Marissa Balbuena is a Senior Graphic Designer and Type Enthusiast with five years of in-house creative team experience in the early childhood education and nonprofit sectors. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and a Master of Science in Management both from the University of Florida, Marissa takes a strategic and systems-based approach to design and creativity.
Since joining the UF Lastinger Center for Learning in 2019, Marissa has progressed from an assistant to her current senior role. She leads creative efforts for the New Worlds Reading Initiative, collaborating with internal teams to create accessible and purposeful resources, including reading guides and community outreach materials. Previously, she specialized in online course design and developed the Flamingo Learning brand’s visual identity.
Beyond her work at the Center, Marissa explores cultural identity and ethnicity through her personal type design venture, Buena Type. She experiments with letterforms and creates custom typefaces as a means of artistic and cultural expression In her free time, Marissa enjoys refining her cooking skills, staying active at the gym, and taking long walks with her husband and their dog, Mila.
Since joining the UF Lastinger Center for Learning in 2019, Marissa has progressed from an assistant to her current senior role. She leads creative efforts for the New Worlds Reading Initiative, collaborating with internal teams to create accessible and purposeful resources, including reading guides and community outreach materials. Previously, she specialized in online course design and developed the Flamingo Learning brand’s visual identity.
Beyond her work at the Center, Marissa explores cultural identity and ethnicity through her personal type design venture, Buena Type. She experiments with letterforms and creates custom typefaces as a means of artistic and cultural expression In her free time, Marissa enjoys refining her cooking skills, staying active at the gym, and taking long walks with her husband and their dog, Mila.
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