Wait, have you really been a ballet dancer?

Yes! And a teacher too!

Before becoming a Product Designer, I taught mindfulness meditation on the Tuscan hills, and Italian language in the heart of Moscow.

The drive behind all of it? Curiosity, discipline, and open-mindedness.

The past

When I was 16, I started taking ballet classes to spend more time with a girl I liked. Soon, I became obsessed with it, totally forgetting about my love interest! I worked really hard and graduated from the Ukrainian Ballet Academy of Milan. I danced in many European theaters for a while, before an injury required me to put an end to my career.

After the injury though, I didn’t despair. I studied a lot, got certified as a teacher of Italian language, and found a job in the school of the Italian consulate of Moscow. There, I worked as a teacher and even got promoted to administrator of the courses for adults.

In Moscow I discovered my love for photography and meditation. I learned how to use vintage cameras and got certified as a mindfulness teacher. Feel free to check out my photography gallery and guided meditations.

During the pandemic I fell in love with Product Design, and became a certified UX and Product Designer.

All my previous experiences were pointing me in the direction of Product Design, and made me a skilled, curious, empathetic, structured designer.

Steve Jobs was right; you can connect the dots of your past only when looking back.

My first position as a Product Designer was at the start-up Dinner Circle, where we harnessed the power of AI to help Ukrainian refugees find a safe haven in Berlin, and at the scale-up Babaco Market, the first eco-friendly e-commerce in Italy.

The present

I am currently a Product Designer at the top-rated cybersecurity platform Sysdig, an organization trusted by Apple, Booking, IBM, & more.

My design solutions help keep businesses’ cloud infrastructures safe from threats and vulnerabilities.

Freelance work

In parallel with my position at Sysdig, I love freelance work and solving new interesting design problems.

If you find there is a good fit between your project and my expertise in cybersecurity and e-commerce, feel free to reach out.

30 min. video call
Calendly link

Email
hello@giacomopodda.com