Rafael Matos da Silva

About

All my mentoring is completely free. Early in my career, I didn’t have many mentors, so this is my way of giving back to the design community. I’m an independent Portuguese designer with 20+ years of experience in branding, design systems, and UI/UX, working with startups and clients worldwide. I enjoy helping designers work through challenges, build confidence, and grow in their own way. This year, I’ve completed more than 50 mentoring sessions and was recognized twice as one of ADPList’s Top 100 UX Mentors.

How I can help

I mostly help designers work through imposter syndrome, build stronger design systems, and start freelancing with confidence. I can also help you improve your portfolio and case studies, prepare for senior UX interviews, transition into product design, price your work, find clients, and grow from senior to staff or leadership. Having hired and interviewed designers myself, I understand what hiring managers look for and how to help you stand out. I also mentor designers on advanced Figma workflows.

Ask me about

Expertise

Selected work

ECO - Economia Online, Portugal's first mobile-native platform reshaping financial news

Nebulae Software, Cloud software partner branded for startup transformation

Smartspanner, Proactive maintenance tools designed for global operations

OSM - The Art of Engineering, Engineering heritage redesigned into an industrial reference

Slägen & Zonen, Bespoke tailoring reborn as modern executive menswear

Testimonials

• Rafael has plenty years of experience as a freelance designer and it shows. We had a great and fun chat, he answered all of my questions and I am really, really thankful.

  Tamerlane · Aug 2026

• I had such a great mentoring session with Rafael. I came in with a million things on my mind and by the end of the session, everything felt so much clearer. He answered all of my questions and shared some really practical tips that I honestly hadn't come across anywhere else. What I appreciated the most was how he communicates. He's clear, direct, and keeps the conversation focused on what actually matters, so every minute feels valuable. I left the session with a much better idea of where to focus next, but more importantly, I left feeling motivated again. Job searching can be exhausting, and this session gave me a fresh perspective and renewed energy to keep going. Thanks again, Rafael!

  Helena · Aug 2026