Hi, my name is Laura, I'm an artist, technologist, photographer, enterpreneur, front-end developer, designer, communication & media [ex] researcher, [bad] skateboarder and a streetwear brand founder. I'm 30-something-years-old and still don't know how to wrap all those things up in only one label, and that's exactly why I decided to build my own personal website.

As some of you, I've long been tired of social media and how it not only limits us regarding posting and formats, but how its algorithms dictate what we consume and how we behave. While I still use these platforms to showcase my work, this website is my creative laboratory. It's a space to improve my code and design skills while expressing myself entirely and freely.

The truth is, I'm constantly learning simply because I'm curious. I just love diving deep into the things that fascinate me, whether it's technology, [counter] culture, or social sciences.

I've built my first website during the 00's when I was 12-years-old, using Microsoft Frontpage Express to build my tabled-and-framed-base anime themed website that I uploaded to the web with a free FTP software. A fun fact that I consider a personal achievement is that 2 websites of mine are saved in Internet Archive.

One of my recent projects involves producing short videos about media & technology in order to incite some reflection and consciousness to the people on how it interferes on us as a society.

I hold a Master's degree in Communication and Information with a focus on digital media, and these videos became a way to translate complex concepts, news, and academic papers for a broader audience. Given the ephemeral nature of social media feeds, I created this site to keep my scripts online and make my references easily accessible.

Additionally, I am currently pursuing a second bachelor's degree in Internet Systems. In Brazil, it's quite common to take a second degree to change career paths, and I wanted to understand the "how" behind the technology I was so attached. So designing my own website felt like the right thing to do, as I could upload some of old small coding projects, my misfit art and practice some new stuff uniting both of these worlds.

So yeah, welcome to my little chaotic good corner of the web. It was completely designed, coded, and written by me and it is an ever-changing work in progress.

P.S.: As a photographer, I already have a "typical" (and frankly, boring) corporate portfolio, which you can visit at www.laurabarros.com. I've been a professional photographer for 11 years - a journey that began right as I started my Master's degree. I was already an enthusiast and needed a way to fund my research and dissertation. What began as a necessity turned into a prosperous artistic business :). I built all my own business tools and processes and watched the studio prosper, right up until the moment I decided it was time to change to UX and tech. Now I'm only half time photographer, which works pretty well for me and my goals.