About — not a biography

Still learning

I'm building a career in Creative Strategy from Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal — one project at a time.

My background is in operations, quality and customer experience — coordinating teams, holding standards and paying attention to the details people feel but never see. Creativity has always run alongside it: I began writing as a child, and that turned into branding, digital products and creative work.

Everything I know so far I learned by making things — a memoir, an app, two small brands. Not all of it worked, and I keep those projects here anyway, because the learning stayed even when the project didn't.

In September I begin a Master's in Digital Marketing — structure on top of instinct. I share a desk with a French Bulldog named Tobi, who has strong opinions about deadlines.

I don't fit into a single role — by design.

I live in Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river from Porto — usually with a laptop open and a French Bulldog named Tobi parked somewhere nearby.

A few years ago I stopped waiting for the right moment and started building. Since then I've been learning design, branding, code and writing one project at a time, and collecting them under NIKA Creative Space: apps, small brands, websites, a memoir, and whatever idea won't leave me alone that week.

These days I split my time between my own projects, the next skill I'm learning, and a slowly-growing addiction to building things at 1am. In September I start a Master's in Digital Marketing.

How I got here

It started with writing.

The start

Writing, early

I started writing when I was young — long before I knew it could be a skill rather than a habit. It is still where every project of mine begins.

Work

Operations, quality & customer experience

My professional background is operational: coordinating teams, setting standards and managing quality across more than a hundred apartments. It taught me consistency, detail and how people actually experience a service.

The shift

Experience is designed on purpose

Every good experience was decided by someone in advance. Once I noticed that, I wanted to be part of those decisions — about brands, products and words, not only operations.

Learning by doing

Building instead of waiting

So I started building: a memoir, a relationship app, a décor brand, an apparel brand. Every brief was self-set, every mistake was mine to fix, and each project taught me something a course couldn't.

Now

Moving toward Creative Strategy

I'm intentionally transitioning into Creative Strategy, and in September I begin a Master's in Digital Marketing — structure on top of everything I've learned by making things.

None of this came from a plan — it came from paying attention.

Ideas before assets

I try to start with the thought rather than the visual — the sentence first, the design once the idea can survive being said out loud.

Paying attention is most of the work

Operations taught me to notice small things. I'm learning to apply the same attention to people, brands and the reasons they choose one thing over another.

AI is a faster hand, not a shortcut

I experiment with AI daily to build things that would otherwise need a team. It speeds up the making; the judgement stays mine to develop.

Finish things, then be honest about them

A published book, a live app, two small brands. Some found an audience, most didn't. I'd rather show them as they are than describe them as more than they were.

Creativity grows through curiosity, experimentation and continuous learning.

Mottos — the short version

I use my vibe coding addiction to make you grow.

I hate running, but I love running ads.

When you're working with Veronika, you're also working with NIKA.