Based
Fremont, CA · SF Bay Area
Role
Product Designer
Status
Open to early-career roles, 2026
Education
BA Visual Communication Design · SFSU
contact@gianmendoza.design
Say hello
About
Design grounded in research, built with a veteran’s discipline.
Hi, I’m Gian, a product designer in the San Francisco Bay Area. I came to design after five years on F/A-18s in the U.S. Navy, then the reserves and a degree in automotive mechanics, before a degree in Visual Communication Design at San Francisco State. I make research-first, accessible product design that helps people finish what they came to do.
Background
I grew up in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. after high school. My first career was in the Navy: nine years between active duty and the reserves, most of it on F/A-18 aircraft. Aviation maintenance is unforgiving work: it teaches you to slow down, follow the evidence, and respect the cost of a careless decision.
I carried that into design at San Francisco State, where I focused on UX/UI and product design. What pulled me in is the same thing that pulled me toward the Navy: high-stakes, detail-heavy problems where good work quietly changes the outcome for someone on the other end.
Most recently I interned at Swords to Plowshares, a nonprofit serving veterans, designing for the community I came from. I’m the designer who reads the research first, and designs for the person on the other side of the screen.
How I work
Research before pixels.
My instinct is to understand the problem first (talk to people, read the context) before I open Figma. The work I’m proudest of came from listening a little longer than felt comfortable.
Details decide outcomes.
Aviation maintenance taught me small things decide outcomes. Error states, empty screens, and edge cases are the real work, not an afterthought.
Design for good, never for tricks.
No dark patterns. I’d rather earn a choice than manipulate it. Design should respect the person on the other side of the screen.
Build with AI, decide like a designer.
I lean on AI to move from concept to a working build, then bring the research and judgment a model can’t.
Selected experience
2025–26
Product Design Intern · Swords to Plowshares
Design for a nonprofit serving veterans: research, IA, and shipped work.
9 yrs
Aviation Maintenance (F/A-18) · U.S. Navy
Five years active duty plus four in the reserves. Where the obsession with precision and process came from.
Ongoing
Freelance & Volunteer Design · Independent
Building and maintaining real sites for real people: design I have to stand behind, not just present.
Education
Class of 2026
San Francisco State University · BA, Visual Communication Design
2024
V School · UX/UI Design Certificate
Skills
Design
Product design
UX/UI
Information architecture
Wireframing & prototyping
Design systems
Research
User interviews
Usability testing
Trauma-informed design
Competitive analysis
Accessibility (WCAG-minded)
Tools
Figma
Framer
Webflow
Light HTML / CSS
AI-assisted design (Claude, Codex)
What I’m looking for
An early-career product design role on a team that ships things that matter: startups, product teams, or mission-driven orgs. I work best paired with people who’ll push my thinking, where research and clear writing are treated as part of the design.
→ 01
Early-career / junior product designer, full-time
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SF Bay Area, hybrid, or remote (US time zones)
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Available now