iOS · watchOS
Ploppy [cite: 26]
UX/UI 2024–25 Apple Developer Academy
Problem. Tracking everyday wellbeing without the guilt of yet another health app.
Outcome. A playful, low-friction companion with watchOS-first interactions.
UX/UI Designer · Naples · Available for work
Giorgio
Durante.
iOS & watchOSDesign SystemsArchitecture-trained [cite: 12]5 languages [cite: 14]
I design calm, considered interfaces — bringing an architect's eye for structure and proportion to iOS, watchOS and design systems, shaped by a year at the Apple Developer Academy [cite: 12] and projects across four continents.
iOS ✦watchOS ✦design systems ✦HIG ✦accessibility ✦research ✦prototyping ✦handoff ✦iOS ✦watchOS ✦design systems ✦HIG ✦accessibility ✦research ✦prototyping ✦handoff ✦
About
Architect by training, designer by instinct.
I'm a UX/UI Designer based in Naples, with a master's in Architecture from Politecnico di Torino [cite: 12] and a year at Apple's Developer Academy[cite: 12].
Architecture taught me to think in structure, hierarchy and human scale. Studying in France and Mexico [cite: 12], volunteering in Mozambique [cite: 52] and working between Turin, Lecce and Naples [cite: 23, 29, 35] taught me to design for people whose lives don't look like mine.
- Based in
- Naples, Italy [cite: 23]
- Open to
- Remote · Hybrid · Relocation
- Languages
- IT · EN · ES · FR · PT [cite: 14]
- Focus
- iOS · watchOS · Design Systems
Selected work
Things I've designed, shipped, or learned from.
A small set of case studies from the Apple Developer Academy[cite: 12], freelance work and field projects abroad.
iOS · watchOS
Urban Hunt [cite: 26]
UX/UI 2024–25 Apple Developer Academy
Problem. Cities are full of stories, but most people walk past them.
Outcome. A location-based, gamified discovery app pairing iPhone for exploration with watchOS nudges.
Field project · Mexico
Mazahua House [cite: 46]
Designer 2018–19 UNAM
Problem. Honour local building types and materials in a contemporary prototype home.
Outcome. A built prototype shaped through community workshops.
Field project · Mozambique
Quelimane Community [cite: 52]
Architect · PM 2023–24 Celim Milano
Problem. A school in rural Mozambique needed facilities and computers it couldn't fund.
Outcome. Led a fundraiser for 10 computers, designed & built community facilities[cite: 54, 57].
How I work
Five phases. Plenty of looping back.
01 / Research
Listen first.
Interviews, surveys, competitor analysis[cite: 24]. Define the problem.
02 / Ideate
Many options, fast.
User flows, wireframes[cite: 24]. Cheap exploration.
03 / Prototype
Make it tangible.
Hi-fi prototypes in Figma, built on a real design system[cite: 24].
04 / Test
Confront reality.
Usability sessions, validation[cite: 24]. Learn what to change.
05 / Handoff
Ship together.
Clean specs, tidy components. QA the build like it's mine.
Toolkit
Tools I reach for,
topics I keep current on.
Design
- Figma daily
- Sketch solid
- Miro daily
- Adobe Suite solid
- SketchUp + V-Ray solid
Apple Platform
- Xcode working
- App Store Connect working
- HIG fluent
- watchOS patterns fluent
- SwiftUI reading
Practice
- Design Systems
- Accessibility (WCAG)
- User Research
- Usability Testing
- Prototyping & Handoff
Code & collab
- HTML / CSS basic
- Confluence daily
- Git basics working
- Cross-functional teams
- Multilingual stakeholders
Background
A non-linear route
that turned into an advantage.
2024 — 2025
Apple Developer Academy
One intense year designing real iOS/watchOS products in cross-functional teams[cite: 12].
UNINA · Naples
2018 — 2021
Master in Architecture
Politecnico di Torino. Spatial design, structure, materiality[cite: 12].
PoliTo · Turin
2018 — 2019
Erasmus · UNAM Mexico
Built a Mazahua prototype house with local materials[cite: 12, 46].
CDMX · MX
2018
Erasmus+ · ENSAM Marseille
French school of architecture — a year working in another language[cite: 12].
Marseille · FR
2015
Erasmus+ · ENSAT Toulouse
First international stint — working across countries[cite: 12].
Toulouse · FR
2023 — 2024
Civil Service · Mozambique
Celim Milano, in Quelimane. Fundraised, project-managed, built[cite: 51, 52].
Quelimane · MZ
Contact
Let's make
something good.
I'm open to UX/UI roles, freelance projects and friendly conversations. Quickest path: email[cite: 3]. Slowest path: a postcard from Naples[cite: 23].