Portrait of Carolina on a sunny day with a blue stair background

Portrait by Melissa Fernandes

What I want you to know

My name is Carolina Bettencourt. I have good friends in all the places I've worked and some of my freelance clients come already from a third generation of recommendations.

I get excited at the challenge of making things simpler and always aim to create efficient, flexible and scalable workframes.

Social projects in permaculture, circular economy, gender equity or crochet make my heart skip a beat.

Drop me a note if you want to meet, work, collaborate, brunch, Couchsurf or just stand in the sun with me.

What you might want to know

Studies

UX/UI Intensive Course at EDIT. (200h)
Final challenge for Rock in Rio Lisboa
2022-2023

Masters Degree
Multimedia Communication at University of Aveiro, Portugal
2008-2009

University Degree
Multimedia and Communication Technologies at University of Aveiro, Portugal
2004-2008

Erasmus Program
Campus de Pontevedra, Universidad de Vigo
2007

Work experience

Havas CX (Fullsix, Portugal)
Jun 2023 - present

I currently work with Lumen, the Design System of EDP, the largest energy provider in Portugal. Our team creates content with the existing modules, designs new modules whenever necessary and documents all modules, standards and guidelines.

DAMC (Belgium)
Jun 2020 - May 2022 (2 years)

Yellow Stripes (Belgium)
Jan 2020 - May 2020 (5 months)

Brief Creatives (Portugal)
Jul 2014 - July 2016 (2 years)

WAAA! Studio / FRC Global Communication (Macao SAR)
Jun 2010 - Aug 2013 (3+ years)

Growth experience

Keynote Speaker
”Digital Accessibility - what I learned at a first attempt”
Layers Festival, by Friends of Figma Portugal
Sep 2024

Digital Project Management Foundations
Workshop at EDIT. (16h)
Jul 2023

European Voluntary Service
Permaculture farm in Nokere, Belgium
2016-2017 (1 year)

More details?

What the former bosses say

  • Portrait of David Avonture in black and white

    David Avonture

    Manager at DAMC
    Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium

    Carolina is the example of the perfect mindset in a company. She is competent, positive, docile & critical at the same time, articulate, respectful, punctual, forward thinking and constructive ALWAYS!

  • Portrait of Frederik Delfosse in black and white

    Frederik Delfosse

    Manager at Yellow Stripes
    Oudenaarde, Belgium

    I recommend Carolina for her creativity and fresh perspective on the latest trends to develop digital marketing campaigns, websites and offline media. Carolina is punctual, carefully completes her tasks and is flexible to always carry out her tasks and assignments on time.

  • Portrait of Robson and Diogo in black and white

    Robson and Diogo

    Co-founders of Brief Creatives
    Lisbon, Portugal

    Carolina's capabilities to understand each project’s scope and simultaneously present wonderful and practical inputs adds an extra value to any project’s final results.

  • Portrait of Carlos Canhita in black and white

    Carlos Canhita

    Manager at FRC Global Communication
    Macau, China

    Carolina is a professional who is constantly seeking her concerning issues such as optimisation, functionality, user friendliness and how general graphic design should be approached.

  • Portrait of Afonso Pessanha in black and white

    Afonso Pessanha

    Creative Director at Waaa! Studio
    Macau, China

    Carolina was consistently encouraging to my endeavours, which she took upon herself as hers as well, proving to be able to alleviate whatever hindered my work with her natural ability to work as a team player.

  • Portrait of Isolda Brasil in black and white

    Isolda Brasil

    Founding Partner at Waaa! Studio
    Macau, China

    I can’t tell if I was more impressed with her skills, her ability to work under pressure, or her natural easiness to adapt herself and her work to people, circumstances and places.

Other things about me

I was part of a swimming team
Évora (Portugal), 1991-2003

Carolina and 3 friends for her former swimming team making funny faces while underwater
Carolina and two other friends removing roots in a field of the Buddhist Center where they volunteered

I volunteered in a Buddhist Center
Pocklington (UK), September 2008

Carolina and a dozen Eramus friends on top of a mountain with a view of the sea and other mountains in the background.

I did Erasmus in Spain
Pontevedra (Galicia), 2006-2007

Carolina surrounded by three other elements of the team behind while having a light and camera pointed at them

I was producer and director of a news program in college
Aveiro (Portugal), 2009

I lived in this street
Macao (China), 2009-2013

The image is divided in two, showing two different parts of the same street where Carolina lived in Macau, on the left you see a well-known character of the street and on the right Carolina in front of a house
Carolina and her former boss Afonso are in the office of Waaa! Studio, they each carry a frame in front of their heads with a picture of their faces with a mask on. Carolina's mask has number 2 on it, Afonso's mask has a number 1 on it.

I had the coolest boss
Waaa! Studio (Macao, China) 2010-2012

Carolina surrounded by two other people, sitting around a table with food, one of them is Nepalese and the other one Belgian.

I am an active member on Couchsurfing since 2009
Hosted 30+ people

Carolina is showing a few kids and their mom's how they can use the painting materials made available in this table.

I produced a 2-days event for children with Portuguese artists
Macao (China), October 2010

I participated in a group exhibition with handmade t-shirts
Macao (China), August 2011

Carolina is wearing the t-shirt she made with the words "Go to hell, Vetica!". Behind her you can see the skyline of Macao, with the landmard Casino Lisboa in sight.
Carolina wearing very warm overalls and wool beania with a lake in the Arctic Polar Circle in the background

I visited the Arctic Polar Circle
Longyearbyen (Norway), September 2013

Carolina in the sky above Évora, sky diving and holding the parachute, with the guy that jumped attached to her taking a selfie of both of them
Carolina next to the work that won her a first prize, an illustration about 25th of April of '74 with a frame made of a real broken guitar.

I won a first prize
Macao (China), April 2013

I skydived at 4200m
Évora (Portugal), August 2014

I attended a wedding in Nepal
May 2016

Carolina hugging his friend and groom at this Nepali wedding, wearing some Hena tattoos in her arms, flowers in her hair and typical bracelets.
Carolina facing the goat Flor while petting her and laughing

I volunteered in a remote Permaculture farm for one year
Het Voedselbos in Nokere (Belgium), 2016-2017

Carolina presenting to her colleagues in the Permaculture Design Certificate course the work of her team in their final task. She's gesturing and talking while the others look at her.

I took a Permaculture Design Certificate course
Tinos Island (Greece), October 2016

Carolina on the side of the road waiting for a car and holding a paper saying "Plus loin"

I hitch hiked from Belgium to Portugal
Oudenaarde-Évora, 2017

I organised the making of beanies for homeless refugees in Brussels with leftover wool donations
Brussels, 2019-2022

Carolina together with another guy showing to the camera 2 big bags filled with beanies and scarves that would be donated.
A screen showing Carolina making a presentation.

I was a speaker at a Friends of Figma Festival
Layers, online (October 2024)

A whit cat seen from the side, on top of a couch, with a part of her belly shaved and a cone on her head.

I adopted Tita
2023

Interested in collaborating?