Publication
Who's at the Helm? – Dissecting the Qualities of Design Leadership
https://www.toptal.com/designers/creative-direction/design-leadership
Sara is available for hire
Hire SaraSara Vilas Santiago
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Location
Alicante, Spain
Toptal Member Since
February 24, 2017
Sara has worked with over 100 multinational corporations, mostly in the financial sector. She specializes in enterprise product design and design leadership. Sara is always up for a challenge and ready to both help you with strategic decisions as well as going full hands-on for your design needs.
Work Experience
Design Leadership Forum Member
2018 - PRESENT
InVision
- Supported the mission of this initiative by InVision which is to advance the practice of design leadership by fostering a community where the worlds best can learn from one another in-person and online.The Forum strives to be inclusive and relevant to those confronting the challenges of leading design teams.
Technologies: Spreadsheets, Google Docs, InVision
Freelance Design Lead
2017 - PRESENT
Toptal
- Led the design for complex interfaces.
- Specialized on B2B, internal tools, complex interfaces, and workflows; including product design, responsive, mobile app (iOS, Android), and web apps.
- Mostly worked in fintech, healthtech, and education fields.
Technologies: Responsive, InVision, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Sketch
Head of Curriculum and Mentorship
2017 - 2018
Designlab
- Set up a scalable and metrics-driven system to manage the performance, growth, and life cycle of 400+ remote mentors across the world.
- Established a team and processes to drive the mentorship operations and community initiatives including helping the company grow by managing the capacity growth methodically and creating a support network that empowers these mentors (professional designers and design leaders) to work better with students and develop leadership skills.
- Perform market research to strategize and prioritize online creative education initiatives. Analyzed over 5 years of data to understand what are the courses and course elements that were more valuable to Designlab's students. Improved the product based on those learnings and started revising existing courses.
Technologies: Adobe Photoshop, Balsamiq, InVision, Slack, Google Docs, Google Drive, Asana, Content Management, Spreadsheets
Mentor (UX and UI)
2016 - 2017
Designlab
- Mentored students through their UX Academy Bootcamp (480h).
- Helped students understand the different phases of UX as well as its different deliverables and where and why to use each one of them.
- Aided students in solidifying their concepts with capstone projects in which I act as a creative director setting a briefing with them and monitoring the progress of the project as well as pushing for the highest quality possible.
- Coached students through their day-to-day challenges through the program, but also regarding their career changes and career search topics.
- Worked together with the Designlab internal team to improve the mentors' and students' experience.
Technologies: Responsive
Creative Lead
2013 - 2016
Backbase
- Worked with over 100 multinational corporations, mainly in the financial sector with their digital transformation projects. I helped them from strategic decisions all the way down to pixel-perfect final deliverables.
- Worked on very complex interfaces including retail banking, business banking (SMEs and corporate), private banking, intranets and employee portals, automotive financial platforms, and insurance portals.
- Built two teams and processes to make those teams work together, gain ownership, but at the same time keep consistency. This included setting up a complex design system across different products and platforms.
- Created innovative concepts, demos, and products that were award-winning in FinTech events such as Finovate.
- Led workshops and sessions with multi-disciplinary teams to get to the right solution: desirable, feasible, and viable.
- Worked as a brand manager also—striving for a long-lasting unique impression on customers and employees to improve sales and market share.
Technologies: Responsive, Avocode, Zeplin, InVision, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite
Travel Agent | Graphic Designer
2012 - 2012
Bru & Bru Exclusive Travel Designer
- Design customized and luxurious trips from inbound to space travel.
- Presented and created conceptual proposals to clients.
- Negotiated with suppliers and B2B relationship management.
- Created the documentation for each trip including quotations, booking details, tickets, personalized plans and guides, and extra information.
- Crafted the internal design for marketing and sales purposes.
Technologies: Responsive, Adobe Creative Suite
Other Experience
Education
2019 - 2020
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree in Business Administration
University of Alicante - Alicante, Spain
2017 - 2017
Certificate in Leading for Creativity by Tim Brown
IDEO U - Online
2009 - 2013
Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design
Alicante's Art School - Alicante, Spain
2008 - 2013
Bachelor's Degree in Tourism
University of Alicante - Alicante, Spain
Certifications
JANUARY 2018 - PRESENT
Leaders of Learning
Harvard University | edX
APRIL 2017 - PRESENT
Leading for Creativity by Tim Brown
IDEO U
OCTOBER 2016 - PRESENT
Growth-Driven Design Certification
HubSpot
Experience
Collaboration That Works
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