I'm Ricardo Angulo — Head of Design and Creative Director based in Barcelona.
Since 2011 I have built one discipline: making brands coherent. I define visual identity and art direction that survive contact with real markets, lead teams that ship work they are proud of, and treat creative quality as something you operate — not something you hope for.
Currently Head of Design at XPUP and Academy of Digital Industries — one team, two brands, directing brand and campaigns across Georgia, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan and the UK simultaneously. ADPList Top 10 Design Mentor in Europe, 2024 & 2026. Bilingual Spanish/English. Based in Barcelona — open to roles across Spain and remote Europe.
Creative leadership that makes quality repeatable.
Direction before decoration
I help teams understand what good looks like before production starts, so execution becomes faster and more consistent.
Systems that leave room for judgment
Visual systems should create shared standards without flattening the work into templates that cannot adapt.
Feedback as an operating rhythm
Creative quality improves when critique, prioritization and stakeholder alignment are built into the workflow.
XPUP / Academy of Digital Industries
Head of Design
Directed the rebrand of ADI to XPUP, launched May 2026 across UK, Czech Republic and Kazakhstan; Georgia retains the ADI brand. Head of Design across both.
Ricardo Angulo — Independent Studio
Founder & Creative Director
Independent studio — creative direction and brand identity for 60+ clients across F&B, retail and tech. Ran in parallel with selected in-house and agency engagements.
Designerds / Amazon Blink
Senior Designer
High-visibility retail and campaign design for Amazon Blink across six international markets (work under NDA).
Fab City
Visual Designer
Superside
Senior Graphic Designer
Brand, campaign and editorial design for Handshake, Strava, Shopify, Quattr and Carbon Crusher.
Combarranquilla
Senior Graphic Designer
Aepiphanni Business Consulting
Senior Visual Designer, UI/UX
Dolmen
Senior Graphic Designer
Universidad del Norte
Graphic Designer
- Creative Direction
- Art Direction
- Brand Strategy
- Campaign Direction
- Brand Quality
- Visual Identity
- Multi-Market Rollout
- Digital Design
- Team Leadership
- Mentorship
- Stakeholder Alignment
- Design Operations
- Creative Reviews
- Workflow Improvement
- Brand Governance
- Creative Testing
- Figma
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Monday.com
- Tilda
- AI-Assisted Creative Workflows
- Global–Local Brand Adaptation
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Midjourney
- Magnific AI
- Miro
- English (C2)
- Spanish (Native)
- Catalan (A2)