During my five years at El País, I began as a web designer, focusing on basic layouts for news reports. Over time, I developed a deep passion for storytelling, a skill that later became central to my approach in UX. This passion led me to work on more complex projects, including creating multimedia specials with a talented team, where we turned extensive investigative journalism into engaging digital experiences.
Key projects
Unfortunately, many of these projects are no longer available online.
Venezuela: Crimen sin frontera
An in-depth investigation into cross-border crime in Venezuela
The Colombian gold and organized crime.
Special focusing on illegal mining and its ties to criminal organizations.
Cali, a dream crossed by a river?
The Cali River special, which explored the river’s origins and its impact on the city, and won the Alfonso Bonilla Aragón award.
The "Gota a gota"
A special report on violent loan sharks operating across Latin America, which was nominated to Gabriel García Márquez journalism award.
Other significant works
Included a special on the military truck explosion in Cali (1945), a minute-by-minute retelling of the Avianca plane bombing orchestrated by Pablo Escobar (1989), the World Games multimedia special, and an investigation into illegal mining in Colombia.
Challenges & learnings
The biggest challenge was learning to transform lengthy, text-heavy investigative pieces into visual, interactive stories that were both engaging and informative. I quickly realized that visual storytelling was key to improving the reader’s experience, allowing them to navigate through complex topics in a more intuitive and engaging way. The design had to be visually appealing, but more importantly, it needed to guide users through the narrative in a fluid, thoughtful manner.
Many hours were spent crafting user flows and thinking through the best ways to enhance user experience, making these dense stories more accessible and easier to digest. This experience sharpened my ability to create storytelling frameworks that are valuable for users, a skill that I have carried into my UX work ever since.
Impact & recognition
These projects were recognized not only for their compelling stories but also for the seamless user experience they offered. The awards and recognition we received confirmed the importance of design and storytelling in journalism. By focusing on how users experience the narrative, I learned the true value of user-centered storytelling, a skill that has become integral to my approach in UX design.