Hi, I’m Maria Duran.
I’m a designer based in Chicago, born in Mazatlan, SinaIoa. When I’m not too busy designing, I love spending my time learning a new skill or making new memories. I have experience in Branding, Illustration and UX/UI. Let’s work together.
Quick fact: I love to draw & paint
Words from collaborators
Jordan Diab
Maria Duran is a talented creative, collaborator, and team-player. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better graphic designer. I worked as her copywriting partner for almost two years at University of Phoenix. Her intelligence and creativity pervade all aspects of her work: brainstorming, concepting, presenting, and problem-solving. She listens to others and responds to different approaches respectfully and thoughtfully. Maria's portfolio speaks to her ability to design for various brands and tones — from silly and bold to serious and informative.
Copywriting Partner at University of Phoenix
Amy Sorlie
Maria is an incredibly talented artist and graphic designer. I had the pleasure of having her on my team where she immediately made a tremendous impact. Her designs up-leveled our content and provided a cohesive look and feel to everything. Her designs are incredibly creative and fun. Maria is so organized and turns around amazing designs in record time. She is quick, easy to work with, collaborative, and consistently performs at a high level. She also took on creating landing pages from scratch and learned Elementor in record time. I'd work with Maria again in a heartbeat! She's an asset to any team.
Director of Content Strategy at AdAction
Working with Maria has always been a wonderful experience. I have had the great opportunity to work with her on multiple projects such as marketing posters, exhibition design, and logo design. Not only does she bring unique ideas to the table with little direction but she can also work efficiently in a fast-paced setting. In addition, Maria is also great in group settings and can communicate clearly. I enjoy working with Maria and would gladly do it again!
Colleague at Arizona State University
Paulina Adame
My Experience
BRAND DESIGNER (Freelance) | NUESTRO CHICAGO ARCHIVES | SEPT 2025 - PRESENT
Typography & brand identity: Led a complete organizational rebrand, including the design of a custom typeface for the official logo and a comprehensive visual identity system.
Creative strategy: Achieved a 2x increase in social media engagement following the brand identity rollout.
Merchandise design: Directed the production of exclusive event merchandise, resulting in a 100% sell-through rate for branded tote bags and stickers.
Exhibition production: Executed end-to-end creative for the One Year Anniversary exhibit, including large-format print displays, environmental signage, and digital collateral.
PRODUCT DESIGNER II | SUPER.COM | FEB. 2024 - PRESENT
Design lead (Super.com Cash Program): Partnered with User Research to conduct moderated usability testing; translated data into high-fidelity UI that balanced both business needs and a refined visual aesthetic.
Visual optimization & conversion: Redesigned the Cash Advance landing experience in collaboration with the Brand team, focusing on UI hierarchy and visual engagement. Implementation led to a 10% decrease in D7 cancellations and a 6–12% lift in manual funding.
UX interaction & delight: Spearheaded "User Delight" initiatives by integrating custom-designed loading states and motion assets into the onboarding flow to reduce perceived wait times and drop-offs.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCT DESIGNER | ADACTION | FEB. 2021 - FEB 2024
Promotion: Elevated from Visual Designer to Product Designer role to lead the end-to-end creative identity of the Cosmic Rewards App.
Illustration library & rebrand: Developed a custom illustration library and a fresh rebrand for Cosmic Rewards, scoring a 4-star app store rating and a monthly boost of user engagement to 60k+
Multi-channel design: Created web pages and illustrative assets for clients including ADGEM and HighSpeedOptions.
Marketing collateral: Led the design of B2B sales collateral, including professional presentations and blog layouts.
DIGITAL DESIGNER | UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX | JUN. 2019 - FEB. 2021
Social media design: Led visual initiatives with Copywriter for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, resulting in a 200+ student increase in monthly engagement.
Multimedia: Developed original animations, video content, and illustrations to modernize the brand's social presence.
Visuals: Co-developed visual styles and conceptual frameworks for video campaigns to ensure cross-platform creative alignment