Lucía Merlo
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Madrid, Spain
Toptal member since October 17, 2022
A visual designer, Lucía has spent the last ten years working with companies and museums like IKEA, LEGO, Munch Museum, and the Museum of the Future, helping them build experiences for their customers. She is a keen problem solver and can deliver visual guidelines, exhibition artwork, event design, interface design, illustrations, and animations. Lucía loves challenging herself to find a unique voice for each project and developing it further through innovative yet simple visual communication.
Portfolio
Work Experience
Design Consultant (Freelance)
Lucía Merlo
- Designed a digital campaign for a private learning institution, which significantly increased the number of students enrolled.
- Created an animated presentation deck for an innovation hub project, which attracted the interest of multiple collaborators. As a result, the project is now in the process of coming to fruition.
- Designed animated GIFs and an Apple Watch game for kids, which attracted the interest of several investors.
- Led the design of an AI-powered app for high school students. Crafted a full UI system with custom illustrations and animations, and collaborated on testing to ensure a user-friendly experience focused on enhancing creative development.
Motion Design Specialist
Reformation
- Delivered two animated explainer videos within a week, optimizing the client’s script by reducing the length and restructuring it into two more engaging, manageable scripts.
- Designed over 60 unique, hand-drawn illustrations to create a warm, human visual language that stayed true to the brand identity.
- Received client praise for clear communication, problem-solving approach, and deep understanding of the brand, which resulted in a creative yet brand-aligned outcome.
- Coordinated voiceover casting and sound design to ensure a cohesive final product.
Product and Brand Designer
NanoNebula LLC
- Designed and implemented a cohesive brand identity for the parent company and its first product, ensuring a consistent visual language across all platforms.
- Designed and prioritized core app features for the MVP, focusing on key functionalities that address the primary needs of theater students, ensuring a streamlined and effective user experience from the initial launch.
- Created high-fidelity UI mockups and interactive prototypes for the app and websites, leading to a client approval rate of 95% on the first review.
- Executed a full Figma handoff to the development team, providing detailed design specifications and assets, which streamlined the development process and reduced implementation errors.
- Produced visually compelling promotional materials for the app’s pre-launch, which contributed to generating early interest and positive feedback from potential users.
- Led user research and testing sessions, gathering feedback that informed iterative design improvements and resulted in a user-centered final product.
Brand Strategist and Designer
Puppapets - The Selected Label LLC
- Developed the complete branding for a new pet product company, including a distinctive logo, comprehensive visual system, and a detailed brand book, ensuring a cohesive and compelling brand identity to effectively represent it across all platforms.
- Conducted in-depth user interviews with cat owners and the company owner to gather valuable insights, which were used to establish the brand voice, personality, mission, and values, creating a strong foundation for the brand's identity and strategy.
- Designed innovative packaging concepts and a user-friendly website, producing engaging logo animations to enhance brand visibility and meticulously prepare the brand for a successful launch, with products set to sell before Christmas.
Visual Designer
Invygo Tech FZ
- Worked with the chief financial officer, refining presentation slides to communicate the company's challenges and success.
- Illustrated several concepts and statistics to provide a clear and simple representation of their vision.
- Contributed to their visual brand with multiple icons and vector drawings that they can use on different presentations.
Graphic Designer
Vadim Klet
- Created a whole concept for an amusement park proposed within a shopping mall.
- Carried along tasks such as concept development, market research, visual identity, naming, illustrations, and pitch deck design.
- Worked on this concept, which won over competitors such as Uniqlo and is currently under development.
Visual Designer
ECONWARD TECH LLC
- Designed and implemented a visually compelling infographic to communicate a sophisticated waste management model, transforming a complex process into an easily understandable and aesthetically pleasing presentation.
- Integrated technical insights from the director of operations and sales perspectives to create a cohesive infographic that communicated the environmental advantages and addressed the concerns and needs of key stakeholders.
- Leveraged the infographic as a catalyst for elevating the brand's communication style, establishing a visually engaging and cohesive illustration style that resonates with the modern and environmentally conscious ethos.
Visual Designer
Invygo Tech FZ-LLC
- Developed and implemented a creative and innovative design illustration concept for presentation backgrounds based on the client's visual identity, while introducing a new layer of symbolism.
- Crafted visually compelling illustrations that strategically conveyed the narrative outlined by the client.
- Produced tailor-made infographics that not only adhered to the client's requirements but also added a unique and impactful visual dimension to the presentation.
- Received high praise and positive feedback from the client for the delivered design work.
Creative Director
Talkiatry
- Refined the pre-existing brand identity by adding innovative motion principles to communicate the brand values in advertising.
- Created multiple concepts aligned with the new brand identity to infuse deeper meaning into visual assets.
- Developed a comprehensive digital campaign featuring over 60 assets across five distinct channels, including social media and various TV platforms.
Art Director
YOKE
- Worked with IKEA and LEGO. Delivered visual concepts for various interactive and physical experiences under tight deadlines.
- Designed a graphic identity for DI Topmødet, an international business event that gathers critical actors in the Danish industry. After a positive process and results, the same project was commissioned by the agency again for three years in a row.
- Won an international competition to work with Munch Museum in Oslo. The exhibition got positive reviews from the international media as well as enthusiastic comments from visitors from around the world.
- Developed more than 30 unique character animations for the new Museum of the Future in Dubai. For the same project, I designed 120 animated mandalas, the essence of an interactive installation about the senses.
Graphic Designer
YOKE
- Designed illustrations for a permanent exhibition of the largest aquarium in Northern Europe, the National Aquarium Denmark (Den Blå Planet), becoming our regular client since then.
- Designed an interactive installation for Ørsted, the largest energy company in Denmark. It consisted of projections on a wall that, when triggered by motion sensors, would show an entire cycle of resources until they become heat and electricity.
- Won an open competition to develop a visual identity for FiSK, a national research and communication project around fish. It would, later on, become a project for two years. This project changed the way Danish children perceive fish in their diet.
Digital Experience Designer
Designit
- Worked for Novo Nordisk, fine-tuning the design production of three interactive digital experiences at the EASD Annual Meeting, one of the largest scientific congresses in Europe.
- Designed a social media app for Merial, a US-based animal health company.
- Became part of a core internal design team, helping out in the company's new graphic identity process.
Graphic Designer
Greenpeace
- Designed several social media pieces that were effectively shared by thousands of users, starting conversations about different environmental problems.
- Created content for a monthly subscriber's magazine, bringing new donors at a time when the organization needed to increase its income rapidly.
- Participated in an urgent campaign that brought back 30 activists retained in a boat in the Arctic.
Graphic Design Intern
IS Creative Studio
- Designed artwork for an annual photography festival, Getxophoto, which gathered the best young photographers in Europe. The festival's identity was a success, and the studio designed it three years in a row.
- Produced a design item called Fantone. Carried along the logistics, contacted manufacturers in China, and designed the packaging.
- Developed the visual production of Caravana, a restaurant chain in Lima, Peru.
Education
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Fine Arts
Complutense University of Madrid - Madrid, Spain
Exchange Program in Design
School of Arts, Design, and Architecture | Aalto University - Helsinki, Finland
Certifications
AI for Visual Design
Designlab
Skills
Tools
Figma, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, After Effects CC, Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, Banner, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, Adobe Premiere Pro, Photo Editors, AI Tools
Languages
Visual Design Language
Industry Expertise
Healthcare, Professional Services, Fashion & Beauty, Luxury Goods, Advertising, Consumer Products, Food & Beverage
Platforms
Mobile, iOS, Web, Shopify, Director, WordPress
Other
Graphic Design, Design, Illustration, Motion Design, Art Direction, User Interface (UI), Museums & Exhibits, Motion Graphics, Animation, Brand Guidelines, Visual Design, 2D Graphics, Infographics, Logo Design, PDF Design, Web Design, Branding, Motion & Animation Design, UX Design, Presentation Design, UI Design, Pitch Presentations, Web App Design, Prototyping, Logotype, Social Media Design, Social Media, Ad Design, Artwork, Web to Print, Digital Design, Brand Books, Motion Logo Design, Digital Graphics, Print Design, Posters, Data Visualization, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Multimedia, Video Design, Multimedia Design, Marketing Collateral Development, Pitch Decks, Visual Assets, Storytelling, Marketing Design, Advertising Design, Brochure Design, 2D Animation, Label Design, Typography, Color Palettes, Experience Design, Interactive Videos, UI Branding, Creative Direction, Touchscreens, Event Branding, Icon Design, Presentations, Poster Design, Banner Design, Banner Ads, Animated Banners, Ad Banners, App UI, Layout, Interaction Design (IxD), iOS Animations, App Design, Creative Design, PowerPoint Design, Design Leadership, Workshop Facilitation, Landing Pages, Print, Executive Presentations, Funding Presentations, eCommerce, Environmental Graphics, Mockups, Style Guides, Printing Materials, Iconography, Animated GIFs, Videos, Animated Videos, Animated Explainer Videos, B2C, Vector Illustration, Maps, Digital Illustration, Web UI, 2D Illustrations, Tablet UI, Usability, Web UX Design, Responsive UX Design, Tablet UX, Web UI Design, Diagrams, Conceptual Design, Brochures, Design Systems, Wireframing, Visual Storytelling, Interactive Design, Website Redesign, Game Design, User Experience Design, Communication, Visual Communication, Brainstorming, Internal Communications, Communication Design, Communication Strategy, Vector Graphics, User Testing, Board Decks, Concept Development, Visual Brand Guidelines, Digital Innovation, Brand Awareness, Project Management, Cross-functional Collaboration, Detail-oriented, Drawing, Photography, Product Design, User Experience (UX), Brand Design, Event Artwork, Interactive UI, Collateral Design, Book Cover Design, Video Editing, Sound Design, Design Direction, Interactive Prototypes, Responsive UI, Marketing Materials, Dashboard Design, Dashboards, Lottie, Mobile Design, Mobile UI Design, Mobile UX Design, Landing Page Design, Character Illustration, Character Design, Package Design, Packaging, Consumer-facing Product Design, PowerPoint Templates, Mobile App Design, Brand Identity, Workshops, Brand Strategy, Squarespace, Newsletter Design, Web Usability, Mobile UI, UX Wireframes, Mobile UX, MVP Design, User Journeys, Information Architecture (IA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Rapid Prototyping, User Flows, Art History, Philosophy, Design Thinking, Ethical Design, Visual Identity, Corporate, Stop-motion Animation, Health IT, Digital Health, Business, Politics, Unity, Gaming, UI Animation, Event Design, Food Illustration, Websites, Concepting, Campaign Design, Editorial Design, Email Design, Email Templates, Interior Design, Naming, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), 3D Mockups, App UX, Motion AI
Experience
- Drawing - 15 years
- Illustration - 11 years
- Design - 10 years
- Motion Design - 10 years
- Adobe Illustrator - 10 years
- Adobe After Effects - 10 years
- Graphic Design - 10 years
- Art Direction - 6 years
Tools
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Illustrator
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