Andrea Mercado always considered herself an artist, but found her way into graphic design by the vastness of the industry. As a graphic designer, she would be able to do anything, satisfying her endless capacity of creativity. From designing logos to designing clothes, from designing plate sets to posters for feminist movements, the sky's the limit, and every time she begins a new project she knows she found her calling. She isn’t a person who can be stuck doing the same thing forever, so the fact that graphic design offered her a myriad of things to try was very appealing, and as a celebrated animator and graphic designer, every day allows her a new opportunity to create works of art for the world to consume.
“I like being able to do different things. Last year I worked on a mobile app for the first time. It was a medical app that was meant to be used by pediatricians, so I felt like I was contributing to something important. I learned a lot from the experience and the app quickly became the number one app in the App Store in my country. Being able to make beautiful designs that also help people is definitely something I like about my career,” she said.
Throughout her career, Mercado has proven time and time again just why she is in-demand not only in her home country of Peru, but around the world. Her animation and design work for companies like Driver Digital and Neuronet have gone on to great commercial success, and her work for the web series Paradigm Spiral and the collaborative YouTube film PINOF Animate! have garnered countless international fans. Her speed, versatility, and talent impress all she works with. She is truly at the top of her game.
“Andrea is a master graphic designer and illustrator. Her projects are unrivaled in creativity, paired with one-of-a-kind style. She is tech-savvy and versed in using software such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. Andrea's timeliness sets her apart from the rest, making her a valuable addition to the team. It's an absolute pleasure working with her on projects of all sizes, from integrated campaigns to blog posts and more,” said Joe Mercurio, Creative Strategist at Fractl.
Mercado has spent the last four years working alongside Mercurio at Fractl, a content marketing agency that fuses data journalism with PR. Her responsibilities include creating graphics for integrated marketing campaigns with multi-assets, which may include videos, GIFs, animated tables and graphic design infographics. These projects then get picked up by big websites and shared via social media.
“I like it because there’s a wide variety of projects, not all of them are the same or even similar. Sometimes I use photography, other times I create my own graphics. I think it’s important because the projects teach people many things that they wouldn’t otherwise know,” she said.
Mercado has worked on several prolific projects with Fractl. Not long ago, she explored how CBD can help reduce anxiety. Many people don’t even know what CBD is and what its benefits are, but she discovered it is a natural and very effective way to treat anxiety. Because of the importance of the project, it has been shared on websites like The Daily Mail and CNBC. She also worked on assets for a project called “Over-the-Counter Addiction” for Remedy Review, one of Fractl's clients, and it was picked up by The Daily Mail. The article reached over 407 million readership and 390K coverage views. The site's domain authority is 93.
“I feel proud of myself whenever a project is shared by websites like Fox or CBS. It shows that the work we are doing is important enough to be shared by news giants, and also important enough for people to see it. We have a group chat on Slack for the entire team, and whenever a project of ours gets placed on a big web-site, someone mentions it and tags everyone who worked on it. Then we get congratulated by the entire team. It’s a nice way to boost morale and to know where our efforts are going,” she said.
Mercado’s work is consistently essential in every project she makes for Fractl, both commercially and visually, not only because she is a skilled designer, but also because she works incredibly fast. By working fast, she allows the entire production pipeline to advance at a faster pace too.
“Working with Andrea over the past seven months has been an immense pleasure. She is constantly volunteering to take on more projects, and she far exceeds her peers in the sheer number of project designs she produces over time. I know that whenever I work with her, I can expect high-quality work that is done extremely quickly. She always listens to direction and comes up with truly clever and beautiful designs that consistently impress me and other members of our team and company,” said Claire Cole, Creative Strategist at Fractl
Fractl is constant variety, just what Mercado loves. She never stays on a project for longer than three days, and with her speed and talent, that is enough time to manufacture a masterpiece.
Undoubtedly, we can continue to expect more outstanding things from Mercado. Keep an eye out for her future works.