Professional summary
Design-led builder and creative technologist with 15+ years of experience bridging the gap between high-fidelity design and technical execution. Expert in building interactive, code-based prototypes. Specialist in AI-augmented development (Claude, Cursor, Gemini) to accelerate the concept-to-code cycle, establishing repeatable prompt workflows and scalable design systems for world-class organizations like Google and CNN.
Core competencies
- Technical translation: Fluent in translating Figma design intent into testable code while navigating technical constraints with engineering partners.
- Design systems & tokens: Expert in semantic token structures, design systems integration, and maintaining component libraries for billion-dollar initiatives.
- Rapid prototyping: High-fidelity, interactive prototypes to validate IA and complex interaction patterns.
- AI-enabled workflows: Claude and Cursor for scaffolding, refactoring, and automating token-related transformations.
Technical skills
Figma · Design systems & component libraries · AI-assisted prototyping (Gemini, Claude, Cursor) · React/Angular PWA development · Markdown documentation · Responsive web design · Design operations (DesignOps) · Accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1) · HTML/CSS · Information architecture · Interaction design patterns · A/B testing · User research & usability testing · Design thinking & workshop facilitation · Agile/Scrum methodologies
Career highlights
- Architected Google’s $1B News Showcase program, designing a dual-sided data platform and publisher CMS that established the first direct licensing revenue stream for the global journalism industry.
- Directed multidisciplinary teams for 1B+ DAU products, including Google Lens integrations across Chrome, YouTube, and the Google App.
- Drove a 10%+ lift in daily active users for Google News through a comprehensive global desktop relaunch.
- Drove AI design innovation, championing AI-powered prototypes for Google Lens and utilizing AI-integrated tools to reduce design-to-prototype cycles.
- Transformed CNN.com as Creative Director, architecting the Live Story ecosystem and establishing design systems and editorial layouts still in production today.
Professional experience
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) — Boston, MA
Feb–Mar 2026
Independent Design Consultant (Contract)
- Delivered end-to-end UX design for two concurrent internal product initiatives, including wireframes, flows, and high-fidelity designs for an AI-assisted internal tool.
- Led visual design, responsive layout, and content strategy for a parallel internal project microsite, including Figma prototypes and final deliverables.
- Managed both workstreams independently under a T&M structure, coordinating directly with senior BCG stakeholders.
Google — Cambridge, MA
2019–2025
UX Design Lead — Google Lens Integrations and Contextual Search
June 2024 – October 2025
- Directed design strategy for Google Lens integrations across 1B+ DAU surfaces (Chrome, YouTube, Google App), orchestrating alignment between competing product philosophies and design systems.
- Negotiated complex technical and design trade-offs across disparate organizations, including 5+ distinct YouTube workstreams to secure cross-functional approval for high-visibility AI launches.
- Architected adaptive UI frameworks capable of evolving alongside real-time AI advancements, ensuring Lens features remained cohesive across desktop-specific Chrome sidebars and mobile environments.
- Pioneered novel interaction paradigms for short-form video by leading a multidisciplinary team of 7 to create bespoke AI-search experiences that balanced platform-specific constraints with user-intent signals.
- Facilitated high-stakes UX partnerships with external platforms to pilot experimental in-app search integrations, expanding the reach of Google’s AI-powered discovery tools.
UX Design Lead — Google News
January 2022 – May 2024
- Spearheaded global relaunch of news.google.com for 140+ international editions, achieving a 10%+ lift in DAUs by transforming a legacy aggregator into a structured, modern news experience.
- Directed a multidisciplinary team of 5 to become the first Google web product to implement Material Design 3 (GM3), negotiating a visual language that harmonized GM3 UI with Search Design System (SDS) content patterns.
- Translated UXR insights into core product strategy for topic-following and feed customization, moving the product from algorithmic-only feeds to a user-controlled experience that increased repeat usage.
- Managed rapid-response design strategy during major global news events to ensure information integrity and user safety across high-traffic desktop surfaces.
Senior Interaction Designer & UX Design Manager — Google News Showcase
March 2020 – December 2021
- Architected end-to-end UX for Google’s $1B journalism investment, designing a dual-sided ecosystem (Publisher CMS and Consumer Panels) that established the first direct licensing revenue stream for 2,800+ publishers.
- Directed design strategy across Google News and Discover, negotiating complex requirements to give publishers greater editorial control while maintaining cohesive user journeys across multiple Google surfaces.
- Resolved high-stakes ambiguity between Legal, Partnerships, and Product to scale tools supporting 750M+ curated panels across 31 international markets.
- Established a durable design system and visual language that remains Google’s journalism standard 5+ years post-launch.
- Mentored and led a cross-functional design workstream to accelerate launch velocity while ensuring design consistency and technical feasibility during a high-visibility global rollout.
Interaction Designer — Google News, Context Everywhere Initiative
September 2019 – February 2020
- Designed information literacy tools helping users evaluate content credibility.
- Created Android messenger integration concepts for content verification and fact-checking.
- Developed foundation for current source information features with Search teams.
CNN Digital — Atlanta, GA
2011–2019
Creative Director — CNN.com, CNN Politics
March 2014 – August 2019
- Architected Live Story ecosystem, a resilient live-blogging product that remains CNN’s primary breaking-news driver a decade later, consistently supporting 3–4 daily live events with minimal structural changes.
- Led strategic and visual design for the 2016 Presidential Election, orchestrating complex real-time data visualizations and results-driven interfaces for a global audience of 100M+ concurrent users.
- Directed the visual identity and brand system for CNN Politics, establishing a high-polish aesthetic through custom layouts, illustration styles, and typography that defined the look and feel of the category.
- Evangelized an adaptive layout system adopted as the foundation for all site programming, ensuring a cohesive user experience across CNN’s expanding digital ecosystem.
Senior Designer
March 2012 – February 2014
- Led the multi-year responsive redesign of CNN.com, a landmark digital transformation that dramatically expanded mobile engagement and unlocked significant new advertising revenue streams.
- Codified editorial programming standards and CMS patterns for the global organization, reducing production friction for hundreds of journalists and editors across time zones.
Designer
September 2011 – February 2012
- Designed editorial content experiences for CNN Digital, including microsites, show blogs, and campaign work.
Early career
2008–2011
Front End Developer (Contract) — The Home Depot, Atlanta, GA
June 2011 – August 2011
- Collaborated with front-end developers and designers to implement CSS and HTML on primary checkout and payment process for all products on homedepot.com.
Interactive Designer — Burdette Ketchum, Jacksonville, FL
August 2009 – May 2011
- Led web design and front-end development for client websites, email newsletter and online advertising campaigns and logos, providing solutions from concept to production and collaborating directly with primary partners, account executives and print designers.
Interactive Designer & Front-End Developer — Pippin Design, Jacksonville, FL
June 2008 – July 2009
- Oversaw design, development and administration of all online initiatives, including implementation and customization of content management systems (WordPress, ExpressionEngine), to accomplish client objectives.
Education
University of Florida — Gainesville, FL
2004–2008
Bachelor of Science in Advertising
Awards & recognition
- News Showcase launch featured in The Verge, TechCrunch, and the Google Blog.
- Multiple Google internal awards for design excellence and impact.
Selected work
Full case studies available at mbarilla.com. Extended Google case studies available on request.
Download Google Projects PDF