Juan Manuel Cornejo
Designer | Quito, Ecuador
Background
Hi, I'm Juan. I design digital products end to end, from strategy to production, with a focus on complex systems and human-centered principles. Product, UX, UI, interaction... call it what you will. I just call it design.
I've been at this for 23 years, through every major shift in the craft: Flash, Photoshop, Fireworks, hand-written CSS, jQuery, mobile-first, responsive design, design systems, Figma, and now AI. The tools keep changing; the work of making complex things clear doesn't. Today I work where complex systems meet human needs: enterprise tools, industrial software, machine-learning interfaces, and human rights technology.
Until August 2025, I led design at HURIDOCS, a human rights organization, where I helped defenders structure, manage, and preserve critical legal evidence. Whether modernizing the Uwazi platform used by 150+ organizations, designing secure tools for fieldwork, or making machine learning accessible to non-technical users, my work directly supported those fighting for justice worldwide.
Beyond human rights tech, I've designed enterprise software for Fortune 500 companies across logistics, fintech, and healthcare. I thrive on messy problems with sharp constraints, where user needs, technical limits, and business goals all pull in different directions.
Based in Quito, Ecuador. Working globally. Fluent in Spanish, English and French.
How I Work
I'm hands-on and collaborative, working best in small, mission-driven teams where research, prototyping, and iteration drive decisions. I care equally about front-end feasibility, stakeholder alignment, and user experience, because great design happens when all three align.
While tools evolve, good design is rooted in clarity, empathy, and relevance. I bring both strategic thinking and practical execution to every project.
Experience
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Independent Designer
Product, brand, and web design for teams working on complex, meaningful problems.
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HURIDOCS · Design Lead
Led design for Uwazi, an open-source human rights documentation platform used by 150+ organizations worldwide.
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Lumenalta (formerly Clevertech)
Designed enterprise software for Fortune 500 companies across logistics, fintech, and healthcare.
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Designed and facilitated across global consulting engagements throughout Latin America.
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Independent Designer
Websites, brand identities, and print for clients across five countries, end to end from pitch to delivery.
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Azendoo · UI/UX Designer
Redesigned the full product interface and built the visual language for a collaborative productivity startup.
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Cycloboost · Art Director
Directed video, photography, and print for a cycling brand. Built the social campaigns that grew it online.
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Independent Designer
Early-web work. Interactive sites, CD-ROM presentations, Flash experiences, brand systems, and commercial video and sound for ad clients.
Tools & Skills
UX Research
Design Systems
Prototyping
Interaction Design
Enterprise/B2B Design
Workshop Facilitation
Cross-functional Collaboration
Figma
React
HTML/CSS
Miro
AI Interfaces
Pencil
Perplexity for research
Midjourney for visuals
Figma Make, Claude and Lovable for prototypes
Off-screen
When I'm not designing, you'll find me exploring with my camera, getting lost in Latin American literature, or writing about my experiences in this world. These pursuits aren't just hobbies, photography sharpens my eye for composition, reading deepens my empathy for different perspectives, and writing clarifies my thinking about complex problems.
Get in touch
If you have an interesting problem, let's talk.
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