A day in the life of a UX/UI designer at LOAD.

Greetings, dear readers! 👋 Nádia on this side, UX/UI Designer at LOAD and 25 years young. Today, I’m taking you on a packed tour of what a typical day at LOAD looks like for me. Buckle up, grab a cup of tea (or coffee), and let’s dive in!

7:00

My day technically starts at 6:45 a.m. but let’s be real, it’s more like 15 minutes past my alarm clock because, well, I’m human, right? I start the morning by checking Instagram – it’s hard to resist scrolling through inspiring designs, recipes I’ll probably never try, and that adorable cat who just adopted a cardboard box as its new palace? I know it’s not the healthiest morning routine, but… let’s just roll with it.

After my scrolling session, I move on to the usual routine: brushing my teeth, washing my face, and all the basic steps to make me feel more awake. Then it’s time for some cuddles with my dogs (kudos to Kico and Neco!) and, of course, breakfast – usually a bowl of cereal or, if I’m feeling extra fancy, some muesli with fruit and yogurt. Once that’s all done, my day officially begins.

Meet my little office buddies, Kico and Neco! 🐾 Always here for the cuddles and company.

8:00 

Sometimes I choose to work from home, but most days, I head to the office. I enjoy the balance between both worlds because I need the interaction with my team and building relationships, but I also appreciate having my quiet moments in my own space. Ultimately, I prefer going to the office — the atmosphere and team spirit make me feel more fulfilled.

My cozy home office setup. 🖥️☕

​​Somewhere between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., I’m on my way to the office. I have one simple rule: I either start my day with my favorite music (I am currently listening to Billie Eilish’s new album) or I dive into a podcast to broaden my horizons — not only to learn but also to listen to different conversations and topics.

On my way to LOAD, ready to take on the day! 🚗✨

9:00 

I arrive at the office at around 9 a.m. and dive into my routine as soon as I enter:

🍽 First, I place my lunch in the fridge — my whole survival depends on it!

🍵 Then, I prepare my cold tea — no coffee for me just yet.

💻 Next, I try to organize my desk, and one of my tasks is to find my favorite mouse pad, which mysteriously disappears almost every morning. I solve the problem by borrowing it from my colleague Rui or grabbing one from an empty desk (yes, almost every day I end up searching for it. Guys, can you please stop “stealing” my mouse pad, please?) 😏

👩🏻‍💻 When the desk is ready, I use the remaining minutes until our daily meeting to get inspired and catch up on what’s happening in the design world. I skim through the design newsletters I’ve subscribed to and check out what’s new on the Designer Daily Report to get my daily dose of inspiration and stay connected with the design community.

📱 Just before the daily meeting, I check our weekly plan to see what tasks are planned for my day.

9:15 

It’s time for our daily stand-up meeting — our routine moment to sync up and share what each of us will be working on throughout the day. 👥 This is where we set the plans, clarify any issues and inevitably laugh at something completely random (usually inspired by someone showing off their pet on camera 🐶 or a “low battery” alert from someone talking about their tasks for the day 😴).

Our daily check-in: syncing up, sharing progress, and always ending with a good laugh to kickstart the day! 🕒💪

My tasks vary greatly: I can be immersed in a customer project, pushing through internal tasks, or helping Sasha, our marketing specialist, once a week to add a little sparkle to our communication ✨. But today there are 2 main tasks for the day:

• Continue working on our internal management project, called LOADM;
• A meeting with our senior and lead designer, Edmundo, and Pedro, our innovation projects manager to discuss some ideas and concepts for a new R&D project.

After the daily and before starting work, I take a well-deserved coffee break. ☕️ I try to limit myself to one cup a day… but some days call for a second one. When that happens, it’s always before 3 p.m. — the caffeine interferes with my sleep later on.

9:45 

Time to get my hands dirty! 🙌

Back at the office and ready to roll! My desk, where all the design magic happens. 💻✨

I started the day working on the LOADM project, which was the first project I tackled when I joined LOAD. 👩🏻‍💻 It was quite a challenge at the time, not only because I was new to LOAD, but also because I didn’t fully understand how the company worked internally. I had to figure out how the different end users — such as the sales department, HR, employees, project managers, and the managing director — would interact with the platform and what requirements each group would have for the interface.

LOADM is an internal management tool that handles vacation tracking, training management, and other internal operations. While the project is still ongoing, it occasionally takes a back seat when we need to prioritize client work.

With LOADM now at a more advanced stage and many wireframes already in place, today I focused on reviewing and revising certain sections and updating outdated components with new ones. At the same time, I have been working on refining the design system to make sure everything stays current and consistent with the latest updates and organizational changes.

10:45 

It’s time for the meeting with Edmundo and Pedro. The focus of this meeting is to review the research I did before the workshop and the key ideas gathered during the initial workshop for the R&D project. The project’s goal is to develop a mobile racing game that integrates AR, AI, and NFTs.

Prior to the workshop, I spent some time researching several topics, including the current landscape of NFTs in Portugal, the most popular racing games in the country, the use of AI in gaming, and usability standards for gameplay. This research provided valuable insights that helped shape the direction of our discussions during the workshop.

In the first workshop, we brainstormed and explored new ideas, using a lean canvas adapted for this project. We gathered a range of concepts and potential directions for the game’s development.

First workshop with the team! Brainstorming ideas, sharing insights, and shaping the future of our project — one post-it at a time. 📝

For today’s meeting, I prepared a board summarizing the main findings from both the research and the workshop. During the meeting, I presented this board, focusing on the key points that could be further developed in our next workshop. We discussed the most viable ideas to validate them, gain new insights, and find out which elements could be implemented in the game or would need further discussion in a second workshop with a broader group.

13:00 

Lunchtime is sacred! 🍝🙏 Normally, my colleagues and I usually gather around, chatting about the day, work, and whatever else comes up while we enjoy our meal.

If I feel like it, I might even play the Switch games that our crew at LOAD is obsessed with. I have to admit that their favorite game, Chicken Horse, is testing my patience. 🙄 The goal is to place obstacles between the start and finish, and they always make it nearly impossible! So, most of the time, I’m perfectly happy cheering for them from the sidelines while laughing at the chaos. Or I’ll sneak in some quiet time with my book. Right now, I’m diving into Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman.

In my favorite reading spot at LOAD. 📚

I love learning how the human mind works, especially our brain, and how we can control our emotions in different situations. It helps me to better understand others and build empathy — something that is particularly valuable in the world of design.

14:00 

After lunch, I return to my desk, ready to throw myself back into the day’s tasks. 👩🏻‍💻 Sometimes, the weekly plan can change due to new priorities or unexpected insights, and today was one of those days. After the pre-lunch meeting and the conclusions we had drawn from it, I had to focus on revising the board we had discussed. The aim was to reorganize it and expand it with more detailed information and further research. 🔎

The design process for this particular project is being introduced to me for the first time by our lead designer, and it’s a new methodology I’m still exploring. The idea is for me to gradually integrate this approach into future DPR (Digital Product Research) projects. As I’m still familiarizing myself with it, I’m taking this opportunity to absorb as much as I can. During our meeting, Edmundo gave me some helpful tips on how to improve the board and make the presentation clearer and more impactful. So I spent the rest of the afternoon implementing these suggestions, refining the layout, and making sure the key ideas and insights were well-organized and easy to understand.

Design Jam where I’m documenting all the research, workshop insights, and everything that comes next throughout the game development process.

I did not return to the LOADM project as originally planned, as the board took up most of my attention that day. However, I am glad that I was able to focus on improving the project, as this step is crucial for the progress of the R&D project.

In the afternoon, I took a quick break to stretch 🤸, rehydrate 💧, and have a small snack — some nuts to keep me going. 🥜 It was a brief pause but enough to keep me going for the rest of the day.

18:00 – See you! 👋

As the day wraps up, I take a moment to organize my desk and make sure everything’s ready for tomorrow. After that, it’s time to relax a little 🧘🏻‍♀️.

At LOAD, teamwork is everything! 💪 Working here as a UX/UI designer means constantly learning, developing, and sharing plenty of laughs with the team. Each day brings new challenges, but that’s what makes it so exciting. What drives me is seeing ideas turn into real, impactful solutions — whether for clients or internal projects.

It’s rewarding to know that we’re creating something that matters. But for now, it’s time to switch off and recharge our batteries for whatever tomorrow brings.

Thanks for joining me on this little tour of my day. Until next time! 👋