A photo of Jarques.

Jarques Pretorius

Arashiyama, Kyoto, JP

1/4000 ƒ/1.4 • ISO 200 • 35mm

background-image

Back

Say Hello!

Download PDF

Innovative Product Designer and Strategic Leader with a strong history of uniting design and engineering teams to drive seamless product launches and elevate user experiences.

Founding Designer, AddGlow Jul 2023 - Dec 2024

  • Led end-to-end design and product strategy for company roadmap.
  • Created a comprehensive Figma design library to maintain consistent user experience.
  • Proactively tackled engineering roadmap initiatives, including developing an email A/B testing framework, user onboarding flow, and user profile pages, accelerating time-to-launch.
  • Spearheaded product launches that achieved a 24% sign-up rate and 19%-30% Day 30 retention, driving significant user acquisition and engagement growth.

Head of Design, Paper.xyz (now thirdweb) Mar 2022 - Jun 2023

  • Designed a seamless FIAT payment ecosystem for NFT purchases, enhancing accessibility for users.
  • Designed a payout system, enabling secure and efficient transfer of sales proceeds to customers.
  • Owned product roadmap development and established key company performance metrics.

Senior Design Manager, Twitch Apr 2015 - Nov 2021

  • Built and led a team of 12 designers to execute impactful Community Initiatives.
  • Partnered with leadership to shape product strategies and multi-year roadmaps.
  • Mentored team members across disciplines, fostering professional growth and collaboration.
  • Spearheaded cross-functional design sprints, aligning stakeholders on strategic objectives.
  • Authored a comprehensive Product Development Process, which reduced miscommunication between cross-functional teams and helped speed up time-to-market.

Product Designer, Twitch Aug 2013 - Apr 2015

  • Led design efforts for mobile and console applications, delivering key features for the Xbox app.
  • Proposed and executed a complete redesign of the Android application, enhancing user experience.
  • Transformed messaging functionality into the Whispers product, aligning with evolving user needs.
  • Collaborated with Oculus to explore Twitch's potential in the VR ecosystem.
  • Developed design systems for TV apps, enabling scalability across multiple devices.
  • Designed Twitch's first merchandise store, supporting a charity initiative during its second launch.

Designer & Developer, Academia.edu Feb 2008 - Aug 2013

  • Re-engineered the front-end into modular, reusable components, improving development efficiency.
  • Conducted UXR sessions to gain deep insights into community needs and behaviors.
  • Designed a streamlined signup and onboarding process, driving growth from thousands to millions.
  • Developed a brand identity and guidelines, establishing a cohesive and recognizable presence.

Skills

Design Software

Figma • Adobe Creative Suite • Sketch • Illustrator • After Effects

Web Development

Cursor • VSCode • NextJS, • ReactJS • Ruby on Rails • Tailwind CSS

UXR & Prototyping

UserTesting • Balsamiq • A/B Testing frameworks • Surveys

Other

Product Development Process • Prioritization & Roadmapping • Product Strategy • Hiring

This site was designed & built by me in NextJS, with Tailwind and Typescript. Hosted on Vercel.

2024 Jarques Pretorius