Creativity has always guided Oana’s path. With a BA in fashion design, she later discovered UX/UI, transforming her love for visual expression into user-friendly digital experiences. With nearly a decade of experience, she has contributed to projects like LittlePay, helping complex ideas reach users around the world.
Colleagues describe her as “an incredibly creative UX/UI Designer with a sharp eye for aesthetics who consistently brings fresh, thoughtful ideas that elevate every project. She’s a true team player, always supportive, collaborative, and ready to jump in wherever needed. Her presence is a huge asset to the team both creatively and personally.”
Here’s a closer look at her path and perspective.
Bianca Cornaciu: What do you like most about design and what led you to choose this career path?
Oana Barbos: I’ve always known I’d end up in a creative field, it’s what I always did as a kid and carried into adulthood, I just needed to find practical ways to apply that creativity as the time went by. I knew I wanted to assist people in expressing themselves and their ideas, I believe everyone deserves a chance to do so. A strong visual introduction and a pleasing interaction are essential for a product, brand, or even yourself, whether you create it or encounter it from the outside.
I also find interesting the balance between possibilities and constraints, whether we’re talking about current technical limitations or the habits that people rely on when interacting with a product.
Bianca Cornaciu: What has been the most challenging project you’ve worked on so far in TechQuarter, and what made it rewarding?
Oana Barbos: I’d say LittlePay. It was the project I’ve been involved with the longest, and it was for sure rewarding to watch it grow from one web app to a suite of apps, and reach a larger audience across different continents. The collaboration with the team was always smooth and easy, both internally and with our clients, leaving room for proposals, improvements, and growth, and made the complicated features feel more like solving a rubik’s cube than dragging stress around.
Bianca Cornaciu: What would a day in your life as a UI/UX Designer look like?
Oana Barbos: I’m not naturally a morning person, but I’ve learned to adapt to the rhythm of the others, and with two cups of coffee it works. Usually, in the first part of the day we talk about updates and what we are up to, with the internal team, with our clients, questions or so, and then kick off the work. The breaks that I take from the usual workflow are mostly to test new updates from the dev team.
Bianca Cornaciu: Looking towards the future, which emerging trends are you most excited about and potentially looking to work with?
What are your predictions in this area for the next 3-5 years?
Oana Barbos: There was actually an interesting discussion about how the line between design and frontend may start to get blurred, as we may all be moving toward something new, like prompt engineers, even if we have different visions. But we’ll see, as long as we’re designing for humans, there will always be a need for a human touch.
Bianca Cornaciu: What piece of advice would you give to someone aspiring to become a UI/UX Designer?
Oana Barbos: Most of the time, there will be iterations. We are humans, your clients are humans – when there is room, they may change their minds. Let them do so and give them options. It’s not about you failing to hit the right choice from the start, it’s about human nature.
Bianca Cornaciu: Has any movie, book, or TV series sparked your interest lately?
Oana Barbos: I’ve been recommending The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying for a while, I think it highlights some aspects that are crucial, yet often forgotten.
Bianca Cornaciu: Is there an activity that helps you relax and unwind?
Oana Barbos: After spending most of the day glued to a screen, fresh air and any outdoor activity feel essential.
Bianca Cornaciu: Fun Fact: Can you share a fact about yourself that not many people know?
Oana Barbos: After graduating from a highschool focused on maths and computer science, I actually started out preparing to be a fashion designer, I have a BA degree in that. Then life took an interesting turn and I ended up as a graphic designer for an IT company, about 9 years ago. Figma had just been launched, and from that point on, curiosity and hyperactivity just took over, and I left everything else.
Bianca Cornaciu: Okay, final question: If Comic Sans were a UI element, what would it be?
Oana Barbos: Flashy banners for miracle ‘all-natural’ weight-loss cures
…that open the site anyway, even if you press ‘close’
