Photo of man, smiling, clean shaven. He has a short brown hair turned to one side with flicks of gray. It's taken in the fall, as he wears a black and gray scarf and the autumn leaves come through in the background.
Luis Zapata
Designer and Developer

I’m a designer, developer, photographer, movie lover, tabletop gamer, runner, brother, uncle, and more.

I currently work at Disney, in the Disney Entertainment and ESPN Design Organization, as a UX Engineer. My role focuses on building prototypes, developing proofs of concept, and creating web applications tailored for designers.

Previously, I worked at Relative Scale, a creative media production company, as an Interaction Designer and Developer, where I crafted interactive media ranging from touchscreen experiences to large-scale video walls.

I earned my Master of Graphic Design (MGD) from North Carolina State University’s College of Design. The MGD program emphasized research-driven exploration, allowing me to study design in the context of culture, cognitive artifacts, and emerging media. My work included systems design for branding and identity, data visualization, interaction design, user experience, visual communication, and virtual reality. The projects I completed were a blend of independent and collaborative efforts, spanning speculative and real-world applications through seminars, studios, and elective courses. Before that, I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, also from NC State.

Between these degrees, I taught English in Japan as part of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. Over three years, I collaborated with eight Japanese teachers of English to teach junior high students. I also spent a year teaching at two elementary schools, where I developed my own lesson plans. This experience not only enriched my perspective but also helped me achieve conversational proficiency in Japanese.

This site serves as my portfolio, showcasing my skills as a designer, developer, and UX engineer, as well as my creative process. It features work ranging from my early industrial design projects to research in graduate school and my professional roles today.

Feel free to explore my work, and don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like to learn more!

Skills
Design
Tools
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe AfterEffects
  • Adobe Premiere
  • Figma
  • Unity 3D
  • Keyshot
  • Blender3D
  • Solidworks
  • Autodesk Fusion 360
Design
Systems
  • Virtual Reality
  • Game Development
  • 3D modeling
  • Data Visualization
  • User Experience
  • User Interface
  • Branding and Identity
Programming
Languages and Frameworks
  • C#
  • JavaScript/TypeScript
  • Next JS
  • Java
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • Python
Programming
Platforms
  • Windows
  • iOS
  • iPadOS
Language
Proficiency
  • English
  • Japanese
Hobbies
Interests
  • Table-top Games
  • Photography
  • Archery
  • Movies
  • Running