Daniel Canabrava

About Daniel Canabrava

Senior AI Product Designer.

14+ years of craft.

Designing what happens after the AI responds.

Bio

Portrait for the about page — swap when you have a more candid shot.

Senior AI Product Designer with 14+ years of experience bridging human behavior, AI systems, and the craft of interfaces that feel inevitable. My work lives at the intersection of product strategy, user experience, and emerging technology.

I've designed for complex enterprise platforms, consumer apps, and AI-powered interfaces across government, tech, and corporate environments in Brazil. I currently run my own studio, DCT Design de Produtos, and have led design work for international teams including Nearsure.

Based in Brasília, Brazil — and actively planning a relocation to Tokyo, Japan. A city that resonates deeply with how I think about precision, restraint, and respect for the user's attention.

Then I started working on AI products, and a new kind of hard appeared: how do you design for a system that doesn't always give the same answer? How do you build trust when the interface changes at runtime? How do you keep the user in control when the model is doing most of the thinking?

What I care about

What I care about

“I care about two things: the quality of the work, and whether it actually helps the person using it.”

残心

Zanshin

Full presence. Every interaction deserves complete attention — micro-frictions are design debts, not acceptable losses.

間合

Ma-ai

Timing and distance. Knowing when to surface information — and when to step back — is as critical as what you show. Especially true in AI product design.

修行

Shugyo

Iterative mastery. Design is never finished; it is practiced. Iterate, reflect, and refine with deliberate patience.

構

Kamae

Confident structure. A centered, trustworthy interface is like good posture — you don't notice it until it's wrong. Systems that feel stable and unforced, even under complexity.

How I work

Principles

Behaviour first

Grounded in behavioral science — understanding not just what people do, but why. Research and user flows before touching a component.

AI-augmented craft

Figma, Cursor, Claude, and GitHub Copilot as part of a deliberate workflow — elevating the craft, not replacing it.

Bridge design & engineering

Deepening UX Engineering with React to close the gap between design intent and production reality.

Skills & disciplines

Skills and tools

Core design

  • Product Design
  • UX Design
  • Interaction Design
  • Information Architecture
  • User Research
  • Usability Testing
  • Design Systems
  • Prototyping

Emerging & applied

  • AI Product Design
  • Behavioral Science in Design
  • Accessibility (WCAG)
  • UX Engineering
  • Design Tokens
  • AI-Augmented Workflows

Engineering & tools

  • React / JavaScript
  • Figma
  • Cursor
  • Claude.ai
  • Notion
  • GitHub Copilot
  • Gemini

Domains

  • Enterprise SaaS
  • Consumer Apps
  • Gov Tech
  • AI Interfaces
  • Portfolio & Case Study Strategy

Beyond design

Seven years of Kendo (2nd Dan). Shodo and Sumi-e as meditative practice — the same attention to stroke, space, and intention that makes great design. Japan's aesthetic philosophy resonates deeply; I've traveled Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka and I'm actively planning to relocate there. Rock music, the NFL, and games as design objects. A Golden Retriever named Moraine — general supervisor, non-negotiable. One Piece as ongoing proof that the best experiences are deeply considered, years in the making.

Personal interests

Kendo practice — armour and posture in training.
Motorcycle — on the road or at rest.
Candid moment with my dog.

Collaboration proof

Daniel translates ambiguous product problems into interaction decisions the team can execute with confidence.
Former Product Partner · Quote placeholder for final attribution

Foundation

HCI · IDF, 2018

The discipline that asks why people behave the way they do — exactly what good AI product design requires.

International

Australia · Hamburg, Germany

One year studying Design in Australia; several months studying Strategic Planning in Hamburg. Cultural humility and systems thinking, built in practice.

Tenure

14+ years senior PD

Across financial services, government, and AI platforms. Mentored 15+ designers along the way.

Where I've worked

Download CV