Digital designer and creative developer specializing in systems and storytelling

About

Hey, I’m Audrey – a digital designer, storyteller and developer based in Brooklyn, NY. I currently work at The Wall Street Journal as a designer on the Visual Storytelling team, building custom, interactive storytelling experiences and supporting the growth of the storytelling tools and design systems.

Previously, I worked as a Senior Designer at The Washington Post. There, my day-to-day consisted of a mix of designing one-off stories, developing aesthetics and components for series of coverage, and long-term systems thinking work.

Before that, I tried my hand as an Associate Product Manager on the Design Systems and Accessibility team at The New York Times. There I helped ship dark mode to news apps.

What carries through all my work is a commitment to creative storytelling, empathetic product decisions, and intentional and accessible design solutions, no matter the product or system.

Outside of work, I have a ceramic practice under the name Bad Rat Studio. I can usually be found in cafes across Brooklyn deeply engrossed in the latest work of fiction, or crocheting during my morning commute.

Awards & recognition

Pulitzer Awards

2025: Finalist, International Reporting, Revenge, Fire and Destruction
2024: Finalist, Illustrated Reporting and Commentary, Searching for Maura

SND 47

Silver, Individual: Multiple Topics Story Page Design Portfolio

SND 45

Bronze, Design: Investigative, Searching for Maura
Bronze, Design Investigative, The Collection
Bronze, LOC: Investigative or Public Service, The Collection
Award of Excellence, Product, Reduced Motion
Award of Excellence, Portfolio: Story Page Design

SPD 57

Medal Finalist, “Web: Custom Feature Design”, The Queer Quarantine

Selected work

Click on each story block to view the live piece.

When possible, gift links are used.

Over 4,732 Messages, He Fell In Love With An AI Chatbot. Now He’s Dead. (2026)

Role: design, development, art direction

See how a lab grown diamond is made (2024)

Role: pitched quiz modules, design, development

Searching for Maura (2023)

Role: development, accessibility testing, alt-text

One Ukrainian City’s Agonizing Year as the Russian Army Closed In (2026)

Role: design, development

The Queer Quarantine: Eleven photographers and one writer on how the pandemic altered lives in the LGBTQ+ community. (2021)

Role: design, development, print design

The Year of Endurance: Hope and uncertainty amid a pandemic that wouldn’t end (2021)

Role: design, development, print design

The Explosive Addictive World of Mystery Toy Collecting (2025)

Role: design, development, photography, reporting

Do You Know How to Behave at Work? (2025)

Role: art direction, design, development

‘Girl, Take Your Crazy Pills!’ Antidepressants Recast as a Hot Lifestyle Accessory (2026)

Role: design, development

A means of escape: Kickflipping, boardsliding and socializing: Shaw Skate Park is a welcoming “third place.” (2024)

Role: story pitch, design, development

The hidden life of seeds (2024)

Role: design, development

Revealing the Smithsonian’s `racial brain collection` (2023)

Role: design, development

Experience

Latest Work

Case Studies

Audrey Valbuena

This site is always a work in progress. It was last updated July 2026.

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