Eighteen years.
Six countries. One thread.
I've spent my career moving between disciplines because curiosity is a better compass than a job title. The through line in all of it is craft: making things that communicate clearly, feel right, and hold up over time.
I'm John Robert Ramos. A designer, art director, and UX practitioner. I have been doing this, in various forms, since the mid-2000s.
My career started in the Philippines: a desktop printing shop first, then a travel magazine. Humble beginnings, but the right kind. Print taught me that design is a craft before it is anything else: something you get right or get wrong, and the difference shows.
At some point the universe decided I needed a bigger world. I moved abroad, Brunei first, then Dubai in 2010. That last move turned into fifteen years and counting. The UAE became my base, my classroom, and the place where I grew into a senior creative. Working across facilities management, real estate technology, e-commerce, retail wayfinding, and fintech, with freelance work extending into Malaysia and across the broader region, gave me something no single market can teach: the discipline of reading a cultural context before you pick up a pencil.
In 2021, I moved to Lisbon and spent almost two years as a digital nomad, leading product design for a UK enterprise cloud platform, collaborating remotely with multinational engineers and product managers across time zones. In between the big chapters, I have backpacked extensively: Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US, most of Europe. I have lived in six countries. I mention this not to pad a bio but because it shapes the way I read a brief. You cannot design cross-culturally from a single vantage point.
I returned to Dubai and I'm currently leading design at Lunar Rails, a global fintech company, where I own everything from brand to product UI. I'm 41, and eighteen years in, I still find the problems interesting. That, more than any title or toolkit, is probably the most useful thing about me.
Career timeline
Skills & toolsLead Designer
Lunar Rails (OTC Services DMCC) · Mar 2024 — Present
Leading the full design function for a global fintech OTC company — brand, web, product interfaces, and marketing visuals. First designer in the room; building from scratch.
Product Design Consultant
Abuzz Technology · Feb 2023 — Mar 2024
Designed user-centred digital directory and wayfinding systems for commercial, retail, and public environments across the region. Discovery to developer-ready specs, end to end.
Product Design Consultant
Node4 Ltd · Mar 2021 — Feb 2023
Led product design for Nexus, an enterprise cloud management platform, while living as a digital nomad in Lisbon. Built a scalable design system on Atomic Design principles, collaborating remotely with multinational engineers and product managers across time zones.
Product Designer
Property Finder LLC · Jul 2019 — Mar 2021
Designed B2B CRM systems, mobile apps, lead management platforms, and inspection tools for one of the Middle East's largest property portals. Research-through-delivery across web and mobile.
UX Designer
Nearbuy Group LLC · Sep 2017 — Jan 2019
Designed interactive kiosk and digital directory experiences for the UAE's highest-footfall destinations. High-traffic, accessibility-critical interfaces used daily by millions of visitors.
Digital & Creative Lead
Emrill Services LLC · Sep 2012 — Jan 2017
Built and led the creative function for one of the UAE's largest integrated FM companies. Owned brand, digital, print, social, internal comms, and events — solo and at scale.
Web & Graphics Designer
Rocket Internet / Namshi · Jun 2012 — Aug 2012
Produced digital marketing and e-commerce visuals for Namshi.com, one of the MENA region's leading online fashion platforms at the height of the e-commerce boom.
Senior Graphic Designer
Q Home Decor, Landmark Group · Feb 2010 — Jun 2012
Led design and production of ATL/BTL campaigns, POS materials, packaging, and large-format advertising for a major retail brand across the UAE. First senior design role — learned to run a production pipeline.
Graphic Designer
Phenomenon Design House · Sep 2008 — Aug 2009
Designed editorial publications and corporate marketing materials for financial sector clients including SCB, Baiduri Bank, and HSBC. First agency experience — where I learned what a real brief looks like.
Graphic Designer
Excapade Sushi Restaurant · Nov 2007 — Jun 2008
First design role abroad — menus, in-restaurant print, and POS materials across multiple branches. The beginning of a chapter, not the beginning of a career.
Graphic Designer
Desktop Print Studio & Travel Magazine · 2005 — 2007
Where it started. Hands-on print production at a desktop studio, then editorial design for a travel magazine. The fundamentals were learned here — before the bigger world came calling.
Certifications
Google SEO Fundamentals
Coursera / Google
Google UX Design Foundations
Coursera / Google
Google AI Essentials
Coursera / Google
Design Experiences for AI
IxDF Masterclass
From UX to Service Design
IxDF Masterclass
21st Century Design with Don Norman
IxDF Masterclass
Design Sprint
IxDF Masterclass
IELTS
RMIT University
Diploma in Computer and Electronic Technology
System Technology Institute, Manila, Philippines · Graduated March 2005
What I believe
Clarity over cleverness
A good idea communicated clearly beats a brilliant idea that requires explanation. I design for the person seeing it, not the person presenting it.
Breadth is a strategy
Being fluent across disciplines lets me see the whole problem. The best solutions often come from applying thinking from one domain to a problem in another.
Craft is non-negotiable
Details are not decoration. The kerning, the margin, the weight of a button label: these things are felt even when they are not consciously noticed.
Context shapes everything
Work that ignores its cultural, social, and market context disappears into the noise. I design with the audience in mind from the very first sketch.
Honesty builds better work
The best creative relationships are honest ones. I tell clients what I actually think, explain my reasoning, and make room for real pushback.
Adapt without losing yourself
Every generation of technology asks you to change how you work. The discipline is knowing which tools to adopt and which fundamentals to protect.
Work is part of me, not all of me
I love what I do. It is the only professional field I have ever worked in and I intend to keep going. But I am not my job title, my LinkedIn profile, or my portfolio. The fullness of a life feeds the quality of the work, not the other way around.
I draw. I paint. I read more than I should and travel whenever I can.
Personal artwork runs alongside client work and keeps the curiosity alive. Making things with no brief, no client, and no approval process is how I stay honest with myself about what I actually think is good. Some of it lives in the personal work section.
I also write about design, culture, and the strange experience of having lived through multiple complete reinventions of an industry. Some of that lives in my writing.
What people say
John was fantastic to work with. He reads briefs well and delivers work quickly that is not just on brand, but of extremely high quality. A bit of a perfectionist himself, John holds himself to a very strict standard so you always know the output will be strong. Outside of that, he is what you wish your colleagues to be: fun, engaging, collaborative and open. If I got the chance to work with John again, I wouldn't even hesitate.
John Ramos is a life saver. He made my job a lot easier because he is a very skilled graphic designer. He is smart and efficient. Always pulling surprise tricks under his sleeves. His creativity comes with technical knowledge and it works well with complex UI/UX projects. I've never seen someone who works with wireframes in full detail making sure that the developers understand the workflow.
John was an absolute pleasure to work with — the best graphic designer I've worked with bar none. He has a fantastically creative mind, producing only the highest quality of work after taking the time to understand the brief. He would often present ideas which were outside of the box and far better than the original concepts. Everybody we worked with only had positive things to say about his work and attitude.
John is a hugely creative and talented artist able to bring a sense of fun and flair into traditional environments. His ability to create relevance and meaning in his work, for a wide range of audiences, underpinned the transformation of a middle-of-the-road brand into an industry-dominant position.
I was fortunate to have John in my team at Emrill. Creative, fun, and with a keen eye for detail, John was always a pleasure to work with and a great guy to be around. Always willing to go the extra mile — what he achieved was remarkable and will have a lasting effect on the Emrill brand for many years.
Ready to work together?
Currently in a full-time role. Open to select freelance projects and the right next opportunity.