Audrey Valbuena's GeoCities Site!

Experience

Digital designer and creative developer specializing in systems and storytelling

Latest Work

Project	Role
Try This: Snackable advice for life’s common challenges (2024)	Development
See how a lab grown diamond is made (2024)	Pitched quiz modules, design, development
A means of escape: Kickflipping, boardsliding and socializing: Shaw Skate Park is a welcoming “third place.” (2024)	Story pitch, design, development
The hidden life of seeds (2024)	Design, development
TheList: What’s In and what’s out for 2025 (2024)	Design, development
Searching for Maura (2023)	Development, accessibility testing, alt-text
What counts as an `American name` in a changing nation (2023)	Art direction, design, development
For the lonely, tech offers friendship – at a price (2023)	Design, development
Revealing the Smithsonian’s `racial brain collection` (2023)	Design, development
‘It’s my choice. It’s my life.’: French Muslim women push back on the politics of the hijab (2021)	Design, development
The Queer Quarantine: Eleven photographers and one writer on how the pandemic altered lives in the LGBTQ+ community. (2021)	Design, development, print design
The Year of Endurance: Hope and uncertainty amid a pandemic that wouldn’t end (2021)	Design, development, print design

Case Studies

This section is under construction!

About

Hey, I’m Audrey – a digital designer, storyteller and developer based in Brooklyn, NY. I currently work at The Washington Post as a Senior Designer, building custom, interactive storytelling experiences and reusable components for our team’s codebase.

My day-to-day consists of a mix of designing one-off stories, developing aesthetics and components for series of coverage, and long-term systems thinking work. This can look like developing the Try This podcast page, pitching the aesthetic vision for a series like The Collection, or redesigning of The Post’s election results pages ecosystem.

Previously, I worked at The New York Times as an Associate Product Manager on the Design Systems and Accessibility team. There I helped ship dark mode to news apps.

What carries through all my work is a commitment to creative storytelling, empathetic product decisions, and intentional and accessible design solutions, no matter the product or system.

Outside of work, I have a ceramic practice under the name Bad Rat Studio. I can usually be found in cafes across Brooklyn deeply engrossed in the latest work of fiction, or crocheting a new granny square during my morning commute.

Awards & Recognition

Award	Recognition
Pulitzer Awards 2024	Finalist, Illustrated Reporting and Commentary, Searching for Maura
SND 45	Bronze, Design: Investigative, Searching for Maura
SND 45	Bronze, Design Investigative, The Collection
LOC	Bronze, LOC: Investigative or Public Service, The Collection
Award of Excellence	Product, Reduced Motion
Award of Excellence	Portfolio: Story Page Design
SPD 57	Medal Finalist, “Web: Custom Feature Design”, The Queer Quarantine

Audrey Valbuena

Digital designer and creative developer.

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