Raffaele Vitale
Digital Product Designer
Welcome to the twelfth edition of Async Chats! This letter is all about candid conversations with people like yourself. If you’d like some more context see this letter. Otherwise, let’s get into this.
Raf is a digital product designer. He is originally from the Amalfi Coast, Italy. He has always been a remote worker, which allowed him to live in numerous European capitals, but Lisbon, Portugal has felt most like home.
What are your interests outside of work?
I like to dedicate myself to my health. We get so caught up in everything going on at work and in our lives but we should put health first, mental and physical. I also love telling stories with photos and writing to be more intentional.
I also love coffee – the plan is to buy a coffee roastery in the future and dedicate myself to this as my main job after design. And sell small, curated magazines.
What are some of your favorite digital or physical tools?
I really love my Flexispot motorised desk, plain white. I use it when I’m in Italy. My Patagonia backpack.
Do you prefer to work/ communicate asynchronously or synchronously? Why?
Async first. I only prefer sync communications for feedback, critiques or ideation.
Questions of the week:
What does the future of work look like to you? Specifically, since the pandemic.
I like to imagine that new startups are fully remote with monthly or quarterly retreats, and that big companies adapt according to their needs. It is undoubtedly an exciting time to be alive, given the infinite knowledge of skills and capabilities we can obtain online.
How do you approach recruiting for product design roles?
Having hired people, gave me a unique perspective on being hired. Keeping aside all the subjective contexts of current career growth, preferred environment, being specific or generalist – I think it all comes down to how to demonstrate capabilities and expertise to deliver results in a way that makes sense with the right storytelling.
I would say among the underrated things to literally read the JD well. And have fun!!!! A year ago I completed all the stages of a Twitter interview and I would tell my past self to literally have more fun listening and asking more questions.
Why have you moved over 10 times in the past 6 years?
I think it was the desire to absorb as many ways of living as possible and grow vicariously. I have always been the type of person to try and experience things without taking it for granted.
I always denied to myself that I was a 'digital nomad' because I believed, and I believe, there is not much point in touching and leaving places without diving a little first.
Now I am more interested in having roots and traveling sporadically.
Has the experience of moving and indulging in so many cultures shaped you as a person?
Traveling is great, but I think the best way to immerse yourself and grow in this way is not to stop at appearances. NY and Amsterdam, for example, in entirely different ways, have certainly taught me and shaped me into who I am now. If you are constantly in contact with different ways of doing and thinking, there is no doubt you grow for better or for worse.
Surround yourself with people who make you think more.
What is something few people know about you?
As an extrovert, I’m a very dynamic person in social settings, but I need and value a lot of time alone and away from distractions.
Anything new or important you’d like to mention to the readers?
I am working intensively with a startup for pro traders of NFTs with a great team as Principal Designer. I am learning and researching Web 3.0.
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