Gutto Rocha · Design, leadership, and practice
Brazilian designer with over 17 years of experience.
Get to know my storyDesign is the work of bringing people, business, and decisions together until an idea can make its way into the world.
Son of Joel and Elian, dad to 2 cats, ocean lover, and TV series binge-watcher. Living on the west side of SP, in Guarulhos, the city of work. ADHD gives me random hyperfocuses; right now, it's woodworking. My girlfriend says I'm Bob the Builder.
On top of all that, I've been designing for more than 17 years. I lead teams, get hands-on, and never settle, always trying to change what I can. That's taken me through a wide range of challenges at companies like WebMotors, Conta Azul, Banco PAN, PicPay, Loft, BrandLovers, Oficina Brasil, SulAmérica.
1990
observation, memory, influences
The beginning
I was born in 1990. The son of Joel and Elian, I grew up with my eyes on the TV. I watched the shows and the commercials, too. I sang the jingles, remembered the images, and discovered different ways to tell a story.
Toy Story, movies on VHS, and advertising began shaping my influences long before I thought about working in design.
From inspiration to idea
Car magazines were part of my childhood. I paid attention to the shapes, the details, and the possibilities. Then I started inventing my own: strange cars, models that didn't exist, and sneakers I imagined.
What I saw on TV and in magazines became material for my own ideas.
The question that stayed with me
Beyond imagining, I wanted to understand. I took toy cars apart to discover their parts, how they fit together, and how they worked. That curiosity stayed with me.
2000
experiment, publish, communicate
Other possibilities
When I was 10, my first PC arrived. Through software, CDs, floppy disks, and discovering the internet, I gradually learned what I could do with it.
What I really wanted was the colorful Apple from the ads. The computer I got was different, but it was the one I started experimenting with.
2005 — 2009 · Experiment, publish, communicate
2005 — 2007
On blogs, I chose images, organized pages, and tested what I could put online. In Photoshop, the cars from the magazines returned: now I could change colors, parts, and versions. Linkin Park is part of the soundtrack of those years.
Before 2009
I was the projector kid at church. I ran projections, chose images, edited videos, and designed graphics and brochures. Sometimes, I had just minutes to get a message across. I learned to read the moment, work fast, and improvise.
2010
career, product, listening
February 2009
I started as a junior interface designer. What I had experimented with on blogs, in Photoshop, and in projection became part of a routine of websites, clients, and deadlines. Then came agencies and more things to learn.
2015 — 2019 · Product and research
At Webmotors, cars came back into my story, now in a digital product. Then came Conta Azul and Banco PAN. Understanding what people needed and where they struggled began to guide more of my decisions.
Learning to design also became learning to listen.
Explore my work
2020
leadership, culture, systems, and teams
2020 — Today · Leadership
A journey shaped by product, culture, systems, and teams that need to keep evolving.
Design Manager
I lead Design across the Marketing & Sales, Life & Retirement, and APPs business units. I'm responsible for the design direction of the company's new app, as well as the strategy and evolution of its new corporate portal ecosystem.
September 2025 — Present
Design Manager
During my time at Oficina Brasil, I led strategic initiatives focused on the digital transformation of a company with more than 30 years in the automotive market.
July 2024 — February 2025
Design Manager
I led the design chapter at BrandLovrs, managing the Product Design teams and playing a strategic role in building and evolving the company's Research, Content, and Design System functions.
May 2023 — July 2024
Design Manager
I led two design tribes, managing a high-performing team of six designers, including one Staff Designer (specialist) and five Product Designers.
March 2022 — March 2023
Design Manager
I led teams of up to 15 professionals across Product Design, UX Research, and UX Writing, and established the company's first Staff Designer and Service Designer roles.
May 2020 — February 2022
My career also includes other companies. You can find all my experience in my full resume.
2030
looking ahead, AI in everyday life
The next material
Woodworking became another way to learn by doing. Now, I'm building my lab to bring together what I've learned along the way: wood, studying PCBs, and PC restomods.
I started opening up machines again, understanding the parts, and imagining what they could become. I'm building a server with old computers to learn, test ideas, and explore AI.
I look toward 2030 imagining AI applied to everyday design work: as a partner in research, prototyping, and decision-making, without replacing the curiosity that drives the work.
Different tools. The same drive to discover.