"You are responsible for what you put into the world. And you are responsible for the effects those things have upon the world."
-Victor Papanek, author of Design for the Real World
Olá! I'm Mateus Da Silva* - a Brazilian-American product designer, technology ethicist, and musician who's passionate about creating meaningful things with kind people. *aka Matt
I currently work on design systems on the Hawkins Design System at Netflix, and am publishing the How Kind newsletter. I am always open to connecting and chatting about all things design ✌︎
The things that drive me the most are design ethics and design systems. As creators, we have a duty to be ethical, responsible, and good with the things we make, consume, and condone. And systems thinking goes hand in hand with that - it allows us to thoughtfully and sustainably scale and evolve processes. I am approaching this new, unknown world of AI with curiosity and a critical lens. I seek to learn and influence an approach that continues to hold us accountable for the impact we create through our work.
The opportunities I value the most are those where I can create with people who also wish to make a positive impact through their work. And I believe this work should be done collectively, with cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
I believe the role of a designer is to help create living value - designing for positive impact, understanding and respecting goals and constraints, ensuring accessibility, and setting people up for success.
Speaking
ELISAVA Barcelona University Masterclass (Jul 2025)
Taught a class on design craft, career paths, and design systems at ELISAVA's MA UX Program.
Friends of Figma Miami Speaker (Mar 2024)
Facilitated the talk and workshop “Retrospective and Chill: Navigating Your Professional Path”.
DSW Day Speaker (Sep 2023)
Presented the talk "Breaking the Monotony of Maintenance" with Josh Mateo.
Figma San Francisco Config Speaker (May 2023)
Presented the talk “Growing up at Netflix : Strategies for cultivating emerging talent” with Indya McGuffin.
On the side, I am also a music recording artist, playing sax, guitar, and vocals in multiple musical projects, including my main bands Contando Bicicletas and Mattmatize. Read more about my music here.