home

Bethesda Softworks - https://bethesda.net/en/dashboard

Zenimax - https://www.zenimax.com/

Comscore - https://www.comscore.com/

Cvent - https://www.cvent.com/

The Chef

Tim Quirino

Tim Quirino is a Product Designer on Facebook's News Feed & Stories. In over 6 years at the blue app, he helped launch Facebook Watch, Facebook Live, and Music Sharing. Not one to miss the opportunity for excellent wordplay, Tim lives by the ethos of Ray and Charles Eames. “The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.” He's also a Chef and Co-founder of Carb Your Enthusiasm, a pop-up dinner series based in San Francisco. 

In this episode, we talk about Tim’s journey from Manila, New Jersey, and Philadelphia to San Francisco, how Tim evolved his career at Facebook, how he manages to spin so  many plates at the same time, and so much more.

Tim’s Portfolio - https://timquirino.com/

Carb Your Enthusiasm - https://www.facebook.com/carbyoenthusiasm/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/timquirino/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/timquirino

Geekadelphia - http://www.geekadelphia.com/

Mikey Ilagan - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6DCNNxj5aGoTGELdpaL4on?si=1r3s6jaUQKi5SxcHXdBZ7Q

Andrew Aquino - https://open.spotify.com/episode/0xl13HWbo6Q1zE6Wu9q3xh?si=OZDIv9lKSQ2sDECfuAd-Lw

The Lotus

Jamie Cabaccang

Jamie Cabaccang is an award-winning Product Design Leader, Inventor, a Certified Reiki Master and Founder of Techies + Wellness. She led product design at Microsoft for over 10 years for Office on the Apple platforms and invented new technology for the Windows Incubation team. She is currently a Product Design Lead at Pinterest. By designing holistic wellness experiences and transformative retreats,  she connects individuals to their own inner wisdom. Helping them on their path to self discovery, authentic self expression and honoring their true calling.

In this episode, we talk about leading design at Microsoft, working on secret future technology, building communities, going inward and following your heart, and so much more.

Jamie's Portfolio - www.jamiecabaccang.com

Instagram - www.instagram.com/_.jamz._

Techies + Wellness - www.techiesandwellness.com

Join the Techies + Wellness Facebook and Instagram community

Pure Reiki Wellness - www.facebook.com/purereikiwellness

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/designchick

Medium - https://medium.com/@jamiecabaccang

Surface Duo - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-duo

The Production Design Nerd

Jeremy Dizon

Jeremy Dizon is a Senior Production Designer at Lyft, where he maintains and evolves the Lyft Product Language design system, supporting the entire Product Design organization. He honed his production design skills at companies like Google and Airbnb, where he advocated for production design as an integral part of building products. Balancing work and life as a dad of two, Jeremy also enjoys dressing up in plastic armor on the weekends as part of the worldwide Star Wars group, the 501st Legion.

In this episode, we talk about Jeremy’s production design process, doing design QA, creating component libraries, the different approaches to design systems, and so much more.

Jeremy’s Portfolio - http://www.jeremydizon.com/

Symantec - https://securitycloud.symantec.com/cc/#/landing

Google Material Design - https://material.io/design/

Airbnb Components - https://airbnb.design/building-a-visual-language/

Lyft Product Language - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB36hr7FQis&

The Pintado

Everett Katigbak

Everett is a Bay Area transplant and failed musician who exchanged the Los Angeles smog for the San Francisco fog. Raised in the LA skate punk scene of the 80s and 90s, he was naturally drawn to the counter culture epicenter that was the Bay Area. He’s currently a documentary filmmaker at Stripe, and is wrapping up Stripe Press’s first feature length release. Prior to Stripe, he was a Brand Creative Manager at Pinterest, Co-Founder of the Facebook Analog Research Laboratory, and was an Exhibition Designer at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.

In this episode, we talk about being a museum designer, using your network to get career direction, being a provocateur in the Facebook office, working with film to tell stories , and so much more.

Everett’s Portfolio - http://www.typochondriac.com/

Dribbble - https://dribbble.com/typochondriac

Getty Museum - https://www.getty.edu/museum/

Facebook Analog Research Laboratory - https://www.facebook.com/analoglab/

Meet Facebook's Secret Propaganda Arm: The Analog Research Lab - https://www.wired.com/2012/05/analog-research-lab/

Facebook's *Ping* Noise Has 4 Notes: F, A, C, and E - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/05/facebooks-ping-noise-has-4-notes-f-a-c-and-e/276310/

Graffiti artist David Choe painting Facebook's office - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4rjOcaNobI

Malthe Sigurdsson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/malthe/

Steward Brand - https://twitter.com/stewartbrand

Evan Sharp - https://www.linkedin.com/in/evsharp/

Dan Matutina - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3B4Mnb9xz5JtFu8q1GWhO8?si=U-tAAWgES_-95sN2cfoBaw