PROJECTS

ABOUT

joao@joaosimons.com

CONTACT

PROJECTS

ABOUT

joao@joaosimons.com

CONTACT

PROJECTS

ABOUT

joao@joaosimons.com

CONTACT

CASE STUDIES

Selected work

CASE STUDIES

Selected work

Mobile App
Siemens

Humanising Technology for Workplace Productivity

Transforming Office Environments with Intelligent Room & Desk Booking Systems

Role:

Lead Product Designer in a team of 4 Designers

Impact:

Increased workplace productivity by 27% through optimized meeting scheduling

Reduced time spent on meeting organization by 43% via smart automation

Achieved 94% user satisfaction rating during initial implementation phase

OPERATIONS
SPREAD AI

Talent development of a world class Design department

Talent development of a world class Design department

Role:

Head of Design leading a Design department of 4 product Designers, 1 UX researcher and 1 branding Designer

Impact:

80% of designers complete at least two upskilling courses per year

100% Designer satisfaction with the new career development process

Cross-functional project participation rises by 60%

GEO-SPACIAL
UP42

Democratizing geo-spacial data for the next-gen Earth observation platform

Interface is streamlined for ease of navigation, with clean layouts

Role:

Senior strategic Designer in a team of 4 Designers

Impact:

Reduce the average time from data request to delivery by 65% through enhanced automation of cross-provider standardization processes.

Increase the adoption rate of advanced enhancement algorithms by 40% among existing customers through targeted training and demonstrations.

Achieve a 95% customer retention rate by implementing comprehensive support systems and delivering measurable ROI through the platform's unified capabilities.

AUTOMOTIVE
Daimler (Fleetboard)

Improving Daimler's fleet logistics analysis and telematics

Transforming Fleet Operations with Comprehensive Monitoring and Analysis Tools

Role:

Senior strategic Designer in a team of 4 Designers

Impact:

Reduced fuel loss incidents by 34% through improved monitoring and investigation tools

Increased fleet operational efficiency by 28% with real-time monitoring capabilities

Improved driver performance metrics by 22% through detailed behavior analysis

AI
SPREAD AI

Revolutionizing industrial product development with Ai engineering intelligence

Role:

Head of Design leading a Design department of 4 product Designers, 1 UX researcher and 1 branding Designer

Impact:

Achieve 1000% (10x) improvement in key operational metrics through AI-powered transformation of siloed engineering data into actionable insights.

Reduce time-to-market for new products by 35% through early identification of cross-domain gaps and enhanced visibility across the development lifecycle.

Decrease error searching time by 75% via intelligent fault identification and contextual knowledge delivery at the point of need.

SaaS
MCKINSEY AND COMPANY

Transforming the global Design service intake platform of McKinsey & Company

Role:

Design Lead overseeing a team of 2 product Designers and 1 UI Designer

Impact:

70% increase in user satisfaction using internal services

20% recuction in information mismatch and rework

Partenered with Figma raising Design tool adoption by 40% and reducing costs by 60%

04 — FAQ

Demystifying the details

01/

How do you approach design transformation in established organizations?

I start by mapping the current state against business objectives to identify leverage points. Rather than imposing systems, I collaborate with stakeholders to develop a tailored roadmap that builds on existing strengths. This typically involves a 90-day assessment phase, followed by targeted interventions across team structure, processes, and technology. The focus remains on creating measurable business impact rather than cosmetic changes.

02/

What's your methodology for building high-performance design teams?

My approach balances three components: skill diversity, psychological safety, and clear growth paths. I've found the most successful teams combine specialized expertise with T-shaped capabilities. I establish structured feedback mechanisms and learning rituals that create a culture of continuous improvement. Most importantly, I connect individual growth to business outcomes, ensuring design talent development directly supports organizational goals.

03/

How do you measure the impact of design investments?

Beyond the standard metrics of user satisfaction and engagement, I establish trackable connections between design activities and business outcomes. This means collaborating with finance and analytics teams to create custom measurement frameworks that quantify how design improvements influence revenue, retention, and operational efficiency. The key is establishing these measurement systems before design work begins, not as an afterthought.

04/

What's your approach to integrating AI into design processes?

Rather than treating AI as a replacement for human designers, I view it as a capability multiplier. I typically implement a three-layer approach: automating repetitive tasks, augmenting creative exploration, and enabling entirely new design possibilities. This requires careful technology selection, workflow redesign, and skills development. The goal is always enhancing human creativity and decision-making, not diminishing it.

01/

How do you approach design transformation in established organizations?

I start by mapping the current state against business objectives to identify leverage points. Rather than imposing systems, I collaborate with stakeholders to develop a tailored roadmap that builds on existing strengths. This typically involves a 90-day assessment phase, followed by targeted interventions across team structure, processes, and technology. The focus remains on creating measurable business impact rather than cosmetic changes.

02/

What's your methodology for building high-performance design teams?

My approach balances three components: skill diversity, psychological safety, and clear growth paths. I've found the most successful teams combine specialized expertise with T-shaped capabilities. I establish structured feedback mechanisms and learning rituals that create a culture of continuous improvement. Most importantly, I connect individual growth to business outcomes, ensuring design talent development directly supports organizational goals.

03/

How do you measure the impact of design investments?

Beyond the standard metrics of user satisfaction and engagement, I establish trackable connections between design activities and business outcomes. This means collaborating with finance and analytics teams to create custom measurement frameworks that quantify how design improvements influence revenue, retention, and operational efficiency. The key is establishing these measurement systems before design work begins, not as an afterthought.

04/

What's your approach to integrating AI into design processes?

Rather than treating AI as a replacement for human designers, I view it as a capability multiplier. I typically implement a three-layer approach: automating repetitive tasks, augmenting creative exploration, and enabling entirely new design possibilities. This requires careful technology selection, workflow redesign, and skills development. The goal is always enhancing human creativity and decision-making, not diminishing it.

01/

How do you approach design transformation in established organizations?

I start by mapping the current state against business objectives to identify leverage points. Rather than imposing systems, I collaborate with stakeholders to develop a tailored roadmap that builds on existing strengths. This typically involves a 90-day assessment phase, followed by targeted interventions across team structure, processes, and technology. The focus remains on creating measurable business impact rather than cosmetic changes.

02/

What's your methodology for building high-performance design teams?

My approach balances three components: skill diversity, psychological safety, and clear growth paths. I've found the most successful teams combine specialized expertise with T-shaped capabilities. I establish structured feedback mechanisms and learning rituals that create a culture of continuous improvement. Most importantly, I connect individual growth to business outcomes, ensuring design talent development directly supports organizational goals.

03/

How do you measure the impact of design investments?

Beyond the standard metrics of user satisfaction and engagement, I establish trackable connections between design activities and business outcomes. This means collaborating with finance and analytics teams to create custom measurement frameworks that quantify how design improvements influence revenue, retention, and operational efficiency. The key is establishing these measurement systems before design work begins, not as an afterthought.

04/

What's your approach to integrating AI into design processes?

Rather than treating AI as a replacement for human designers, I view it as a capability multiplier. I typically implement a three-layer approach: automating repetitive tasks, augmenting creative exploration, and enabling entirely new design possibilities. This requires careful technology selection, workflow redesign, and skills development. The goal is always enhancing human creativity and decision-making, not diminishing it.

04 — Contact

Let's connect the dots

  • 15+ /

    years of experience

  • >95% /

    client retention rate

  • 22 /

    companies

  • 14 /

    projects finished

AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTING

Back to top

Back to top

Let's create
something
extraordinary
together.

Joao Simons

Design director, Ai Expert

joao@joaosimons.com

DOWNLOAD CV

Download

Projects

About

Copyright © Joao Simons 2025

  • 15+ /

    years of experience

  • >95% /

    client retention rate

  • 22 /

    companies

  • 14 /

    projects finished

AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTING

Back to top

Back to top

Let's create
something
extraordinary
together.

Joao Simons

Design director, Ai Expert

joao@joaosimons.com

DOWNLOAD CV

Download

Projects

About

Copyright © Joao Simons 2025

  • 15+ /

    years of experience

  • >95% /

    client retention rate

  • 22 /

    companies

  • 14 /

    projects finished

AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTING

Back to top

Back to top

Let's create
something
extraordinary
together.

Joao Simons

Design director, Ai Expert

joao@joaosimons.com

DOWNLOAD CV

Download

Projects

About

Copyright © Joao Simons 2025