# Nilson Gaspar

> Senior Product Designer, developer tools, observability and data platforms. Based in Lisbon, Portugal.

Fourteen years designing, last eight focused on technical products for the people who build software.

## Contact

- [Email](mailto:nilsongaspar@omg.lol)
- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilsongaspar)
- [GitHub](https://github.com/nilsongaspar)
- [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/nilsongaspar.bsky.social)
- [CV (PDF)](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/nilson-gaspar-cv.pdf)

## Case studies

- [Grafana Cloud Application Observability](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/projects/grafana-cloud-observability): Designing APM and RUM solutions for Grafana Labs, bridging the gap between DevOps teams and non-technical users. 60% reduction in user drop-off.
- [Grafana Cloud Onboarding](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/projects/grafana-cloud-onboarding): Redesigning the Grafana Cloud onboarding experience with measurable impact.
- [Grafana Frontend Observability (RUM)](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/projects/grafana-frontend): Designing comprehensive frontend monitoring solution for Grafana Cloud. RUM implementation with competitor analysis and design principles.
- [Service Radar, part 1](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/projects/service-radar-part1): Finding the design gap in open source distributed network monitoring. UX research, community building, and design strategy.
- [Service Radar, part 2](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/projects/service-radar-part2): Designing the dashboard application for Service Radar. AI-assisted design, React development, and DevOps UX optimization.
- [Dynatrace Settings Platform (password protected, NDA)](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/projects/dynatrace/settings-platform): Redesigning the configuration experience for Dynatrace.
- [Dynatrace Spaces (password protected, NDA)](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/projects/dynatrace/spaces): Designing the permission governance layer for Dynatrace.

## Side projects

- [Keystrok](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/projects/keystrok): Self-hosted, open-source API key management. Live at https://keystrok.dev

## Essays

- [The Comic Book Kid](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/notes/the-comic-book-kid): From Sal Buscema and John Byrne to Photoshop, web forums, and design. How the kid who wanted to draw comics became a product designer without ever changing the question.
- [Magic in the Real World](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/notes/magic-in-the-real-world): Taking apart a toy cop car, then a black-and-white TV, then computers. How a kid's need to understand how things work became the way I design.
- [Inside Context, Outside Eyes](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/notes/inside-context-outside-eyes): Recording my own prototypes lets me review them as if they were someone else's work. How to keep a maker's context while borrowing an outsider's eyes.
- [Reality and Fiction in Figma](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/notes/reality-and-fiction-in-figma): The gap between using a tool and understanding what is underneath it, and why that matters more in the age of AI agents.

## Experience

- Senior Product Designer, Dynatrace (Oct 2025 to Apr 2026)
- Designer and Developer (independent), Keystrok (Jul 2024 to present)
- Senior Product Designer, Grafana Labs (May 2022 to Jul 2024)
- Senior Product Designer, KI Challengers (Aug 2020 to May 2022)
- Lead Product Designer, Jungle (Sep 2019 to Aug 2020)
- UX lead, Comparamais (2018 to Sep 2019)
- UX/UI Designer, Aptoide (Jan 2016 to Dec 2017)

## Optional

- [Homepage](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/)
- [Notes index](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/notes)
- [RSS](https://nilsongaspar.omg.lol/rss.xml)