Friends of Figma Portugal is back in Madeira. 🌊

Design careers are rarely linear, and the tools and processes behind great work are rarely what they seem from the outside. In this edition of the Madeira Design Meetup, three designers share honest, personal perspectives on what it really means to build a practice, find a voice, and navigate a multidisciplinary career.

The Talks

🎤 When Ideas Leave the Canvas
Miguel Leça — UX/UI Designer, Superside

Some ideas never make it past the canvas. Through his personal projects, Miguel explores how AI helped him carry those ideas into working products he could actually use, question, refine, and release. A talk about personal software, learning through making, and how building things became an inseparable part of his practice as a designer.

🎤 Figma, Mandalas & Other Happy Accidents
Tatiana Gouveia — Senior Graphic & UI Designer, AUTODOC

What do mandalas, international clients, and Figma have in common? Apparently, a career in design. Tatiana takes a light-hearted look at how curiosity, experimentation, and a few happy accidents shaped more than 10 years of her journey as a designer — from discovering design through mandalas to working across tech, e-commerce, hospitality and digital marketing. A conversation about finding opportunities in unexpected places and, above all, not losing the one thing no tool can replicate: your own way of seeing and creating.

🎤 A Design Odyssey
Greg Hadala — Head of Design, Douro Labs

From rookie designer to design and dev unicorn, Greg's career has been anything but a straight line. A Design Odyssey is an honest, unfiltered look at the projects, companies and teams that shaped him — the wins, the losses, and everything in between. A talk about navigating a multidisciplinary career across product, fintech and crypto, and what it really takes to go from zero to one.

Agenda

🚪 18:30 — Doors open
👋 18:45 — Welcome notes
🎤 18:55 — Talk 1: When Ideas Leave the Canvas (Miguel Leça)
🎤 19:20 — Talk 2: Figma, Mandalas & Other Happy Accidents (Tatiana Gouveia)
🎤 19:45 — Talk 3: A Design Odyssey (Greg Hadala)
❓ 20:10 — Q&A / Open conversation
🤝 20:30 — Networking
🏁 21:00 — Closing

Practical Information

🗓️ September 3
🕦 18:30 to 21:00
📍 Cowork Funchal
🎟️ Free entry, registration required

Getting Here

🚗 Parking

🅿️ Metered Street Parking (Blue Zone): Available on Rua das Mercês and surrounding streets. Paid on weekdays (8:00 AM–8:00 PM) and Saturdays (8:00 AM–2:00 PM).

🅿️ Parque Santa Luzia: The nearest covered car park, just a 2–3 minute walk away. Open 24/7.

🅿️ Parque Arcadas São Francisco: Next to the Municipal Garden, about a 5 minute walk. Open 24/7.

🅿️ Parque Almirante Reis: Near the Old Town, around 8–10 minutes on foot. Open 6:00 AM–2:00 AM (24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays).

🚌 Public Transport

🚍 Rua do Aljube / Sé / Tribunal (2 min walk): Central stops for the main Horários do Funchal urban lines (e.g. 01, 02, 03, 04, 10, 12, 16).

🚍 Avenida do Mar / Marina (5 min walk): Terminal for almost all urban routes and interurban buses across the island (Rodoeste and SAM).

Whether you're just starting out or have years of work behind you, there's something in these stories for everyone. See you in Funchal. 🌺