Hi, I'm Joneil.

I was born in Manila, raised in Illinois, and I've called Chicago home for a while now — though Beijing and Seoul got their own chapter along the way, back when I was studying international relations. Before design, I spent about three years as a podcast producer, managing 10+ shows and learning what it actually takes to keep a team, a schedule, and a story together.

Design felt like the natural next step — same instinct for structure and story, just applied to products instead of episodes. These days I'm a product designer working end-to-end: flows, systems, and the small decisions that make software feel less like software.

Most of that design career has happened inside startups and small teams, including a stretch as a founding product designer at an early-stage startup. I've learned the ins and outs of that specific kind of chaos — limited resources, everything moving fast, everyone wearing a dozen hats — and at some point it clicked that I'm actually good at stepping into it and making it make sense.

Thanks for reading!

A little bit of everything

Why halo studio?

Halo is short for halo-halo, a Filipino dessert whose name literally means "mix-mix."

It's made by bringing together different ingredients, textures, and flavors into something greater than any one ingredient on its own.

That's also how I think about building products.

Great products don't come from design working in isolation. They come from bringing together product strategy, design, engineering, customer insight, and business goals—and finding the right balance between all of them.

I created Halo Studio to work in that space.

To bring the right pieces together, make sense of complexity, and help teams build products that are better than any one discipline could create alone.

Learn more about my services

Halo is a reflection of how I like to work: collaborative, thoughtful, a little unconventional, and always better when the right ingredients come together.

Fun facts

I am a dancer.
I’ve been dancing since I was 6 years old. I've continued to take classes and perform for audiences, with my journey taking me from small stages to the experience of dancing for an artist at Lollapalooza. I also served in board as Creative Chair in my dance company for 2 years.
I was a Podcast Producer.
Before transitioning to user experience design, I worked in the podcast industry for 3 years, contributing to 10+ shows. My role ranged from onboarding clients to producing, promoting, and maintaining podcasts.
I made a film photo book.
Earlier in 2024, I created a 100 page photo book filled with analog film I had taken in the past year. It’s a book of beautiful memories from my time in my dance company. Flip through the PDF here! (it's a big file 😬)
I travel to eat.
I’m a foodie and I love taking pictures of my food. Whenever I visit a new area, I try to hit up as many yummy places as possible. You can follow my food Instagram or my restaurant reviews on the Beli app!
Family & friends = home
I call Chicago, Illinois my home, surrounded by my favorite people. My adventures in Beijing and Seoul, and 5 years in a dance company have shown me that home is not just a place, but wherever my people are.
Proud Filipina-American
I was born in Manilla, Philippines and raised in Illinois by two hard-working Filipino nurse parents. As I go through life, I aim to never forget where I come from and the lessons learned growing up.