senior designer

Employee story: Roberto Gallotta – Senior Digital Designer

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Great design and branding is about much more than simply looking great and having a good colour palate. It’s a holistic, ongoing process of experimentation and iteration that covers everything from perfecting tiny icons and kerning, to translating technical information into visuals that enlighten, entertain, and inform. 

Senior Digital Designer Roberto Gallotta is the person who makes that happen at HyperionDev. With a degree in Brand Building and Management from Vega and a postgraduate degree in Entrepreneurship from UCT, Roberto brings nearly a decade of professional branding and design expertise to HyperionDev’s look and feel. His wide range of talents spans visual design, conceptualising web pages from scratch, perfecting UI/UX, and creating beautiful videos and animations. His work gives our brand a face and a voice – sometimes literally, if you’ve watched any of the adverts he has lent his voice to in the past few years. 

We asked him some questions about his professional experiences, what his job responsibilities are, and what it’s like to work at HyperionDev.

What do you enjoy most about working at HyperionDev? 

What I love most about HyperionDev is the sense of camaraderie we all share. We all share this mission of being a leader in tech and education in South Africa and the world, which makes every win – small or big – noticed. You are appreciated and valued for going the extra mile.

What’s the heart and soul of your role at HyperionDev? 

Working as the senior digital designer means that I ensure that the HyperionDev brand is portraying the high-end work that we do through visual and animated aesthetics. I work closely with content creators and the performance team to take words and bring them to life for social media, PR, adverts, and our website. I make it my mission to make sure that our brand looks amazing and stands out from our competitors, showing users why HyperionDev is the best choice for them when switching to a career in tech.

I also have also been dubbed the cheerleader of the marketing team, making it my mission to spread positive vibes to the rest of the team. I do what I do, because I’m passionate about creating a positive workplace culture, helping employees with their professional development and resolving office problems.

What motivates you to come in or login in the mornings?

What motivates me everyday is that I have the platform to push boundaries and create artwork everyday that inspires people to want to make the career switch to tech. I do this through always thinking about the box, putting my feet in the shoes of our users, and delivering content that makes them surprised and excited about HyperionDev.

What’s a fun fact about you?

I’m actually green-red coloublind, which is probably why I love working with the blue tones of the HyperionDev branding. Some may say this is a BIG ISSUE that the lead designer is colour blind, but I see it as an advantage, because I create artwork and communication that is accessible to people who otherwise would be excluded and can’t see our communications. 

Tell us a bit about your professional development as an employee at HyperionDev.

I started off as a midweight designer back in 2018, when we first went through a rebrand, taking the company from orange and grey to blue and gold. With the company believing in me and my abilities, I’ve been given the space to grow and learn from every task I do.

I have grown to love User Experience design, and animation, where making a design is not about how pretty it looks, it’s more about how best a piece of content can be received by a user. This is mostly applied on our website, where I ensure that the images used represent our audience in the best way, and guarantee that our information is delivered in the way that’s easiest to understand. Working at HyperionDev has also allowed me a lot of career experimentation: I’ve worked as a director on a HyperionDev commercial that aired on TV in 2020, and have flown across the country to meet and interview students for testimonials.

How do you ensure that you keep yourself upskilled & knowledgeable in your field of expertise? 

Working as a digital designer in a saturated market, you always have to upskill yourself. I’ve done it through teaching myself animation, where I can take static designs and bring them to life with motion. I’ve done a UX course, to better understand how users think and how to deliver wireframes and high in mockups to developers. I’m also in the process of starting the HyperionDev Full Stack Web Developer bootcamp because, as we say, tech is the future, and I would be silly not to ride that train.

Which of HyperionDev’s core values resonates with you the most, and why?

Problem Solving. I believe that with every roadblock, there is a way to jump over it. It takes a little bit of thinking smart, but anything is achievable. It’s almost like designing an infographic: it’s a step-by-step process of thought, where you need to understand the problem at hand, and you brainstorm different ways to build over the roadblock. A quote I like to say to myself when faced with a problem is “1 ounce of self doubt is a mile away from your successes”. You have to be confident in your abilities, no matter how long it takes; be easy on yourself and your solutions will come to you.

What’s a fond memory you have of working as a HyperionDev employee?

Some of my best moments were when the team would get together for drinks and play board games at the office (before the big lockdown). It was so fun and we’d get a little silly, dance to music, and have the best time. I have made many close friends at HyperionDev.

How is HyperionDev different from other places you’ve worked?

HyperionDev makes me feel appreciated and trusted in what I do. Other companies I’ve worked at have been very corporate. Here, I’ve been given the freedom to explore my creativity and implement my ideas.

What makes you feel PROUD to be a HyperionDev employee?

I feel proud of what we do: giving people an alternative way to learn coding skills. Tech is the future and we should all be a part of it.


At HyperionDev, we’re always looking for talented professionals to join our team. Whether you’re a master of beautiful design, a project management pro, or someone with a passion for teaching newcomers as they learn to code for the first time, there’s a place for you in our diverse and international team. As a HyperionDev employee, you’ll enjoy more than just fulfilling and challenging work with a fast-growing, internationally scaling start-up – we provide medical insurance, extensive remote working allowances, a generous leave policy, and real avenues for career growth, experimentation, and promotion.

Do you think you could be our next star HyperionDev employee? Visit our career page to see all our available positions and apply to join our team today!

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