Who's Richard?

Rafael Hinestroza serio con gafas oscuras Rafael Hinestroza sonriendo sin gafas

Someone

  • methodic,
  • active,
  • driven,
  • curious,
  • bold,
  • humble.

▼Skip to experience

Richard, known to some as Rafa, is a seasoned leader with over a decade in the creative industry, including six years spearheading web design initiatives. He's this unique blend of independent thinking and practical adaptability, valuing both analog depth and digital innovation, always asking questions and on the hunt for timeless solutions and pushing for continuous growth. His early immersion in rapidly evolving technology, stemming from his 90s upbringing, fundamentally shaped his strategic perspective and ability to drive change in dynamic digital landscapes.

His broad range of interests, from sports and photography to physical music collections (yes, actual physical formats!) and digital playlist curation – and now a growing passion for motorcycling – speaks to a well-rounded individual who understands diverse consumer touchpoints and creative engagement. This multifaceted perspective allows him to connect seemingly disparate elements, fostering holistic solutions and anticipating customer needs. He's not just a doer; he's a strategic mind who can leverage varied insights to drive business objectives while learning from the best.

After a focused effort to earn his Graphic Design degree from Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in 2014, Richard immediately began building a robust foundation of real-world experience. His early ventures, including managing website content and providing exhibition support at the Valenzuela Klenner Art Gallery from 2009, quickly evolved into a practical understanding of digital and print production. This hands-on background, combined with his continuous learning mindset, positions him as a visionary leader ready to guide teams and organizations through complex digital transformations.

Interests: sports, photography and books, music collection in physical formats or playlist creations, and motorcycling.

Why is this website written in English?

To let you know he's bilingual; That's it. (;

**The projects showcased on this website were mostly carried out in Spanish.

He DOES...

Visual design

By using his experience both as an analog and digital designer, Rafael makes sure that a brand identity can be used to its full extent far beyond the logo in a user-friendly way [as long as the involved parts allow it]. Not just timelessly in its conception, but also usable in today's digital world.

Mobile & Web design

Even though he's had installed and deployed websites (Drupal/Wordpres/Prestashop) on his own, he prefers to focus on the front end. This is really helpful when the time to work side by side with developers comes along because it allows them to communicate in an almost symbiotic way to determine what can and cannot be done in a project, in terms of timely and technical constraints.

New him. Radical.

Yes. His set of values and independent thinking make him want to work with thought provokers and people who want/love to defy the conventional and can teach new things to him. Ego free, of course.

Experience

University gives you grades, friends and knowledge.
Life, challenges and change grant you wisdom.

Superintendence of Industry and Commerce

Role: Designer/Webmaster

Worked for 21/2 years as a bridge between the communications office (OSCAE) and the I.T department. Built internal structures with views and custom fields on Drupal for some sections of their actual website, including the gov.co color scheme, which is more notorious both on the header and footer.

Highlights:
  • Built and maintained the Podcast NotiSIC:
    • Visual design.
    • Built the content type with custom fields, blocks & views.
    • Managed content by publishing episodes on a monthly basis with their respective banner designs for hero sections and thumbnails for the embedded web audio player.
  • Built interactive quizes to be embedded on the "Game" section of the bulletin "Consumo Inteligente". I wish I were in charge of the whole design aspect covering from page structure to the whole graphic design to ensure visual consistency across the publications.
  • Built newsletters like this one with custom code on MailChimp and wireframed proposals with case studies to improve some pages/sections' usability across the Entity's website.
  • Designed the UI and appstore mockups for the mobile app App "Sic a la Mano"
  • Created a case study to rebuild and improve the content type "Ruta PI" from a Drupal CMS user's perspective. Read the case study here (in spanish)

Pixel Club S.A.S

Role: Visual/Web Designer, Webmaster.

Managed and produced content mostly on Drupal for organizations related to the private and public sector. Also designed websites and wrote the CSS for those designed by the teammates, ensuring that brand guidelines were cohesive for each format the content was displayed on.

Highlights:
  • En Territorio & Medellín Cómo vamos: CSS styling, content management and dynamic content configuration in some nodes.
  • Santo & Seña: graphic design & content mangement for product nodes, special pages showcasing the bookshop novelties, and also contributed with some writing for articles, reviews and product descriptions.
  • Ingeniar Risk Intelligence's website (2018): Wireframing and visual design + CSS styling along with Luisa Martínez, and contribution along with Javier Duarte & Nicolás Rey on the site building process (blocks, views and dynamic pages).
    Initial content management and customer training to operate the website on their own.
  • Multisite Acción Buenaventura, Más Meta, REDESCAR + RACES (2018-2020): Site building in conjunction with Nicolás Rey, interface & graphic design along with Luisa Martínez. Content management and customer support
    Content management and customer training to operate the website on their own.
  • Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (2016-2017): content management and graphic design for the website from that period.
  • Bupa: content management on the Drupal multisite for Colombia, Bolivia and Mexico.

Articulados Comunicación Digital

Worked as a graphic designer building presentations, images for social media and management reports according to brand guidelines.

Highlights:

Graphic/Web Designer

Have worked mostly on projects for print, presentations (ppt + Keynotes), website designs for small and corporate businesses, and also have collaborated on artistic projects under Victor Escobar's wing back in 2010 and 2012 (Tráquira - Paisacres / Blanca Nieve) by helping to manufacture some of the pieces to be displayed on the exhibitions.
When he's not doing design work for clients, he likes to take photos and explore design techniques on his own, mostly as a hobby.

C.V Download upon request. Request a copy of my CV