Marcelo Rondon · cello@cello.design · https://github.com/celloopa

Marcelo Rondon

Product Designer

Portland, Oregon

About

Product designer focused on design systems, technical prototyping, and frontend-aware UX. I prototype the uncertain parts in code before teams commit to build, so product decisions ship with behavior, constraints, and handoff intent already worked out. Most recently I designed and shipped Ghosted, an AI job-application product built so the model stays bounded and every output is code-validated.

Experience

Asheville Dispensary

Product Design Lead / Design Engineer

2022 - Present
Asheville, NC (Remote)
- Own product design across web, print, and packaging, anchored by a Figma design system that keeps the brand coherent as the product line grows.
- Designed and built an internal asset-management tool in React, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS that gives marketing and operations one place to find, manage, and preserve brand assets.
- Design and ship reusable UI components into WordPress through custom PHP and JavaScript plugins, closing the gap between mockups and production.
- Partner with marketing and operations to turn ambiguous requests into scoped, shipped product surfaces.
VegAvengers Marketing

Product Designer / Front-End Engineer

2025 - Present
Freelance project
- Designed and built a responsive discovery experience that helps visitors find VegFests and animal sanctuaries through backend-integrated search.
- Translated the organization's mission and content structure into maintainable React and TypeScript product surfaces.
Cello.Design

Independent Product Designer

2022 - Present
Independent product design and accessibility practice. Selected engagements:
- The Green Phial: redesigned and maintained the WordPress storefront, translating brand direction into responsive, accessible front-end implementation with improved performance and SEO.
- Accessibility consulting: improved WCAG 2.1 compliance for multiple organizations, including River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding, covering screen-reader behavior, keyboard navigation, and performance.
- Legal Impact for Chickens: built secure internal tooling for data-management workflows, handling confidential materials with discretion.
- Ghosted: designed and built an AI-assisted job-application product — a Go terminal prototype rewritten into a shipped Next.js/TypeScript web app, where deterministic code does the work and a single bounded, code-validated model call writes the prose; 744 tests.
Mantera Advertising Agency

Senior Brand Designer

2021 - 2022
Remote
- Designed campaign and marketing materials for retail clients under tight deadlines.
- Worked directly with clients through fast iteration cycles, clarifying goals and constraints while protecting quality and delivery dates.
Success Academy Charter Schools

Learning Experience Designer / Teacher

2020 - 2021
New York, NY (Remote)
- Designed remote learning experiences for ELA and math using structured learning frameworks.
- Produced educational content and visual aids, applying design thinking to improve comprehension and engagement.
The Fine Print Magazine

Visual Storytelling Lead / Photo Editor

2017 - 2019
Gainesville, FL
- Led a team of photographers and directed visual coverage for editorial stories and events.
- Developed visual direction for fundraising events, using photography and design to improve visibility and engagement.

Skills

HTML
CSS
JavaScript
TypeScript
React
Tailwind
Git
WordPress
PHP
MySQL
Figma
Photoshop
Illustrator
After Effects
Premiere
Python
Go

Projects

Ghosted

Designed and built an AI-assisted job-application workspace — from a Go terminal prototype to a shipped web product where deterministic code does the work and one bounded model call writes the prose.

2026
- Rewrote a Go TUI prototype into a live Next.js/TypeScript web product with posting capture, deterministic fit scoring, and ATS-validated PDF export
- Designed the 'minimum viable intelligence' architecture: code parses, scores, and validates; the model only writes prose, checked against a 180-word cap, a banned-phrase list, and CV-grounded honesty flags
- Built a triage review UI (accept, reject, edit) and targeted revision so generated material is edited from, never pasted over
- Shipped to real testers on an invite-gated shared subscription, folding feedback into a synchronous double-fire guard and tighter layouts
- Backed by 744 tests across a pure-TypeScript core and a Next.js app
Product DesignAI Product DesignTypeScriptNext.jsReactDesign SystemsPrototypingHuman-in-the-Loop AI

Education

University of Florida

Visual Journalism & Communications

2016 - 2019

Minor: Digital Arts & Sciences