Dereck Villagrana, Product Designer
About me.
I’m a Product Designer, Creative Problem Solver & Tech Enthusiast. Designing Impactful, & Clean User Experiences.
I have always been enthralled in design, comp sci, and systematic thinking because I have always been curious as to why something works the way that it does, how things can be improved, and what can be done next.
I developed hobbies and interests between these three different interests, and for a time I believed that I was only able to choose one. Turns out, I don’t have to pick one or the other. Instead I chose the path that allowed me to take everything I love about my interests, allowing me to demonstrate my skills and interests as a UI/UX designer.
Currently
Seeking
Full-time product design or related roles. Large team, hard problems, fast enough to matter.
Building
This portfolio. Hand-coded HTML, CSS, and JS. No Webflow, no Framer.
Open to
Introductions, coffee chats, and honest conversations about design work.
Background
UI/UX wasn't where I started. I came in through computer engineering, taking HTML, CSS, Python, and C++ in high school, at De Anza College, and eventually at UC Davis. Somewhere in those courses I figured out that I enjoyed building things but didn't want to make engineering a career. It was a hobby, and I was honest with myself about that. In between CS coursework I was taking design classes to fill credits, and it clicked in a way the other stuff didn't. I already had Adobe experience from photography classes in high school, which put me ahead in graphic design. Logos, posters, layouts: I loved all of it and wanted to keep going.
So I changed my major, landed in graphic design, transferred to UC Davis, and then discovered UI/UX almost by accident. I needed credits. Davis had a course. I took it. And that was it. UI/UX was the intersection I'd been circling: design, systematic thinking, and just enough code to matter. Somewhere in there I realized that good design and good engineering ask the same first question: what actually needs to be true here?
Photography and coding taught me timing, patience, and precision. How something unfolds matters as much as where it ends up. Design taught me that constraints aren't blockers; they're the problem. Both still show up in how I work.
Education
UC Davis
B.S. Design · Davis, CA
De Anza College
A.A. Graphic Design · Cupertino, CA
Philosophy
"The best designs go unnoticed. The best feedback I've ever received was someone saying the fix was so obvious they hadn't even noticed it."
- People, not users. Design requires empathy for real emotions, behaviors, and tasks, not just abstract requirements.
- Constraints are assets. A tight brief forces a sharper idea.
- It's all in the details. Spacing, typography, microcopy: every element should be thoughtfully crafted.
- Hidden gems. Subtle interactions, playful animations, and clever copy can make the difference between a good experience and a memorable one.
Tools
Design
Development
AI Tools
Research
Productivity
The Sidelines
Football & Soccer
I watch one and play the other. Sports have a way of making everything feel more urgent and more possible at the same time.
Photography
Framing is the same problem whether you're in Figma or behind a lens. Still figuring out which one I'm better at.
Coding for Fun
This site is hand-written HTML. When something breaks, I find it more satisfying than frustrating, which probably says something.
Family & Gaming
A Saturday with family beats almost anything. Casual gamer who knows when to put the controller down.