I am Isa Bakal-van Ingen, NYC-born designer now based in the Netherlands, passionate about visual storytelling across media. I’ve spent my life exploring a diverse range of media projects, from illustration to UX, branding, and product design, always chasing the moment where concept and craft meet. I specialize in creating immersive visuals that resonate with audiences, collaborating with clients to capture their unique stories, design intuitive interfaces, and deliver high-quality graphics. In my work I blend creative intuition with research-driven practice, from UX studies to branding campaigns, across freelance and agency settings.…

Isa Bakal-van Ingen

PRO

I am Isa Bakal-van Ingen, NYC-born designer now based in the Netherlands, passionate about visual storytelling across media. I’ve spent my life exploring a diverse range of media projects, from illustration to UX, branding, and product design, always chasing the moment where concept and craft meet. I specialize in creating immersive visuals that resonate with audiences, collaborating with clients to capture their unique stories, design intuitive interfaces, and deliver high-quality graphics. In my work I blend creative intuition with research-driven practice, from UX studies to branding campaigns, across freelance and agency settings.…

Available to hire

I am Isa Bakal-van Ingen, NYC-born designer now based in the Netherlands, passionate about visual storytelling across media. I’ve spent my life exploring a diverse range of media projects, from illustration to UX, branding, and product design, always chasing the moment where concept and craft meet.

I specialize in creating immersive visuals that resonate with audiences, collaborating with clients to capture their unique stories, design intuitive interfaces, and deliver high-quality graphics. In my work I blend creative intuition with research-driven practice, from UX studies to branding campaigns, across freelance and agency settings.

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Skills

Experience Level

Illustration
Expert
Branding
Expert
Figma
Expert
Procreate
Expert
Product Design
Expert
UI
Expert
Animation
Expert
Logo
Expert
Sketch
Expert
Copywriting
Expert
Book Illustration
Intermediate
Editorial Illustration
Intermediate
Poster
Intermediate
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Language

English
Fluent
Japanese
Intermediate
Dutch
Beginner

Work Experience

Digital Content Manager at Spillian LLC
November 1, 2024 - Present
Manage and execute social media marketing calendar, creating and curating original multimedia content for multiple platforms, capturing clients’ unique stories; organize content production workflows and digital media asset management; research hashtags, trends, and engagement, and track analytics and KPIs weekly; conduct UX research and design on websites and LMS, implementing usability studies and customer interviews; produce sketches and workflow diagrams as well as illustrations, brand art, and high-quality graphics; respond to comments and messages, building strong relationships with online community and followers.
Producer/Art Director at BadAddress Media LLC
June 1, 2021 - December 31, 2024
Designed all logos and merchandise for podcasts; oversaw branding and website UI, layout and aesthetic design; oversaw production process, evaluate content pitches, promoted and advertised podcasts; monitored analytics and metrics, managed production budget, organized funding and sponsorship.
Freelancer at Freelance Designer and Artist
July 1, 2015 - Present
Paint and illustrate commissions from portraits to movie posters; design logos and art for websites, present improved layout and UI designs; illustrate concept art for video games, comic books, TTRPGs and more; create posters for award winning movies including a Tribeca Film Festival Winner.
Graphic Designer/Organizer at Hex and Co
January 1, 2020 - January 1, 2022
Designed posters, menus, and signs for east side store; worked with owners to organize store aesthetic, research competitive businesses; helped set up store arrangement and product placement.
Volunteer Art Teacher Assistant at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
April 1, 2019 - May 1, 2019
Assisted teacher with lessons and art demonstrations; set up art supplies and tidied up classroom space; managed children during gallery tours.
Editorial Intern at Papercutz, MacMillan Publishing
January 1, 2016 - March 31, 2016
Assisted staff with editing graphic novels, catalogued digital and printed works; performed administrative tasks; created schedules, invoices and contracts; answered customer service inquiries.
Editorial Intern at Papercutz, MacMillan Publishing (Graphic Novel Publisher)
January 1, 2016 - March 31, 2016
Assisted staff with editing graphic novels, comic books and scripts. Catalogued digital and printed works. Performed administrative tasks. Created schedules, invoices and contracts. Answered customer service inquiries.

Education

Certificate: User Centered Design (UX/UI) at Parsons School of Design – The New School, NYC, NY
January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024
Bachelor of Arts at Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
August 25, 2011 - June 25, 2015
Certificate: Japanese Art and Culture at Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan (Year Abroad)
March 15, 2014 - August 25, 2014
Certificate: Symbolism in Renaissance Art at Lorenzo de' Medici, Florence, Italy (Summer Abroad)
June 1, 2013 - July 1, 2013

Qualifications

Certificate: User Centered Design (UX/UI)
January 1, 2024 - March 24, 2026

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Education, Software & Internet, Professional Services, Other
    uniE621 Twice at Once Movie Poster
    A poster I made for director Amos Efrat for his short in 2018. The movie's description: A dysfunctional married couple begins to explore unorthodox methods of intimacy with unusual results. It was an official selection in several festivals. Made in the Sketch app with an iPad. illustrator movieposter graphic designer poster digitalart…
    uniE621 Safe Spaces (After Class) Movie Poster
    In 2018 I was contacted by director Dan Schechter to create a poster for his movie then titled "Safe Spaces" (Now "After Class"). The movie is a 2019 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Daniel Schechter and starring Justin Long, Kate Berlant, Lynn Cohen, Michael Godere, Fran Drescher and Richard Schiff. Its accolades include a Tribecca Film Festival award. I created the poster on the app Sketch with an iPad and made the text with Photoshop. illustrator graphicdesigner movieposter poster digitalart…
    paper LiveJournal Re-Design (Study)

    For my personal study, I decided to tackle the outdated and inaccessible design of livejournal.com. As you can see below, I had a lot to work with, including consolidating and bringing forward relevant content, and focusing the layout on what the website is mainly supposed to be for: posting blogs entries.

    Find the project here: https://www.twine.net/signin

    paper Portfolio Usability Test

    A test was conducted on my art portfolio, iiisa-art.com, in order to evaluate the usability, workings, and productivity of the website. The portfolio had not been updated in quite a few years, and needed to be surveyed and examined by a few selected users.

    You can find the project here: https://www.twine.net/signin

    paper "First Draft" Writing App Research

    As a writer and friend of other writers, I’ve always wanted an accessible program that could keep me organized and connected to others in the community. I’ve used other writing aid programs before, but they were either limited in options or incredibly complicated to navigate. I aimed to tackle common problems and create tools that will help everyone write the story they need.

    Find the project here: https://www.twine.net/signin