I led creative UX/UI design projects across POLITICO's three primary revenue-driving platforms, improving existing experiences and launching new products in close partnership with PMs, engineers, and stakeholders, while evolving a scalable design system.
Oscar Santamariña
Whale Culture
An immersive digital graphic novel experience that takes readers on an Indonesian whale hunt, combining interactive storytelling with rich animations and cultural narrative. This project blends development, design, and motion graphics to create an engaging multimedia experience.
Role:
Development, Animation, Design
Year:
2021
Washington on Edge
A powerful photographic narrative documenting the tense atmosphere in Washington, D.C. during a pivotal moment in American history. This project combines thoughtful design and development to present an immersive visual story.
Role:
Design, Development
Year:
2021
I believe in minimalism—clean, intentional design that enhances usability. As a
Product Designer with experience in media, infographic design, and front-end work, I
create seamless digital experiences where design and technology work in
harmony.
Rebuilding Notre Dame
An in-depth exploration of the restoration efforts following the devastating fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. This interactive experience combines technical graphics, 3D visualizations, and thoughtful storytelling to document the historic reconstruction.
Role:
Development, Design, Graphics
Year:
2020
Epic Trips
An engaging visual journey exploring the ultimate road trip experiences across America. This project combines interactive graphics, thoughtful design, and compelling storytelling to inspire travelers and showcase the art of the great American road trip.
Role:
Graphics, Development, Design
Year:
2020
Surviving Kalahari
A compelling exploration of survival in one of Earth's most extreme environments. This project combines interactive storytelling, environmental data visualization, and immersive design to document life in the Kalahari Desert.
Role:
Development, Design, Art Direction
Year:
2020
Queen of Charts
A data-driven tribute to Aretha Franklin's legendary music career, visualizing the songs that defined her record-breaking journey. This project combines music data visualization, interactive charts, and elegant design to celebrate the Queen of Soul's lasting impact.
Role:
Development, Design
Year:
2019
Last Voices of WWII
A powerful oral history project documenting World War II survivors sharing their stories 75 years later. This project combines video editing, thoughtful design, and compelling storytelling to preserve the voices and memories of those who lived through history's defining conflict.
Role:
Development, Design, Video Editing
Year:
2020
Top Teams World Cup
An interactive exploration of the world's top football teams and their World Cup legacies. This project combines sports data visualization, interactive graphics, and compelling design to celebrate the global passion for the beautiful game.
Role:
Graphics, Development, Design
Year:
2018
Settings Experience
A comprehensive settings management interface designed to streamline configuration and control. The interface features intuitive navigation, organized sections, and clear visual hierarchy that allows users to efficiently manage system preferences and entitlements.
Role:
UX Design, UI Design
Year:
2024
The settings interface showcases organized entitlement management with clear visual grouping and intuitive controls.
Interactive demonstration of the live production interface showing the complete user flow through settings configuration and management.
Reporter BioPages
Reporter bio pages that showcase biography, recent stories, and direct contact options, with the ability for users to follow reporters and receive alerts for new coverage. A core feature for Politico, where reporters are central to the brand's credibility and prestige.
Role:
UX Design, UI Design
Year:
2022
Main design
Live production interface showing user entering from reporter byline.
Live production interface showing user entering from list of reporters that belong to the same vertical.
Topic Explorer
An intuitive content discovery platform that enables users to explore and navigate through interconnected topics seamlessly. The interface combines smart categorization, visual hierarchy, and fluid interactions to help users discover related content and dive deeper into subjects of interest.
Role:
UX Design, UI Design
Year:
2024
Static design showing topics and their parent-child relationship.
Live production demonstration showing the complete user flow through topic discovery and navigation - to following that topic.
Inspector Navigator
A comprehensive inspection management platform designed to streamline workflow and enhance search capabilities. The interface features intuitive navigation, advanced filtering options, and a clean dashboard that allows users to efficiently manage and track inspections across multiple properties and timeframes.
Role:
UX Design, UI Design
Year:
2025
Interactive date range controls allow users to filter inspections by specific time intervals with hover states for enhanced usability.
Active search states show inspection-specific details with contextual information and action buttons.
Search results display comprehensive inspection data in an organized, scannable format with clear visual hierarchy.
Interactive demonstration of the live production interface showcasing the complete user flow from search to inspection details.
Search Experience Enhancements
Redesigned the search experience to introduce multiple interaction modes—default, direct, and KWIC (Key Word in Context)—addressing limitations in the previous UX that prevented direct querying and produced less predictable, algorithm-driven outcomes.
Role:
UX Design, UI Design
Year:
2023
In the previous UX, users were forced to select a specific product before they could perform a keyword search.
Default search prioritizes News Stories while surfacing relevant product results in a secondary component, supported by smart filtering and relevance ranking.
Direct search enables quick access to specific content with streamlined navigation and instant results.
KWIC (Key Word In Context) search displays results with surrounding context, helping users quickly evaluate relevance.
Akhenaten
An interactive exploration of Egypt's revolutionary pharaoh Akhenaten and his radical transformation of art and architecture. This project combines historical storytelling with dynamic animations and elegant design to bring ancient Egyptian history to life through digital media.
Role:
Development, Design, Animation
Year:
2019
Women Archive
A visual tribute celebrating the achievements and stories of remarkable women throughout history. This project combines archival imagery with motion graphics and thoughtful editing to create an engaging narrative that honors their lasting impact and contributions.
Role:
Video Editing, Animation
Year:
2019
Moon Landing
A commemorative visual story celebrating humanity's historic first steps on the lunar surface. This project combines archival NASA footage with dynamic animations and editorial design to capture the wonder and achievement of the Apollo 11 mission.
Role:
Video Editing, Animation
Year:
2019
Helicoprion: The Buzz Saw Shark
An educational video exploring the prehistoric Helicoprion, an ancient shark with a distinctive spiral-toothed jaw. This production combines scientific illustration, 3D animation, and compelling narration to bring this extinct creature to life for modern audiences.
Role:
Video Editing, Production, Animation,
Graphics
Year:
2018
Mongolia's Smog Crisis
An environmental documentary piece examining the severe air pollution crisis affecting Mongolia's capital. This project combines data visualization, editorial footage, and informational graphics to highlight the environmental and health challenges facing Ulaanbaatar's residents.
Role:
Video Editing, Graphics
Year:
2019
Explorer Profile: Junko Tabei
A visual profile honoring Junko Tabei, the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. This graphic design piece combines portrait illustration, typography, and mountaineering iconography to celebrate her groundbreaking achievement and pioneering spirit in exploration.
Role:
Graphics, Design
Year:
2018
Women of Impact Series
A visual series celebrating influential women who shaped history and society. This project combines graphic design, animation, and editorial illustration to create cohesive profile pieces that honor their achievements and inspire future generations through compelling visual storytelling.
Role:
Graphics, Design, Animation
Year:
2018
World's Happiest Places
An uplifting visual journey exploring the world's happiest destinations and what makes them special. This project combines colorful graphics, animated maps, and data visualization to showcase the cultural and environmental factors that contribute to happiness around the globe.
Role:
Graphics, Design, Animation
Year:
2018
Seven Summits Challenge
A visual exploration of the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each continent that mountaineers aspire to conquer. This project combines topographic design, elevation graphics, and animated sequences to showcase the scale and challenge of these iconic mountains.
Role:
Graphics, Design, Animation
Year:
2018
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Experience2016 • 2026
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Designed and developed visual stories and data graphics for digital products. Managed product design projects throughout all phases, from conception to publication. Collaborated with designers, editors, product owners, and developers to deliver cohesive, user-centered product experiences.
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Created editorial videos for digital and social platforms, reaching a daily audience of more than 200 million followers on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. Tested and designed mobile-friendly, visually-rich, tap-through experiences balancing video, photo, audio, text, and motion graphics to tell engaging stories.
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Collaborated with the Art Director, Design Director, and Graphic Editors to produce information graphics, art, maps and layouts for National Geographic Magazine. Assisted with large projects, implementing changes from editors and designers and assuring quality control. Converted and prepared graphics for publishing online.
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Created layouts for National Geographic Magazine. Collaborated with the Design Director, and Design Editors. Edited and prepared files for publishing online.
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Formation2009 • 2016
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• 3.76 GPA
• Dean's List | 2014
• Academic Achievement Grant | 2014 -
• 3.11 GPA
• Men's Golf Scholarship
• NCAA Division II Golf Team Member
• Student-Athlete Honor Roll | 2010
• Presidential Scholarship | 2009 - 2011
Arlington, VA
Washington, D.C.
Online division
Mount Olive, NC