Nice to meet you!
My name is Xouxa (sook-suhh) and I’m a product designer based in the Bay Area, my passion lies at the intersection of human experience and technology.
I strive to design and build visually appealing, accessible, intuitive, and equitable digital products, from applications and websites to dashboards and immersive digital experiences. Design shapes how we understand and navigate our surroundings, and as a designer, I try to lead with creativity, empathy, and intention, recognizing the profound impact that technological artifacts can have on experiences and identity.
Outside of design, I enjoy window shopping, museum hopping, and calmly playing Valorant.
B.S. Graphic Communication @ California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
UX/UI Design Concentration + Media Arts, Society, and Technology Minor
June 2023 – June 2025
Tools
Figma
InDesign
Illustrator
ProtoPie
Caspio
Tableau
HTML
CSS
Python
JavaScript
Skills
UX/UI Design
User Research
A/B Testing
Prototyping
Design System
Web Accessibility (WCAG)
Languages
French (Fluent)
Vietnamese (Conversational)
“Xouxa? Where’s that from?” Perhaps the most asked question, ever.
My short answer is: it's a mix of French and Brazilian.
The long answer starts with my dad watching TV one day, when a segment on the beauty of Brazil began broadcasting. The host was the one and only Brazilian superstar, Xuxa. My dad absolutely loved her name, but to give it a French flair, he added an "O" to create the soft "oo" sound (though there was technically more tweaking involved!).
Fun facts:
My full first name is Maria-Xouxa, after my Great-Grandmother. Coincidentally, a Brazilian coworker pointed out to my mom that I share the same birthday with Xuxa, whose legal name is Maria da Graça Xuxa Meneghel!
When I was a kid, my computer scientist father capitalized on my name's uniqueness by buying the domain xouxa.com. I grew up using it as a blog with Weebly to post about my friends, fashion, and travels.
I grew up spending my summers in Montréal, Canada.
Every June, the city transformed as it prepared for the annual F1 Grand Prix. This meant being surrounded by the constant, thrilling sound of loud V-8 engines and driver advertisements plastered all over town. I was completely enthralled by the colorful, dare-defying cars that took over the city.
But while the race brought the excitement of Formula 1 to the streets, my personal passion for cars was far more tactile and immediate. Spending time there meant my family had to rent a car, which also meant I had the chance to sit in the latest and newest cars, giving me the opportunity to explore cutting-edge automotive technology.
I've always loved the chance to explore the interior of a car: feeling all sorts of textures, analyzing the cockpit layout, and, most importantly, playing with the newest Human-Machine Interface (HMI) systems. These yearly family trips solidified my love for both the high-stakes engineering of F1 and the intimate, detailed design found within every software-driven modern vehicle.