Join us

Build this with us

UX Messy started as one person's attempt to put language to how neurodivergent minds actually work. It's grown past what one person can carry alone — and it's meant to. We're looking for people who want to shape something meaningful from close to the ground floor: a framework that's already helping people, and a community that's just getting started.

We're not limited to Portugal, or to any one country — if you're aligned with the mission and can work async, you're in scope.

What we're looking for

Four places to plug in.

Pick what fits, or propose your own. Previous professional experience is useful, but it isn't the only thing that matters.

Research & content

People who want to dig into cognitive accessibility, neurodivergent-centered design, or the M.E.S.S.Y. framework itself, and turn that thinking into articles, guides, research notes, resources, or scripts for the podcast.

Product & tools

People who want to help build something tangible: a resource, a small tool, a course structure, an interactive version of the framework, or eventually other experiments that make the ideas more useful in practice.

Community

People who enjoy connecting with others, creating welcoming spaces, moderating conversation, organising small events or discussions, or helping the UX Messy community grow.

Something else

Your contribution doesn't have to fit neatly into one category. Maybe you bring research experience, facilitation, technology, partnerships, accessibility knowledge, lived experience, storytelling, design, or simply a perspective we haven't thought about yet.

If none of these quite fit but you still feel pulled to this — reach out anyway. Tell us what you'd bring.

How this works right now

Volunteer, async, early.

This is a volunteer collaboration in its early stage — think of it less as a job and more as co-building something from scratch.

In return, you get real input into the project's direction, public credit for your work, and a community of people who take this seriously. As the project grows, so does what we can offer back.

UX Messy is still evolving, so roles, responsibilities and ways of working may develop with the project.

What you'll help shape

Something useful, not another community.

The goal isn't to build another design community. It's to build something useful.

Ideas

Help question assumptions, research cognitive accessibility and develop the M.E.S.S.Y. framework.

Things

Help turn ideas into articles, resources, tools, courses and digital experiments.

Community

Help make UX Messy a place where neurodivergent people, designers and curious minds can exchange knowledge.

Get in touch

Tell us a little about yourself.

You don't need a perfect CV or a fully formed proposal. We mainly want to understand what interests you and what you might want to bring. It takes about three minutes.

So we can reply. We won't add you to any list.

A city or a country is enough.

A few sentences is plenty. Bullet points are fine.