⚡ #3: January 25 Issue

Meet Antonio, Lead Product Designer with 20+ years experience, and find out the top 2025 tech trends predictions.

Author

Beatriz Cunha
January 05, 2025

Welcome to the London Tech Bear ✨: A monthly newsletter with the best London can offer for those who work with tech - industry guests, upcoming tech events, and some London fun tips. Brought to you by Beatriz, techie based in London.

In This Tech Bear:

  • Meet Antonio, Senior Product Manager at Mention Me

  • 5 amazing tech & design events this month

  • 2025 tech trends predictions 🔮

  • My favourite winter lights event in London

Read time: 5-7 minutes.

This Month’s Guest

Antonio Pratas is a Senior Product Designer with over 20 years of experience. He worked as a freelancer for quite some time, and last year we met when he spent about three months at TouchNote, contributing to a really exciting project.

He has been fortunate to work with companies such as HP, McCann London, The Economist, Roche, BP, Novartis, Microsoft, and DHL, among many others. Recently, he joined a scale-up in the Martech space, Mention Me. I’d say his experience make him a versatile and complete professional, plus, he’s such a fun person to work with!

Antonio has also co-founded a startup in the energy monitoring space, written a book on design, published multiple articles on design blogs like Designmodo and WebdesignerDepot, and even founded a short-lived design podcast. Now that’s a portfolio!

Originally from Portugal, Antonio moved to London 12 years ago and spent most of that time living in East London. He now resides in the Oxfordshire countryside with his wife, son, and cat, enjoying a better work-life balance while still commuting to London frequently to work face-to-face with colleagues and make the most of what the city has to offer.

Find Antonio on Linkedin and X

Antonio on working life 🤓

What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken in your career, and did it pay off?

Probably going freelancing/contracting. At the time, it didn’t feel like a particularly big risk since I knew others who were also contracting and they were constantly busy, but looking back, it was definitely a risk.

After moving to London as a Web/Digital Designer, I took a job as a Digital Art Director at a smaller agency with the aim of becoming a Creative Director one day, but I quickly realised that track wasn’t really exciting me.

So I got a credit card, quit that frustrating job with nothing else lined up, and spent three weeks in Tenerife and three weeks in California, relaxing, travelling, and just enjoying some time off.

When I came back, I quickly got my first contract at an agency (AMV BBDO), and from there on, I started focusing more on working in UX, Product Design, and working client-side, which is now my role and main focus.

It absolutely paid off. The experience I got while working as a contractor for nearly 10 years was great. I was able to work with some really great clients, on some very interesting projects, and with a lot of different teams and companies. This gave me experience working all the way from simple, small startups to big, multi-national, complex corporations. I learned a lot and grew a lot from it, and although the last few years since COVID were a bit more stressful because of market fluctuations (and contracting is always more stressful than a steady job) I was able to buy my first house during that time and enjoy the flexibility it offered. I was able to spend time off with my wife and son, and I don’t regret any of it.

How do you handle tight deadlines or pressure situations?

I value and respect my time a lot, so I’m not the type of person to be pulling all-nighters or doing overtime to hit a tight deadline. I believe deadlines have to be set according to the time things take to do. In the same way you can’t go to a builder and ask them to build a house in two weeks and expect any more than a shed, you can’t ask a designer to deliver something in a timeline that just isn’t feasible.

Although, when I find myself in high-pressure situations, the key thing is to prioritise. If there is a tight deadline that we can’t move (an event, a special day, etc.), I need to understand what it is that we’re trying to achieve. Then, we ask ourselves, what can we do with the time we have to deliver the most value?

There are always ways of delivering value. It might be just creating a user flow to show steps and our thinking, creating a couple of wireframes to explain an idea, or even just designing a high-fidelity conceptual mockup that hasn’t been validated. It’s all about working with the team to manage their expectations and suggesting ways we can use the time wisely.

Antonio on getting the most out of London 💂‍♀️

What's the best place for a weekend getaway near London?

When I lived in East London, I really enjoyed going down to Kent to enjoy the greenery and escape the city. I often drove down to Farningham, a really cute English village by the river.

These days, I’d be more inclined to recommend the area where I’m living in Oxfordshire, near the border of Buckinghamshire, around Thame and the Chiltern Hills. It feels very calm, it’s still not very far from the city, and you can enjoy some great countryside walks along with quaint villages and pubs.

Favourite street food market in the city?

It has to be Whitecross Street Market. It’s got a great selection of food stalls, and you can either eat at the pub down the road with a drink or head to the nearby Bunhill Fields Burial Ground. I can’t say for sure that it’s the best food market in the city, it probably isn’t, but for me, it’s my favourite. It was the first food market I went to in London, and it reminds me of when I moved to the city in 2013 and started my first job. It holds a lot of memories, and I always enjoy going there.

Antonio on self & wellbeing 🧘‍♂️

How do you unplug without feeling guilty about it?

I’m constantly working on it, and now that I work a lot more from home, it’s harder, but I try to allow myself to just disconnect from work after the workday and try not to worry about any problems I might be dealing with at the moment. Once you’re with your family and friends, they should be your sole focus, and the work will always be there the next day to continue solving that problem.

I also find that going for walks during the workday is a great way to wind down a bit, and a lot of times I can actually think about problems more clearly while alone rather than on my computer with Slack and email and all the other distractions we find ourselves surrounded by these days.

The guilt is something I struggle with a bit. As a contractor, I was very aware that I was contracted for X months to deliver a particular project, but now that I’m working as perm again, I’m trying to allow myself to not feel as guilty if I had a less productive day or if I didn’t deliver as much value in a day as I could. Sometimes progress isn’t done in Figma but might be talking to your team, to your colleagues, to users, or just researching online about your industry or your competitors.

What do you think is the most underrated way to stay mentally healthy?

Working out. I think a lot of people (myself included) see working out as something to be more healthy physically, lose weight, and all in all, it can be a bit of a chore. But the impact it has on our mental health is still underrated by so many people. Going for a run or lifting weights, having a good sweat, just solves so many problems and takes so much stress from you that you might be thinking you don't have an easy way to solve.

So the next time you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or worried and you don’t know what to do about it, try going for a quick jog first and see how you feel about it later. I bet you won’t regret it!

Antonio’s recommendations:

Tell us your favourite…

…podcast?
Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson. I really enjoy some of his approach into self improvement and the guests he has in his podcast. I don’t agree with some of his opinions on gender roles and masculinity, but I quite enjoy his interviews.

…Youtube channel?
It definitely used to be Casey Neistat a few years ago, but recently I’ve been really into Matt Armstrong with his crashed car rebuilds which got me much more interested in cars. There’s something really appealing about seeing a car that seems crashed beyond saving, and seeing the whole process from start to finish on how to fix it in just your garage.

…music to cheer up?
Childish Gambino - Pink Toes. It has such a nice happy and summery vibe to it, it used to be my wake up music on my phone for a long time and I still didn’t get tired of it. 

Hot January Events & Meetups

  • When: Thursday, 9th/Jan

  • Organised by: The Product Group London

  • Price: Free (🆓)

  • About: ​Topic of the Night: Product in 2025.

    2024 has been a rough year in product (and many other industries). As we look to 2025, tonight we’ll briefly look back at 2024, then discuss the year ahead: what are the current and expected market conditions and what does that mean for product people (whether looking for a new opportunity or seeking to grow in an existing role)? What do companies want from product people and do product people need to adjust to meet these needs? How do you prepare for the year ahead? What strategies and tactics can be deployed to see out the current climate and thrive long-term?

  • Speaker: Bruce McCarthy is the Founder of Product Culture. He and his team help companies like NewStore, Camunda, Grab, Vistaprint, and Socure build a high performing organization through coaching, training, and help building the right team.

  • When: Saturday, 11th/Jan

  • Organised by: London Product Manager Network

  • Price: Free (🆓)

  • About: ​This interactive event is tailored specifically for job seekers/switchers to plan the year effectively.

  • Agenda:

    30-Minute Strengths Analysis: Discover your unique skills and strengths

    30-Minute Interest Analysis: Explore your deeper interests and passions

    30-Minute 12-Week Goal-Setting and Planning: Create goals and week-by-week action plans to have a successful first quarter.

  • When: Thursday, 16th/Jan

  • Organised by: Startup Grind London

  • Price: £5 (🆓)

  • About: ​A high-energy pitch battle with 8-10 exceptional startups. Insightful feedback from industry-leading judges. Winners progress to the global semi-finals (Jan 21-23, 2025), with the ultimate champion crowned on Jan 23rd.

  • When: Friday, 24th/Jan

  • Organised by: Semiology Studio

  • Price: From £400 (💸💸💸)

  • About: The ultimate gathering for senior product designers. A day filled with insightful talks and networking opportunities. Learn from industry experts, get inspired, challenge ideas, and connect with fellow creatives.

  • Speakers: Joey Thompson, design at @Miro, Alexandra Jugovic, Innovative Creative Leader, Avi Ashkenazi, head of design @ Spotify, and many more.

  • When: Thursday, 30th/Jan

  • Organised by: The Female Product Lead 

  • Price: Free (🆓)

  • About: Panel discussion and speed networking event that will explore the two distinct pathways as a female leader in tech: Individual Contributor (IC) vs. People Management. This event is designed for female tech leaders, both those currently in leadership roles and those aspiring to step into one, who are seeking guidance and inspiration on how to navigate these career paths.

Great event directories:

Hot Resources

🔮 Looplife, sensescanping, worthwise and humanifesto. What??? Trendwatching released a free 2025 trends highlight report.

🔮 AI is the common thread of nearly every 2025 tech trend. Deloitte’s 16th annual Tech Trends Report is out. Gartner’s report too.

London Lifestyle & Fun

✈️ Cameroon, Fiji or Jordan? The best destinations to travel in 2025.

See you on the next one!

Beatriz 👋

P.S. If you got this far, THANK YOU. I created a personal goal to send at least 1 email per month, for the next 6 months, so I can understand if this topic is interesting to other people besides myself. So if you have a few minutes available now, I’d love to know your opinion about today’s edition if you reply to this survey form. Thank you so much! 😎