Iām a Digital Designer from Italy, working in the web design industry since 2006. Over the years, Iāve collaborated with small, medium, and large agencies across northern Italy, mainly between Verona and Bologna. In 2021, I decided to go independent. Today, I work globally with both clients and agencies, blending meticulous UI practices with bold, unconventional artistic directions.
Hereās a selection of some recent work Iāve released.
Featured Work
Stravagario
Stravagar.io is a different take on a portfolio. Instead of grouping screens by project, I decided to group them randomly by year. And instead of the usual about page flexing all the awards, I added a hidden page where I share a bit about what sparked my passion for design and what continues to influence the way I work. The underwater, dreamy environment does the rest.
De MaldĆØ ā Canvas Chronicles
Canvas Chronicles is a journey into De MaldĆØās work, his first online retrospective. The challenge was to balance the artworks with a dynamic UI: to make the experience satisfying while keeping the focus on the content, not the container. I wanted to make sure the design didnāt follow current trends, but rather felt like something that might have been elegant five years ago, and hopefully still will be five years from now.
The experience brings Giannantonioās art to life, expressing an eclectic and timeless aesthetic.
Floema
Floema is a jewelry brand, entirely handmade by Valentina Caprini, a goldsmith and artist based in Florence. Each Floema piece is elegant and unique, created using a refined goldsmithing technique called silver filigree.
Through the site, I wanted to convey the sense of elegance and lightness that defines Valentinaās creations. Thatās why I designed the āfloating galleryā, with ascending text instead of horizontal, and used light, sleek typography throughout.
Zaltor the Oracle
This was super fun. It was the end of 2023 ā ChatGPT had been out for about a year, and we wanted to experiment with the API to create something easy to use and fun. I started with the idea of CHAD GPT, a Gigachad 3D replica šæ (which eventually turned into Giga Duck) that would answer your questions in the chaddest way possible.
Hereās the first prototypeā¦ OMG, it was so bad. Oh my. Thank God Nicolas (Bouvet, my creative dev partner) convinced me to drop that terrible idea š¤¦š¤£
So we iterated on it, a lot. Eventually, we came up with an idea that brought together all the elements of a fortune teller game: the fortune teller machine, the magician, the crystal ballā¦ and tons of custom animations and micro interactions.
Thereās the rune typing animation, the feather custom cursor, the sound button with real time visualizations based on the music, the eye inside the sphere that follows your cursor, the halo around Zaltor, the text smoke effect, and all the procedural magic Nicolas added to the experience.
We really packed a lot of effects into it and explored prompt engineering along the way.
Kaide
Kaide is a creative endeavour by Matti Kaira and Aarni HildƩn, two friends with a shared interest in society and culture, and a passion for both journalistic and artistic expression. The entire site and its effects are centered around their extensive video production, ranging from documentaries to podcast videos.
Silvia Sguotti
Silvia is an art director and a hyper-talented illustrator based in Bologna. We worked together for a year and bonded instantly. For her portfolio, I wanted to evoke the feeling of a modern brochure ā especially on the homepage, which uses horizontal scrolling, layered sections that act like brochure pages, and a menu that works like a bookās dust jacket.
Filippo Martinelli
Filippo is an incredible 3D artist and 2D/3D animator, and a friend of mine. This site was an experiment I created using Webflow along with a lot of custom code. Itās simple, yet as vibrant and joyful as Filippoās personality.
Patrappa
I started drawing these silly comics just for fun, right before and during the pandemic lockdown. It ended up becoming one of my first independent projects, released in 2021.
Side Projects
Yes, I love them! Side projects are the real moments where you get to test yourself. Here are two concepts I care deeply about and would love to bring to life sooner or later. One is an interactive project related to the world of dance ā breakdance, in this case. How spectacular would that be?
This one is about engaging with famous portrait paintings, bringing them to life through animation and playful interaction using AI.
This is also an open call to all creative developers: who wants to bring these projects to life? Weāre definitely going to have some fun together! š¤
My Design Philosophy
I donāt have a strict philosophy when it comes to design. Iāve seen this field evolve over the years, and Iāve evolved with it. Adapting to change is part of our nature.
At the same time, there are certain aspects I find unchanging, things deeply connected to who I am, how I face challenges, and how I approach problem solving. Two of these have become core to the way I work. Here they are.
Precrastinate
Iām a big fan of what I would call precrastination ā anticipating what youāre going to do in the future and not wasting time. This probably comes from my upbringing; both my mother and father were tireless workers. Iām not saying itās always the right approach, but it gives you the chance to experiment during your free time instead of doomscrolling through other peopleās work.
When you have an idea, try designing it. Even if itās not useful right now, it might be for a future project. It helps you stay ready for the next assignment. At least, thatās what works for me.
Iām definitely not making the Planet a better place one site per day
That might sound annoying or cynically constructed, but once I let go of all the misconceptions and mystifications around our job, I felt truly free ā free to play, free to make mistakes, and eventually free to create that site I thought of while taking a shower š
Final Thoughts
Hope you liked my projects so far! I always hope they speak for themselves and carry a bit of the passion I put into each one. Passion is fundamental ā even more so in this job ā and if I can share my two cents after almost 20 years, itās this: itās all about how you approach the work.
Soā¦ play, play, play. Read. Go find a place where you feel better. Listen to the same song 1000 times. Commit yourself. Sweat. Punch your punching bag. Be obsessed with things others consider futile, because you can extract real, relentless energy from what you love.
Then lock yourself in your studio room (in my case) or head to your job, focus only on your work, and find joy in what youāre doing.
Enjoy yourself!
Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn, and if you have a moment, check out my fantastic stickers and pins, designed especially for your laptop or jacket! š
Cheers!
