Florianópolis (Brazil) as a digital nomad designer
Establishing new routines, taking some breaks, and taking the juice out of life after work.
We wanted to live close to some mountains but not so far from the beach. Wifi would be quite important as we were gonna stay longer than on a vacation trip. Spending our time on the epicenter of things while we spend most of the week working (AKA working from home) wouldn’t make much sense. And we wanted a calm atmosphere, as mentioned in the previous post.
So we started playing safe. Not going too far away. Staying in the same time zone. So we chose Florianópolis (Brazil 🇧🇷). One of the most versatile places in South America. 42 beaches, lots of green hills, jungle, forest, and city life. Everything on a single island. As they say, the ‘Magic Island’.
São João do Rio Vermelho was our first stop for the first 45 out of 60 days. Remote and unknown to most tourists. Ideal for us to be surprised a little.
“Don’t follow a model that doesn’t work. If the recipe sucks, it doesn’t matter how good a cook you are.”
Working on small/focused projects allowed me to plan accordingly what would be the right balance for our next steps on this uncertain journey. I was ok with that flexibility and understood that as part of the process.
And I had the freedom to explore and propose new tools and methodologies that could make things work better, taking into account everything had to be done remotely and the designer is not the one with the truth. There’s always more than one person involved.
Introducing Figma to my daily life
Or for the past 3 years at least. These things change all the time and I don’t wanna get bored or make someone get bored discussing which is the best tool. Also, everything changes from time to time.
Why I thought it would be the right tool considering it was not the most popular at that time. Just to name a few things:
It’s browser-based
It works on any device that runs a web browser. Everyone can share, open and edit Figma files. Many developers don’t own a Mac. And let’s not even talk about the customers!
Simple collaboration
I was working with people from different countries, in different locations. We would have designers, developers, project managers, and customers watching at the same screen, collaborating, and giving feedback, almost in real-time. Customers were not tech-savvy but anyway they managed to work on the Figma file (obviously I kept the main file locked and hidden) and even suggested ideas using the templates I had made. The content was easily provided on the go. No need to grab an Excel file and attach each copy to the corresponding element. And we are talking about a complex industry app design with weird names I had never listened to before.
There are named cursors, tracking people is easy and clicking on someone else’s avatar zooms to what they are viewing at that time. It replaces the finger on the screen!
Anyway, I won’t lie. Working with so talented and enthusiastic people made a difference, besides the tool. And I can name two great guys I had the brief pleasure to work with from the other side of the Cordillera de Los Andes (Chile 🇨🇱) such as Edwin and Emilio.
Perfect Design Review Feedback
Live feedback. Leaving a comment and replying is easy. You can easily check something when it’s done and keep the feedback concentrated in the same place. If there’s feedback, anyone can ping on the exact place where it is and let you know, so you can update it and review it later. That’s completely different from attaching a screenshot on Slack with a scribble that indicates an element to modify, for example. Easier to distinguish, and easier to update!
Smooth developer hand off
The design components can be inspected by any developer in any file they can view. There’s no need for an extra tool (such as Zeplin(. It’s just sharing a link to the file and you are ready to code.
Everything lives in the same place: Online
No way of missing files that might be accidentally sent to the trash bin. No more looking for your files inside a folder and get scared if your computer gets broken or something. More empty space on your hard drive.
“To do the impossible, you need to ignore the popular.”
Continuing my experience as UX Mentor from Brazil
I had joined Acamica in October 2018 to participate as a mentor in the first online UX/UI Design Career. Huge challenge taking into account its 6-month length. That was a very specific niche at the moment but it was a fit for my first steps on the road. Again, I was lucky to have the chance of working with very professional, friendly, and inspirational people such as Anto and Cin.
I was able to stay exactly 3 months in Buenos Aires and 3 months in Brazil without missing classes. Nice.
This also allowed me to have the opportunity to share my experience and knowledge with students from my country and other Latin American countries (like Colombia or Mexico) that I might not have get to know otherwise. The power of work and distance education. Something I did enjoy a lot. Also, one always learns something by teaching. That includes: Preparing the lessons, giving feedback on student’s projects, and being available for any inquiry/recommendation.
More limits = Less options
One of the quotes that I’ve repeated the most. And I can connect this to stoicism, minimalism and so. I really enjoyed the lunches at noon. I was able to clear myself for a while and try something new in a new location. I’m not vegan but there was a nearby restaurant. There was a limit but we were ok with it. Just be open to whatever you get and be grateful. That might be something you would remember more than another lunch at McDonald’s.
The Stoics realized that there are things we control, and things we don’t control. To get to the good life, we should focus on the things we control, and accept the rest as it happens. We can’t change what already is, but we can choose what to do with the given circumstances.
I’ve always been a pedestrian. No car. No motorbike. I can’t get to some specific places, and I was being a traveler in another country anyways. But I was ok with it. It would force me to walk more (important), to discover something I wouldn’t if I were driving fast on a Lambo I don’t own, and getting overwhelmed by having to choose between many options/landmarks (like the photo you are forced to take to show you’ve been there).
Taking the juice out of the week
On the ‘life’ side of things, we enjoyed going to the supermarket and discover fruits, veggies or strange things. Something that is part of the routine back home then becomes an attraction when you get to set foot in a new place. And it’s funny too:
Taking the beer out of the weekends
Feeling productive over the week would make us enjoy the weekend with pace. It’s a discipline that’s not so easy and I feel there’s constant learning and adjustment over it. There’s no ideal recipe and it depends on many factors. But yeah, Saturdays and Sundays were done to be squeezed!
We spent the next 15 days of our stay in Floripa in another neighborhood (Jureré). It was a more urban setup but with a beach nearby. I think that the freedom of choosing where you wanna go next or leave it’s amazing. Why should something last forever?
Eat. You need to eat to live. Live to eat.
A piece of cake. Hard to get bored.
“The value of your travels does not hinge on how many stamps you have in your passport when you get home — and the slow nuanced experience of a single country is always better than the hurried, superficial experience of forty countries.”
We wanted to ‘live’ each place and that’s why longer stays would suit our needs. Most of the things you actually remember the most are not just taking the photos you have to take or visiting the ‘beach you have to visit. It’s more about the tiny things that make up a life experience.
There’s much more to talk about Floripa but I just wanted to make it as short as possible! See you later 👋
