Hi there,
I’m Elena
Parras
This my journey as a Designer
About Me
I grew up in a small town of the south of Spain in a family of teachers. Since I was kid I was in contact with different cultures what gave me a good sense of the importance of equity and social cohesion. I was a clumsy happy child. I broke my arm twice and I had to learn to paint with the left hand. Drawing has been my constant. I love art and people. So, I made my living out of that.
Education & Early Work
University of Seville – Bachelor of Advertising and Public Relations
Advertising and communication with outstanding accreditation in Advertising Design, Aesthetic of communication (honors), Spanish Language: Theory and Analysis of Construction of Texts, Social Psychology of Communication, Social Structure and Processes, Commercial Spaces and Advertising Communication, Organization, Management and Services of new Technologies Applied to Advertising
Started Freelancing in small projects as graphic designer
Since 2011, I’ve worked independently on various creative projects, primarily focused on illustration. Early freelance work included logo and corporate identity design, as well as promotional materials supporting health and education initiatives
Graphic Designer in TUSSAM (Public Transport of Seville)
Worked in graphic design focusing on corporate image. Performed internal and external communication tasks, such as newsletters, digital communication, adaptation of advertising formats, editing map designs, designed signage systems for transport infrastructures, supported and organized seminars and events, updated web information and published company activities regular
Award-Winning Project
Entedemente was a creative agency concept born from a play on Spanish words: ente (entity/company), demente (crazy), and de mente (of the mind). The name reflects our philosophy, strategic thinking powered by logic and creativity. Our logo featured a quirky alien with an oversized brain, symbolizing this blend of intelligence and imagination.
We earned a special prize at the 18th edition of “De la clase a la cuenta” (From Class to Account), judged by industry icons Lluís Bassat (Bassat Ogilvy) and Josep María Mir (SUMMA). The award recognized our 360º campaign for Cruzcampo beer, designed to connect with young adults (18–30) during a time of economic crisis.
Concept
Under the slogan “Muévete, demuestra que eres único” (Get moving, show you are special), the campaign encouraged individuality and optimism. It positioned Cruzcampo as the catalyst for extending fun moments with friends.
Key Elements
Media Mix: TV, radio, social media, event sponsorship, street marketing, competition, and POS advertising—all integrated into a 12-month communication plan.
Street Marketing & Web Competition: A dance challenge where participants uploaded videos to Cruzcampo’s site. Winners earned tickets to the Territorios Music Festival. Promoted via posters and bus-stop mupis.
Point of Sale Activation: A Cruzcampo Jukebox in featured bars let customers insert tokens (earned by ordering Cruzcampo) to play their favorite songs, creating personalized playlists later shared on Spotify.
Master in frontend development
Completed a Master’s in Frontend Development and Design at CICE – Professional Formation for New Technologies (Authorized Adobe® Training Center).
Skills Acquired:
- Design Tools: Adobe Illustrator®, Photoshop®, InDesign®.
- Web Technologies: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery, PHP, MySQL, WordPress.
- Advanced Concepts: Web and interface design, HTML5 Canvas animation.
Final Project: Created a full branding and website for a social initiative supporting children without stable housing. The concept transformed lost socks into teddy bears, featuring tutorials, e-commerce for DIY kits, and donation options—turning creativity into a fundraising tool
Advertising Agencies
Worked as a Graphic Designer and Frontend Developer in several small agencies, creating branding assets, marketing materials, and responsive websites. Gained hands-on experience in client projects but realized my passion lay in strategic design and user experience. I move around different companies for a while looking for what really makes my heart pumps.
European Central Bank – Communication Assistant
Traineeship in the Web & Digital Division. Assisting the teams with various projects to be completed in 2016, such as the conversion of publications from PDF/E-pub to full HTML format and SVG graphs and the new information architecture for the ECB website, as well as carry out other tasks as required by the division.
SAP – UX Designer
SAP Store
Designed end-to-end user experiences for SAP Store, focusing on financial flows such as product purchase, checkout, renewal, and upsell. Delivered implementation-ready designs, including HTML/CSS assets for web pages and emails, aligned with SAP Digital’s vision of global accessibility.
Collaborated closely with business stakeholders and coordinated UX milestones to ensure timely prototyping, testing, and deployment across the full customer journey
SAP for Me
Core Designer since the inception of SAP for Me, SAP’s customer portal integrating over 300 applications. I lead design strategy for key platform topics such as navigation, search, Joule AI integration, Task Center, personalization, and other areas ensuring platform-wide consistency.
Working within a PI Planning methodology, I collaborate with more than 14 development teams, external satellite design teams, and multiple business stakeholders (PMs, BOs, CPO). My responsibilities include:
- Creating high-fidelity mockups and interactive prototypes
- Maintaining and extending Figma design libraries
- Managing the UX backlog in JIRA
- Aligning user experience with business strategy and technical feasibility through close collaboration with architects and developers.