About

I'm a product designer based in Veracruz, Mexico. I work across UX, UI and motion, and I'm learning to build what I design.

The longer version

I studied Multimedia Design at Universidad Anáhuac in Xalapa and spent a year at Hochschule Trier, in Germany, on an Intermedia Design exchange. That year changed how I see the world and how I work, and it introduced me to UX and to the basics of HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

Today I work at Dingus & Zazzy, a digital agency in Canada, where I own UX, UI and visual production across twelve client accounts in the US and Canada. In practice that means going from a blank page to a launched website in about a month alongside the development team, over and over, and building a brand system for each account so the work stays coherent after I hand it off.

I've used AI in production since the start of my career, not as a novelty but as part of how I work: research synthesis, exploration, copy drafts, voiceover, iteration. It doesn't make the decisions. It makes the space between decisions much shorter.

I'm moving toward product design with a design engineering edge, and I want to go deep in Fintech, EdTech and B2B. I'm designing and shipping a personal finance app of my own, the first product where every decision has been mine.

The work I'm proudest of tends to be the work with a cause behind it: a frame by frame short on youth reintegration for Reinserta, an animation about discrimination against the Huichol community, a campaign about a development project threatening whale habitats. I keep coming back to that kind of project, and I'd like to do more of it.

Outside of work: I ran the Veracruz Marathon, I read a lot, I'm working toward a Goethe B2 in German, and I hold Mexican and Italian citizenship. I speak English, Spanish, German and a bit of French and Italian, which is a long way of saying I'm comfortable working across time zones and languages.

Design philosophy

Ask before you draw.

Most bad interfaces aren't ugly, they're answers to the wrong question. I'd rather spend the first day understanding the problem than the last week redesigning the solution.

AI is a collaborator, not a shortcut.

I use it to explore more options, not to skip the thinking. The judgment about which option is right stays mine, and that's the part that doesn't automate.

Design it so it can be built.

A design that can't ship isn't a design, it's a picture. Learning to code is changing what I hand off: fewer impossible states, fewer surprises for the developer, fewer things that die in the gap between Figma and production.

Where I am with code

I read and write HTML and CSS comfortably, and I can follow and modify JavaScript. This site is hand built, with no page builder, no framework and no template, and I can open any file in it and tell you what it does and why.

I'm working through The Odin Project to go from modifying to writing from scratch, and learning as I go with the finance app I'm designing and building. Every product decision I make there forces me to understand how it gets implemented, and that has taught me more than anything else.

Experience

Tap a row to see the detail

- Design UX, UI and visual production for 12 client accounts across the US and Canada as part of a four person cross functional team, collaborating closely with developers, marketers and copywriters.
- Designed and launched 10+ complete client websites, from discovery to handoff, delivering each project with the developers over a cycle of about one month.
- Produced 5+ motion graphics explainer videos of 1 to 2 minutes, combining custom illustration, 2D animation and AI generated voiceover.
- Built and maintained individual brand design systems for each account, keeping asset production consistent across web, social and video.
- Deliver 20+ digital marketing assets per month, coordinating with marketing coordinators and copywriters.
- Designing and building a personal finance app end to end, from research and user flows to a full visual system and component library in Figma.
- Own interface design, iconography and data visualisation, iterating quickly with AI tools.
- Created a 2 minute frame by frame animated short on youth social reintegration, published on Reinserta's website, Vimeo and Instagram.
- Collaborated with a four person communications team to align the visual narrative with the campaign's goals.
- Designed 10 UI screens for Hannah, a narrative driven mobile game, balancing visual storytelling with functional clarity.
- Ran usability evaluations to find player friction points and iterate on the flow over a 4 month internship.
- Produced 10+ institutional projects in motion graphics and vector illustration for the university's digital and print campaigns.
- Contributed to audiovisual production, photo editing and post production across several institutional content formats.
- Grew the clinic's Instagram and Facebook from 0 to 1,000+ followers through consistent branded content and giveaway campaigns.
- Designed brand aligned visual content and UI proposals for social, website and paid advertising.

Education

Universidad Anáhuac Xalapa, BA, Multimedia Design
Hochschule Trier, Germany, Academic exchange, Intermedia Design

Certifications

English C2 Proficient, 84/100 EF SET
Adobe Certified Professional, After Effects View credential ↗
Adobe Certified Professional, Photoshop View credential ↗
DELF A2, French France Éducation International

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Why work with me

Range that ships.

UX, UI, motion, brand and video, and enough of each to take a project from research to a launched, animated, on brand thing without a handoff in between.

I grew up with AI in the toolkit.

I never had to adopt it midway or talk anyone into it. I started my career with it, which is why I know where it helps and where it gets in the way.

I handle a full plate well.

Twelve active accounts at once taught me to prioritise, to ask early instead of getting stuck, and to keep quality from depending on how heavy the week is.

Accessibility is not a final pass.

Contrast, keyboard, screen readers and reduced motion are decisions I make while designing, not repairs I make afterwards. This site was audited against WCAG 2.1 AA.

I work across languages and time zones.

Native Spanish, English at C2, German at B2. I work daily with teams in Mexico, the US and Canada without language ever being the problem.

I go looking for feedback.

I review with development, with copy and with the marketing coordinators before calling anything done, because the work gets better when more people look at it. What I don't do is wait for someone to tell me what's next.

Clients and companies I've worked with

What people say

I had the pleasure of working with Valeria at D&Z, where I was responsible for her onboarding and had the opportunity to work closely with her from the very beginning. From day one, she showed a proactive attitude and a genuine eagerness to learn. She was never afraid to ask questions, sought feedback consistently, and, most importantly, applied what she learned right away. It was great to see her grow with every project, continuously improving the quality of her work. Beyond her willingness to learn, Vale is a kind, enthusiastic, and collaborative teammate. She communicates well, is open to feedback, and contributes to a positive team environment, making her a pleasure to work with. I believe she has a strong foundation as a designer and the curiosity and work ethic to continue growing in her career. I would gladly recommend her to any team looking for someone who is motivated, collaborative, and committed to continuous improvement.

Auriana Wagmacker Designer, Dingus & Zazzy
Working with Valeria as her Account Manager at Dingus and Zazzy has been great. She handles a challenging workload and multiple project types like a pro. Vale is freakishly organized and picks up on context, cues, and requests fast. On top of all that, she's just a genuinely pleasant person to collaborate with every day.

Guilherme Folegatti Marketing Coordinator, Dingus & Zazzy
I was lucky to work with Valeria during her volunteer work at Reinserta, where she turned complex subjects about the reintegration of adolescents into clear, sensitive and powerful visual stories. Her talent for conceptualising, illustrating and translating ideas into pieces with impact is extraordinary. Beyond her enormous creativity, she stood out for her professionalism, her commitment and her ability to understand the cause deeply. It was a real pleasure to work with her and I would recommend her without hesitation.

Carmen Mari Suárez Arenas Cause marketing and communication, Reinserta