Marcel Akiyama

About

Senior product designer with a strategic mindset, with over a decade of experience in UI design for mobile and web platforms. Solid foundation in design principles, design systems, and three years of experience in UX research informed by psychology. I’ve led cross-functional teams, shaped product strategy, and turned research into actionable design decisions that drive business outcomes. I also bring practical front-end coding collaboration experience to help translate design systems into real implementations and accelerate delivery.

Experience

• Senior Product Designer · Freelancer04-01-2024 –
• Director of Design (Interim) · Alpaca01-01-2022 – 06-01-2022

  Led a newly formed design team during a critical growth phase, scaling design operations to support rapid expansion and aligning design efforts with strategic business objectives. Spearheaded a brand refresh and repositioning Alpaca as a developer-first API brokerage platform, creating a modern, cohesive identity that resonated with fintech startups and hedge funds. This contributed to Alpaca’s 1500% growth in funded accounts from 2022. Increased workflow efficiency by implementing a scalable design system, streamlining collaboration, and reducing redundancy across teams. Played a pivotal role in enhancing user experiences and driving developer adoption, supporting Alpaca’s mission to democratize access to financial markets.

• Senior Product Designer · Alpaca01-01-2022 – 06-01-2022

  Led a newly formed design team during a critical growth phase; developed a cohesive design strategy and improved team performance. Managed and mentored the design team, established OKRs and KPIs, and executed comprehensive design strategies. Increased workflow efficiency by implementing a design system and launched a refreshed brand identity, boosting user engagement and improving brand positioning.

• UX Designer, UX Researcher · Alpaca07-01-2021 – 01-01-2022

  Repositioned Alpaca as a developer-first API brokerage platform service by leading content strategy, information architecture, and website redesign, creating a clear, developer-focused narrative and intuitive user journeys. Conducted comprehensive UX research to identify pain points and align design decisions with business goals, ensuring the website effectively communicated Alpaca’s value proposition. Improved navigation and content discoverability by implementing information architecture strategies, including site mapping and tools like UXtweak, resulting in increased user engagement and satisfaction. Redesigned the website to reflect Alpaca’s technical sophistication and scalability, enhancing the experience for developers and institutional clients. Collaborated with cross-functional teams to align the redesign with broader business objectives.

• Senior Product Designer · Digicro Pte Ltd04-01-2019 – 05-01-2020

  Improved user experience and financial literacy among users to reduce default rates. Conducted extensive user research and implemented targeted design solutions. High default rates on smart loan applications were impacting business growth. Reduced default rates from 57% to 16%, significantly improving the financial health of the user base.

• Product Designer · Please.com09-01-2018 – 12-01-2018

  Led rapid iterations in crafting process flows, wireframes, and other low-fidelity artifacts. Collaborated closely with product managers to define and research requirements, ensuring they were accurately captured and translated into cohesive design concepts.

• Product Designer · Ikkyo Technology10-01-2014 – 02-01-2016

  Defined the UX vision and strategy company-wide, collaborating with leadership to shape and execute the end-to-end customer experience. Infused the culture with a design-thinking mindset to address business, product, and user challenges. Designed the Capitalico/AlpacaAlgo MVP from the ground up; contributed to ML/DL/CV solutions for clients and helped define the company’s mission and vision.

• Product Designer · Mobigraph Inc02-01-2013 – 10-01-2014

  Defined product experience, interface, and brand/marketing strategy. Created user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and detailed UI specifications. Played a key role in hiring to drive project progress and set foundations for future products. Collaborated in developing Qugo & Xpresso, acquired by Samsung and rebranded as Emotify, now available on all Samsung India devices.

• Graphic Designer, Web Designer · Kultvar03-01-2006 – 01-01-2009

  Provided branding and design solutions for SMEs across Japan and Brazil. Developed visual identities, logos, typography, and color schemes; designed responsive websites focused on usability and user experience.

• Art Director · Dentsu01-01-2007 – 02-01-2008

  Introduced expert art direction to creative projects, ensuring high-quality visual execution across all media and campaigns. Provided direction and feedback on design work and explored new media formats.

Education

• IxDF - The Interaction Design FoundationProfessional Education, User Experience and Interaction Design
• OPET / Grupo Educacional OpetAssociate Degree, Information Technology

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