Hi there,

I’m Maria, an Art Director based in London.

Lightspeed

I’m currently a Managing Art Director at Lightspeed, a unified electronic point of sale and payments platform that powers the world’s best retail and hospitality businesses.
I manage the EMEA based designers, and work closely with the Marketing and Growth teams.

Edenred Payment Solutions

I was the Design Lead at Edenred Payment Solutions, between February 2023 and February 2024, a leading payment solutions provider and part of the Edenred group.

I’ve joined just as the company was going through a rebrand and my role was to build all the materials necessary by working closely with a number of teams to identify their design needs. From building presentations and email templates, new website pages, all social assets, to developing a full Figma library with all the brand assets, expanding the illustration and iconography libraries, producing materials for events, and overall ensure brand consistency across all materials produced.

Zendesk

At Zendesk I had the chance to step up in my career to a Brand Manager role, with one direct report. I led a campaign for Black Friday and collaborated on the CX Trends 2023 project, focusing on the interactive experience of the Report.

Unfortunately my time at Zendesk was cut short as my role was impacted by a global restructure and subsequent layoffs.

Maria is a supremely talented designer and empathetic manager. She’s agile, and able to adapt the changing situations with poise and grace – yet still delivering high quality work that has impact. A leader and a mentor, Maria would be a wonderful addition to any team.

Sam Bathe – Creative Director at Zendesk

OpenTable

I was the EMEA focused Brand Designer at OpenTable from September 2015 until May 2022.

Working closely with Marketing and Social teams, my role was to provide visual solutions for their communications, develop concepts for integrated campaigns, and align and localise OpenTable’s visual identity to EMEA markets. I’ve produced work for both sides of the business — B2C (diners) and B2B (restaurants).

My role also involved working closely with external creatives, art directing illustrators and photographers, for initiatives such as OOH campaigns and restaurant facing testimonials.

I’ve started at OpenTable as Communication Designer, and as my career progressed, I was promoted to Senior Brand Designer and then Lead Brand Designer. By the time I left OpenTable I had one direct report.

I had the privilege of working closely with Maria as my direct manager and brand design lead.

Maria not only brings an outstanding knowledge of design and high aesthetic sense to projects but also demonstrates a strategic mindset that consistently yields exceptional outcomes. She played a pivotal role in shaping, guiding and efficiently executing key projects throughout that period.

Beyond her technical skills, she stands out as an inspiring mentor and team player. With a positive leadership approach she creates a collaborative environment, fostering high-performing results, committed to growth and provides guidance that extends beyond professional development in the most empathetic way.

I can confidently say that Maria would be an asset to any team or organisation fortunate enough to have her on board.

Asaf Hagag – Senior Brand Designer at OpenTable

Before OpenTable

Before joining OpenTable I worked 3.5 years at Warm&Fuzzy, a design studio with offices in Derby and London, working across multiple projects and dealing with a wide range of clients in different industries.

Prior to this role, I worked as a freelance graphic designer in Portugal. Clients included Universal Music and Guimarães European Capital of Culture 2012, and several other businesses.

I have had the pleasure of working with Maria both as her employer and as a supplier, and am fortunate to have known her for over a decade.

Maria’s creative work is of the very highest standard, and her approach to design is exemplary. She is one of the rare design talents that produce work that is well-considered and embraces the needs of the audience, yet at the same time is visually exciting, brave and often produced at pace.

She is a delight to work with and capable of managing the challenges of handling multiple complex design projects at once and accommodating the demands of different stakeholders.
Maria would be an asset to any business, and I hope that I have more opportunities to work with her again in the future.

Lee Flanaghan – Former Creative Director at Warm&Fuzzy

A little bit more about me

I have an MA in Graphic Branding and Identity from the London College of Communication (University of the Arts London), and I’m also a founding member of CAAA – Centre for Arts and Architecture Affairs (Guimarães, Portugal), a nonprofit cultural institution whose mission is to support and encourage artistic creation and application of new methods of production.

When I’m not doing brand design, I love travelling, enjoy discovering new restaurants, and swim regularly.