Adriana Rivas

In addition to my academic background as an Industrial Designer I have developed a deep interest in usability and user-experience, and for the past year I have been adding these disciplines to my skill set. I am currently an Interaction Designer for the Data Viz team at R/GA, a digital media and advertisement agency in New York City. The multidisciplinary atmosphere of R/GA has provided me with the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects, with professionals from many backgrounds and, in turn, learn from them.



Prior to moving to New York I was a Jr. Interaction Designer at Experientia, a user experience

design consultancy based in Turin, Italy, where I developed a strong range of skills in interaction design, usability, concept work, strategic design, sustainability and design research. I worked with a team of mixed professionals, guiding the design process from initial concept development, through information architecture to prototypes and final design.



Growing up in Costa Rica I have been fortunate enough to travel and live in different countries. An internship experience in Chicago at Beyond Design, an industrial design studio, and my studies in Italy, have given me the confidence to approach new environments, as well as a giving me a broad perspective on cultural differences, and particularly, the importance of understanding local contexts, whether simply for everyday life, or for creating great designs! My international experience in Costa Rica, Italy and now the USA has been amazing; I'm an adventurer at heart and would love to keep building upon it by exploring what I can learn from new cultures, as well as new companies, work environments and career opportunities. I believe I have furthered my design skills through my cultural background and language skills. I have also worked actively on my own as freelance designer with a variety of clients in Costa Rica (not currently since my visa status will not allow it! grrr). My freelance projects have ranged from corporate identity work, graphic design, design consultancy and web work for Webmax, a local SEO company. I have a strong bond with Veritas University in Costa Rica, a private university specialized in Design and Architecture, where I have fortunate enough to be invited to teach and give lectures on Interaction Design and my thesis work.



I also enjoy designing and making hand-made jewelry that look like tiny real food, painting & sculpting, sports, outdoor activities, traveling and cupcakes.