Mike Gudenau
Product Designer
Education-rooted Product Designer with 2+ years of experience, bringing human-centered design methods to address real user needs. I investigate inward to observe the human experience, analyze trends, challenges, and opportunities to make meaning and envision future possibilities. I work cross-functionally to turn insights into purposeful, intuitive products that create lasting value for the people who rely on them.
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EXPERIENCE
Mela Mela
March 2024 - present
Co-founder, Product Design, Product Management
I led design and managed Mela Mela’s 0-1 launch. My key roles and responsibilities include:
Brought product to market by aligning key stakeholders and leading a 4-person team through the full product lifecycle, from discovery and design to development and launch.
Led user research initiatives through in-depth interviews, surveys, competitive analysis, and usability testing to inform user-centric workflow and key product decision initiatives.
Drove alignment between engineering, product, and research by translating special education insights into product requirements and user-centered design priorities.
Bridged collaboration between technical and non-technical teams to align product strategy with user needs, key priorities, business goals, and product metrics:
Began first district pilot in 2025, adopting 18 new users
Eliminated teachers’ administrative data synthesis tasks by 90%
150+ weekly submitted data collection events in 2025, signaling continued daily use of product in classroom
Collaborated with engineers to prioritize, scope, and deliver over 150 tickets, leading grooming, sprint planning, and design-to-development handoff.
Designed Mela Mela’s first comprehensive, scalable design system in Figma—establishing consistent UI patterns, branding guidelines, and component libraries to accelerate cross-functional collaboration.
Freelance
Oct 2023 - present
Web Design, Branding
Led the design process across client engagements, from mood boarding to high-fidelity mockups, ensuring brand consistency and usability in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
Guided design decisions from concept to delivery, creating brand-aligned and story-led narratives tailored to each client’s unique mission.
Translated design into responsive websites using Framer, delivering polished and functional sites without engineering dependencies.
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EDUCATION
Bachelor of Sociology
Sept 2007 - Jan 2012
University of California, Santa Barbara
Teaching Credential
Sept 2017 - June 2018
Cal State, Fullerton
Education Specialist Credential, Special Education
Front-end Engineering
Mar 2023 - May 2023
Turing School Of Software And Design
280 hours of program (partial completion)
Product Design Immersive
Mento Design Academy
Completion of 600+ hours of hands-on course material & mentorship
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SKILLS & TOOLS
UX design, UI Design, Design Systems, Systems Thinking, Information Architecture, Journey Mapping, Prototyping, Framer, Figma, Flow Diagrams, User Research, Agile, Basic HTML/CSS and Javascript, Markdown, Competitive Analysis, Usability Testing, User Interviews, Wireframes, Design Thinking, Product Strategy, Leadership, Jitter
