About

I didn’t start in design.
I started where it fails.

Before I ever opened Figma, I was the person on the other end of the call when your software didn’t work. Years in user and application support put me on the frontline of broken products — fielding calls from frustrated users, translating technical dead ends into something humans could actually use.

That experience is the lens I bring to every design decision. I don’t just ask what a user needs — I know what it feels like when a product fails them at 5pm on a Friday.

Juané Boonzaaier, Product Designer based in South Africa

Juané Boonzaaier · Product Designer · South Africa

4Projects Built
3+Years in Support
SaaSFocus Area
In my own words
“I don’t just ask what a user needs — I know what it feels like when a product fails them.”

Juané Boonzaaier · Product Designer

The Journey

User & Application Support

First-hand exposure to where products fail real people. Became the translator between frustrated users and technical teams. Developed an instinct for what breaks and why.

Discovering Design

Started noticing that the problems I was fixing downstream could be prevented upstream. Began studying UX design formally — realised my support background was an advantage, not a gap.

Building the Portfolio

Designing real products — Contractor Hub, StockIT, PipelineStudio. Each project applies the same empathy from support work, now expressed through design decisions instead of support tickets.

Currently open to roles
What I Do

The skills behind the work.

UX Research

User interviews, usability testing, synthesis

Wireframing & Prototyping

Lo-fi to hi-fi, Figma, interactive prototypes

Interaction Design

Micro-interactions, state design, motion

User & System Flows

Flow mapping, edge cases, error states

Design Systems

Component libraries, tokens, documentation

Usability Testing

Moderated and unmoderated, Maze, synthesis

Tools

From research through to building and shipping — the tools I reach for at each stage.

FigmaFigJamMazeNotionMiroNext.jsTailwind CSSGitHubClaudeWindsurf
Education
Regenesys2026 –

Bachelor of IT (Interactive Design)

Starting May 2026

GoogleCompleted

UX/UI Design Certificate

In progress

UniversityCompleted

Bachelor of Psychology

Completed

Open to new opportunities

Let’s make something
worth using.

Currently open to junior product designer roles — remote preferred, open to hybrid in South Africa.

Get in touch ↗View Work