Hi, I'm Thays Santos
Product Designer
Passionate and meticulous Product Designer with 5 years in design and over a decade in software development. I bridge design and engineering to create impactful, user-driven solutions.
About me
As a UX Designer with an Engineering background, I have been advocating for users' needs for over a decade. I'm passionate about solving human-centric product problems and am engaged in accessibility and knowledge sharing.
My Design Journey
I started my career as a Software Engineer, working mainly with Android Development (Java, Kotlin) and web solutions (HTML, CSS, JS). Following my passion for solving users' problems, I migrated to UX and now work as a Product Designer and User Researcher.
I have worked in companies of all sizes throughout my career, including Samsung, Neemu, and Viaplay across various industries such as e-commerce, streaming, and information technology. As an Engineer, I can act as a translator between Designers and Developers.
I am also a chapter leader of Ladies that UX Stockholm, where we engage the UX community with relevant topics and encourage women and non-binary individuals to be speakers in a safe environment. My main goal is to help companies understand their users and develop meaningful solutions.
Years of Experience
Product Design
Years in the tech industry
Engineering + Design
Platforms designed for
iOS, Android, Web, tvOS, Android TV, webOS TVs
Design Principles
Every design decision starts with understanding user needs and behaviors through research and testing.
Aligning design solutions with business objectives to create meaningful impact and measurable results.
Pushing creative boundaries while maintaining usability and accessibility standards.
Delivering polished experiences through attention to detail and systematic design thinking.
Selected Work Cases
Design is more than visuals. It's aligning user needs with business goals through research, iteration, and collaboration.
Feb 2024 - Present
Player Redesign
Improving Player Experience across devices
Team & Platforms
2 Designers, 1 Researcher, 7 Devs, 1 QA, 1 PM
The Challenge
Fragmented player across platforms causing user confusion with live vs replay, time display, and scrubbing functionality.
Key Results
- Seamless design across devices
- Better live-event usability
- Stronger brand presence
- Enabled the team to deliver features faster and more consistently
2025 (2 months)
Post-Watch Engagement
Enhancing Content Discovery & Engagement
Team & Platforms
1 Designer, 1 Analyst, 2 Devs, 1 PM
The Challenge
Users hesitant to commit after finishing content. 'Add to Favorites' was used but rarely watched later.
Key Results
- +8% increase in watching saved content
- Improved engagement through content exposure
- Enhanced accessibility with text + icon buttons
- Richer context with synopses on tablets
Feb 2024 - May 2024 (4 months)
Hot Buttered Eyewear
Accelerating B2B Orders
Team & Platforms
1 Designer, 2-3 Devs, 1 Marketing PM
The Challenge
Website had poor contrast & missing flows. Users had limited mobile experience. Communication bottleneck with stakeholders.
Key Results
- Faster ordering process
- Improved accessibility (contrast, flow)
- Complete UI Kit delivered
- Enhanced mobile experience for 40+ store managers
Skills & Expertise
A comprehensive toolkit developed through years of hands-on experience in product design, user research, and cross-functional collaboration.
Ensuring optimal user experience across iOS, Android, tvOS, Android TV, big screens, and Chromecast platforms.
Conducting user interviews, usability testing, and organizing workshops to evangelize user-centric product vision.
Deep expertise in mobile app design with hands-on Android development experience using Java and Kotlin.
Enhancing experiences through A/B testing, personalized content blocks, and analytics-based improvements.
Acting as translator between designers and developers with over a decade of software development experience.
Supporting accessibility best practices and ensuring compliance with WCAG and EU Accessibility Act standards.
What Colleagues Say
Feedback from team members and collaborators I've worked with.
"Thays is very driven, accurate and methodical in her way to approach design initiatives. Not to mention her great craft skills. In impressively short time she earned full trust from the team. Design decisions rest carefully in her arms. Done very well also how she included the team and facilitated sessions on decisions where it was surprisingly easy to come to joint decision. Much thanks to her preparation and facilitation painting full picture(s). To add to the whole picture her bubbly positive attitude heavily contributes to the good vibe we have in the team."
Viaplay
"Working close to Thays the last couple of weeks have been amazing. Thays is a great designer and it is really interesting working with her because of her many skill sets. The previous experiences she have as a developer and researcher are so advantageous and it has been really valuable for me to listen and take part of some of those knowledges. It is a pleasure to work with her for so many reasons. She is kind, helpful and passionate. She masters both the holistic view but also the small details and she definitely knows our users, or at least know how to get to know them. She is also a rockstar presenter."
Viaplay
Community Involvement
Beyond my professional work, I'm passionate about empowering women and non-binary individuals in the design community through organizing events and fostering connections.
Ladies that UX Stockholm
Event OrganizerI organize UX events with Ladies that UX Stockholm, focusing on empowering women and non-binary individuals in the design community. Our events create safe spaces for learning, networking, and professional growth in the UX field.
Monthly meetups
Global UX community
Inclusive design
Growing community
Let's Work Together
I'm passionate about creating meaningful user experiences and would love to discuss how I can contribute to your team's success.