Alina Mendoza Lopez

Meet Alina, a designer at TEMPLO – the cause-led agency behind GF Smith’s striking new rebrand. From working on web design to wayfinding, no two days are the same – especially when you’re helping to reimagine one of the world’s most iconic paper brands. As part of the team, Alina helped shape a bold new identity that blends motion, colour and personality to connect with emerging creatives. Here, she shares her approach to purposeful branding, the messy magic of paper prototyping, and why stepping beyond your comfort zone can lead to the most unexpected ideas.

What I do

Can you tell us about yourself and where you work?
I'm a designer at TEMPLO, a cause-led branding and communication agency based in Shoreditch. We’re a team working with clients who are deeply committed to sustainability, social justice and other meaningful causes.

How would you describe what you do?
As designers, we wear many hats. One day, I might be working on web design, the next on editorial, motion or branding. Essentially, we're visual communicators who use colour, imagery, typography, and other elements to attract, inform, and deliver a message to an audience.

Alina and her colleague looking at swatches from the GF Smith Colorplan carabiner (Photo by Eric Aydin Barberini)

Can you tell us about a recent major project you enjoyed?
A year ago, we were approached by GF Smith, a company that creates and curates paper from all over the world, to rebrand their company. The goal was to resonate with the emerging global creative community in a world that is becoming increasingly digital. 

Getting to know GF Smith as a client has given us a deeper understanding of their strong commitment to their internal culture and the community in Hull, as well as their dedication to fostering creativity and ensuring their product aligns with ethical and environmental values.

Working closely with the team, I was involved in nearly every aspect of the design process, from crafting the visual identity to developing new concepts for their rejuvenated GF Smith Colorplan Collection activations and even designing the wayfinding system for their factory in Hull. The outcome is a bold, dynamic brand that encapsulates the spirit of the creative industry.

Did you have any major learnings from this project?
I really enjoyed developing the concepts for the GF Smith Colorplan Smile Book and GF Smith Colorplan Carabiner. It was a great opportunity for us to step away from our screens and focus on the physical product.

We often work with digital brands, so it was a valuable experience to handle the GF Smith Colorplan stock directly and prototype how this new product could take shape.

What are the most essential skills you need for a project like this one?
I think staying organised and tidy is definitely key. Working with paper in a shared space can be challenging and can get messy quickly, so keeping things in order was really important.

Time management is also crucial for meeting deadlines. We work closely together as a team to ensure everything is completed on time, especially in a project that involves so many different deliverables.

How I got here

What was your journey like when you were first starting out?
I joined TEMPLO full-time two years ago, but my journey with the studio actually started earlier with an internship right after university. Thanks to a close relationship between the creative director, Pali, and the university, I reached out for portfolio feedback, which led to me landing the internship. It was right after the COVID lockdowns, so everything was fully remote, but being part of a small team meant I got hands-on experience from day one.

After five months, I moved on to an internship at Dragon Rouge, which I secured by winning their annual competition during my third year. Working at a larger, global company was a valuable experience, and not long after, an AUB alumna who had seen my work at our Summer Show reached out, leading to my first full-time role at Lightfield London. I kept in touch with TEMPLO during my time at Lightfield, and when the opportunity arose to return, I was excited to rejoin the team full-time.

Have you faced any unexpected challenges in your career so far?
As designers, we're always up against deadlines, and when I was just starting out, there were moments when it felt like time was just slipping away, with work and life blurring into one. Trying to force creativity in those moments can be pretty draining.

But I’ve found that switching things up – like checking out exhibitions or just reading a book – really helps me reset and get back on track.

My advice

What’s the best career-related advice you’ve ever received?
My friend once told me, ‘If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.’

I just think that speaks volumes on how important collaboration is. I always like sharing my ideas and get as many opinions as possible from everyone. That’s what will ultimately push the idea further.

What resources have you found useful to your work or career, and why?
I love to read and ironically as a visual designer, I find that words inspire me and can be as visually stimulating as images. Recently, I started reading The Politics of Design, which I believe every designer should read. It’s thought-provoking and intentional and offers fresh perspectives.

I'm also grateful for the wealth of online resources—talks, courses, and general inspiration—that are now at my fingertips. This is something I didn’t have access to when I was living in Cuba, so it feels like a privilege. At TEMPLO, I’ve taken the initiative to gather resources and create an internal library for the team, so we can easily access them when starting new projects.

I've also really enjoyed watching the Inscript Festival, which celebrates typography and features some of the most talented people in the industry. The fact that I can access these events from my computer at home makes me feel lucky and connected to the design world.

The TEMPLO team (Photo by Eric Aydin Barberini)

What advice would you give to someone looking to get into a similar role?
My biggest piece of advice—and what I believe helped me land opportunities straight out of uni—is to always stay curious and keep learning. Explore new tools, ideas, and styles. Never limit yourself because you never know what you might enjoy until you try it.

Once you’ve explored different tools and built up your portfolio, share it with the world. I’ve found posting my work on social media to be intimidating, especially when it feels like everyone is watching and comparing you to big design studios with massive teams behind them. But it’s important to remember that we all have a unique perspective. Even if your work isn’t as polished as the big studios, sharing it is a great way to get noticed and start building your presence.

This article was created as part of our partnership with GF Smith. See here to find out more about how you can work with us.