Inside UX/UI Design: with Renan Castro from Bugcrowd

Harness Projects mentor Renan Castro, Senior Product Designer at innovative AI cybersecurity crowdsourcing platform Bugcrowd, recently discussed his key learnings about breaking into UX/UI Design.

With his extensive experience leading user experience design and mentoring aspiring designers, Renan brings a wealth of practical insights to help you break into the UX/UI industry.

Renan previously joined us for a live webinar where he participated in a live mock interview session with students—offering rare behind-the-scenes insight into how hiring managers evaluate junior designers.

One of his most powerful takeaways? Your energy matters.”If you can feel that vibe—that I love UX, even though I don’t come from a UX background—you’re already ahead,” he explained. “That energy, that confidence, that motivation… that’s what gets hiring managers excited.”

Renan knows that many people entering UX come from different industries. And he sees that as a strength. “You can transfer everything,” he said. “Communication, how you speak, how you listen—active listening. Those are soft skills, but they’re critical. If we feel confidence coming from you, we’ll feel more confident giving you the opportunity.”

In the webinar, Renan reviewed student portfolios and offered detailed feedback. One recurring theme: connect with the user. “I missed a bit of the personal story,” he said during one critique. “At the end, I didn’t connect with any specific user or problem. Tell the story. Show me the person behind the pain point. That’s what makes your work stand out.”

He reminded students that UX is not just about screens—it’s about people. And the way you communicate your process and values matters just as much as the final outcome.

Another standout piece of advice: it’s okay to not have everything figured out.“Don’t be afraid to share your process, even if it didn’t go perfectly,” he said. “What matters is how you approached it, what you learned, and how you’d do it differently next time.”

 Renan’s mentorship style is grounded, encouraging, and honest. He’s focused on helping new designers build confidence—not by pretending to be perfect, but by learning how to think and communicate like a designer.

After mentoring several successful cohorts with Harness Projects since 2022, Renan will be bringing that same approach to our future UX/UI Design Career Launcher courses.

Interested in joining us?

Book a call with our team to see if it’s the right fit for your UX/UI Design journey.