About Me
Designer. Leader.
Problem Solver.
From blueprint to billion users
Bio
Annette Amaral
I'm Annette Amaral — a product design leader based in the San Francisco Bay Area, with 18+ years of experience across UI/UX, visual design, branding, and people management. My career started in the craft: building mobile apps, retail websites, and brand identities for clients across industries. That foundation — combined with a B. Architecture degree from Cal Poly, SLO — gave me a deep intuition for space, systems, and how humans move through them.
I work AI-forward across my entire design process — from research and synthesis to prototyping and shipping. I use tools like Claude, Figma Make, and NotebookLM to move faster and think deeper.
When I'm not designing, you'll find me sailing the bay, exploring California with our furry crew, or traveling somewhere new — ideally with good food and great history.
"Good design solves hard problems. Great design does it in a way that's felt by the people it touches — and built by teams who are empowered to do their best work."
Experience
Career Timeline
18+ years of design leadership across startups, agencies, and global tech companies.
Meta
Product Design Manager
Leading design across experimentation, localization, and accessibility — managing up to 10 designers across 4 product areas. Drove $147M+ in business impact, secured $25.9M in EAA compliance funding, and built Meta's Inclusive Design curriculum.
Meta
Product Design Lead
Led design for Meta's localization and communication platforms at global scale. Architected the computer-assisted translation platform (20% → 73% source-word coverage) and shipped the COVID-19 Symptom Survey Map in under 24 hours.
Revel Systems
Lead Product Designer
Led end-to-end redesign of the Back Office and iOS onboarding experience for Revel's point-of-sale platform, with measurable gains in operator efficiency and sign-up completion.
LaunchBadge
Senior UI/UX Designer
Established the design practice at LaunchBadge, leading UX across mobile, web, and enterprise client projects from discovery through launch.
Flagship Creative
UI/UX Designer
UI/UX design for mobile apps, websites, and branding across a diverse client portfolio.
Sports Warehouse
UI/UX & Graphic Designer
UI/UX and visual design across the Sports Warehouse group of companies.