Design has power, and with power comes responsibility.
Ethics
Every decision we make affects people and the planet. I believe in designing with honesty, empathy, and respect, always putting human and environmental well-being first.
Juan Pastén
/hwɑn pɑsˈtɛn/
noun
- A human who designs products and experiences for a living.
- Goes by his last name, Pastén, which sounds suspiciously like "pastel," Spanish for "cake."
- A self-proclaimed "runner" and "weightlifter" who'll trade the gym for tacos or pizza.
- A person known to browse bookstores for the joy of it.
- One who geeks out on Formula 1.
- One who wishes he'd studied Industrial Design 🪑 instead of Computer Engineering.
A little about myself
Me in an F1 game simulator 🏎️
Us in Berlin 🫶✨
Porsche is my favorite car brand
With Kevin Bethune, one of my favorite designers
I love my dog 🐾
Anything related with architecture connects me with my dad 🤍✨
With Mauro Porcini, one of my favorite designers
I love buildings with different shapes, forms, and the way they play with light
My design principles
What I stand for
How I work with people
Connection
When working with my peers, I aim to create a friendly, safe, and open communication channel with everyone. That's why I always try to make and have a professional and personal partnership with the team members.
Collaboration
Everyone on the team is a designer; they design features, stories, code, test cases, etc. Everyone designs a part of the experience; that's why having a close collaboration with the rest of the team and the user is an essential part of creating products. The goal is to deliver a great product.
How I keep learning
Curiosity
Curiosity is something that people lose when growing up. As adults, we should always keep that curiosity spark. We should see everything as if it were the first time, always ask questions, and be excited about everything we don't know.
Experimentation
Having a curious mind makes you try and do things differently. That's why we should always experiment, to apply the new knowledge with excitement, even if it is something small, to see if it worked, how it can be improved, and what we would do differently next time.
Experience
Sep 2021 – Now
Sr. Experience Designer
Thoughtworks - NYC, USA
I work as a consultant for clients across healthcare, government, fintech, and more. I lead the full design process, from research and prototyping to testing and developer handoff.
I work with product managers, engineers, and stakeholders to align on priorities, and I run workshops that bring teams together. I also mentor junior designers and help build design systems, with a focus on accessibility and ethical design.
May 2018 – Aug 2021
UX Designer
Thermo Fisher Scientific - Tijuana, Mexico
I worked with product managers and cross-functional teams on key experiences like Login, Account Registration, User Profile, and the Asset Manager App, from strategy and user flows to high-fidelity prototypes.
I delivered designs for multiple scrum teams across screen sizes, and I led a Design Thinking program to help build a human-centered culture in the company.
Aug 2015 – Now
In parallelCo-founder, Product and Design
Brackets App
A sports tournament platform I co-founded in 2015. It has a web app for tournament admins and a mobile app for athletes to follow brackets, results, and live stats.
I own the full design process, from strategy to prototypes, and work with my co-founder, who leads development. I do research with real admins and athletes, and I use AI tools to prototype faster and test new features.
Jul 2013 – Mar 2018
UX Designer
Arkus Nexus - Tijuana, Mexico
A digital product consultancy with clients in Southern California, including Playboy, San Diego Airport, Figo Pet Insurance, and the University of Mississippi. I designed flows and prototypes for mobile and web, based on usability research.