Welcome, stranger!

Please feel at home. This is a homepage, in the end.

Some metaphors never die, right? The Web was born as a place to surf across homepages, and each homepage was a table of contents. Nowadays, who cares about table of contents? We want to get the data immediately, to make things happen, to talk to people – not to browse pages. And we don't want to “learn a new app” in the meanwhile: we're there to do things, not to use a UI.

Unfortunately, using technology still feels like... using technology. We still need to adapt to the machine, learn rules and jargon, push buttons like in front of an old-fashioned mainframe, face errors and situations we cannot totally grasp. In some ways, sometimes we feel alone. Why can't interaction with technology be more humane?

I'm Piero, born in Italy and living in the countryside around Rome. I'm a Digital Craftsman: that's what I've been doing for nearly 20 years (and I've learnt some things in the process). You might as well say that I'm a Senior UX/Product Designer and a Design Engineer, with a soft spot for Data Visualization. My job is making your product simpler, more usable, more coherent.

One of my side-projects was playing with datavis: Ghost in the Data. (Good) Data Visualization is a critical asset. Maybe that's why it's so bad more often than not. Many of the datavis I've seen are uselessly complex: algorithmically createad abstract art, that inspire awe and reverence, but are mere eye-candy. Or dashboards and apps that use figures and charts as a shortcut to reassure and look authoritative. Can we save data visualization from data fetishism?

And I'm a fulltime minimalist: I try to figure out, in everything I do, what's essential, what can be removed, what can I avoid to add, and what should I focus on. For example, I boost my concentration using the Pomodoro technique.

Even on this website, I've removed all the bullshit – or, rather, I've hidden it: I've told you what's fundamental up front and let you follow your curiosity. In many digital products there's a clear trend towards minimalism: they're more focused, lighter, smarter: have you had your website go on a detox diet yet?

How can I help you?

I can analyze your current product, and create a document to highlight criticalities, incoherences, accessibility issues and potential pitfalls, suggesting the priorities of a redesign, and some ways to fix or improve the UX

It could take 8-16 hours

Let me help you in the brainstorming, elaborating a concept or exploring possibilities: I can deliver proposals for your brand identity, or make some drafts to envision a product or a feature

It could take 2-4 days

Ok, I will analyze your product in depth (conducting some user research when possible), and rethink its information architecture, UI or flows, if necessary, providing a revised design

It could take 2-4 weeks

Cool, tell me your idea and the requirements – or let’s think about it together – and I’ll come up with a design, some documentation, all the screens, and eventually a static HTML/CSS mockup to help your devs making it real

It could take 1-2 months

Great! I’m open to work as an in-house member of your team, rather than a consultant, but only if 100% remote (or at least 90%, if in Italy), with a fairly flexible time schedule, and a very good fit with your product(s) and your team

It could last some months, some years, or maybe forever (if it’s real love)