Grazielle Bruscato Portella

Grazielle Portella is a Designer, Researcher, and Assistant Professor at IE University. She holds a Ph.D. in Contemporary Drawing from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, supported by a full scholarship from the Foundation for Science and Technology of Portugal (FCT). She also holds a Master’s degree in Technology Intelligence and Digital Design from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo and a Design degree from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in her native Brazil. Her doctoral thesis, “Slow Drawing for a Contemplative Path,” was awarded Cum Laude and European Mention.

Before joining IE University, she taught courses, workshops, and seminars on design and contemporary drawing at various universities and institutions across Europe and Brazil. From 2022 to 2024, she taught Design Studio at EINA University of Art and Design in Barcelona, and served as a Visiting Professor at the Superior Technical Architecture School of Barcelona in 2022. She also coordinated the research project "5 Minutes of Drawing" at the Fine Arts Faculty of the University of Lisbon. Her research has been featured in scholarly journals such as Mídia & Cotidiano, Convocarte, Arquitecturas del Sur, and Thomas Project - A Border Journal for Utopian Thoughts, among others.

In addition to her academic work, Grazielle had extensive professional experience as an Interactive Producer and UX/UI Specialist at Google in Brazil. At Google, she led innovative projects for products like Street View, Maps, and YouTube, collaborating with major brands such as Nissan, L’Oréal, Adidas, and Johnson’s for high-profile events like the Olympics and the World Cup. She has also worked as a Product Designer for startups in Paris and Lisbon, and as a Design Consultant for Roche Pharmaceuticals in Barcelona. Her professional endeavors have earned her prestigious awards, including the International Design Awards (IDEA), The Webby Awards, and The FWA.

Her current research interests lie at the intersection of design, art, and technology, encompassing multidisciplinary areas such as de-growth studies, contemporary drawing, speculative design, haptic interfaces, artificial intelligence, and philosophy. In addition to her tenure-track position at IE University, she collaborates with the Center of Studies and Research in Fine Arts at the University of Lisbon (CIEBA), and is a member of the Scientific Committee of the International Conference of the Ibero-American Society of Digital Graphics (SiGRaDi). Grazielle continues to develop her artistic practice in drawing through residencies and exhibitions in Portugal, Spain, and France.

Corporate Experience 

• Senior Product Designer, Roche Pharmaceutics, Spain, 2024

• Senior Product Designer, Flaner, Portugal, 2017 - 2019

• Strategic UX Designer, K Solutions, France, 2017 - 2018

• Interactive Producer, Google, Brazil, 2012 - 2017 

Academic Experience

• Assistant Professor of Design, IE University, Spain, 2024 - Present

• Studio Adjunt Professor, EINA University of Art and Design of Barcelona, Spain, 2022 - 2024

• PhD Visiting Scholar Research Fellow at the Department of Architectural Representation, Superior Technical Architecture School, Polytechnic University of Barcelona (ETSAB - UPC), Spain, 2022 

• Predoctoral Fellow. Thesis funded by Foundation for Science and Technology of Portugal (FCT), under the direction of Dr. Artur Ramos. Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon (FBAUL), Portugal, 2019 - 2024

• Member of the Scientific Committee, SiGRaDi Iberoamerican Society of Digital Graphics International Conference, 2022 - Present

• Participation of Drawing Research Group, CIEBA – Center of Research and Studies in Fine Arts, University of Lisbon, 2019 - 2024

• Coordinator of ‘5 Minutes of Drawing’, Research Project funded by Foundation for Science and Technology of Portugal (FCT), University of Lisbon, 2020 - 2022

• Collective Exhibit, ‘73 Barcelonas’, Model Festival de Arquitecturas de Barcelona, 2023

• Individual Exhibit, ‘Slow Drawing: Desenho, atenção, ação’. Atelier da Graça, Lisbon, 2023

• Drawing Research Residency, L’AiR Arts, Atelier 11 Cité Falguière, Paris, 2022

• Artistic Residency, Joya AiR : Arte + Ecología, Almería, 2022

• Collective Exhibit, ‘O símbolo de uma pandemia’, Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon (FBAUL), Portugal, 2022

Academic Background

• Ph.D. in Fine Arts, University of Lisbon (FBAUL), Portugal, 2024

• Master in Technology Intelligence and Digital Design, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUCSP), Spain, 2016

• Bachelor in Design, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil, 2012

Selected Publications

• Hildebrand, H. R., & Bruscato Portella, G. (2024). Interfaces Tangíveis e a Inteligência Artificial: Explorando a Interação Humano-Máquina. Mídia E Cotidiano, 18(2):167-188

• Bruscato Portella, G. (2024). A poética da água: O desenho como metáfora de movimento do mar à mão. Convocarte - Revista de Ciências da Arte, 15, 141-156

• Portella, G. (2022). Conversando com Sam Winston: O desenho como linguagem na ausência de luz. Queiroz, J. P. (Ed.). As Artes Visuais pelos Artistas: Atas do XIII Congresso CSO 2022. Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes