With nearly 25 years of professional experience, Felipe Mahalem is an award-winning creative leader who operates at the true intersection of creativity and technology. Armed with a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, he began his journey in 2001, specializing in web design and Flash motion design. By 2004, he had stepped up to found and lead a dedicated motion design team, marking a deliberate shift in his career focus toward animation, computer graphics (CGI), and interactive experiences. That shift lead to the completion of an intensive course in advanced character animation at AnimationMentor.com around 2008, studying directly under mentors from Pixar, DreamWorks and Sony Pictures ImageWorks.
This evolution naturally transitioned into a successful freelance career, where he provided motion design and visual effects work for prominent clients including MTV, Blast Radius, and Clube Filmes. This path eventually led him to R/GA, where he has spent the past decade. Joining R/GA in 2012 to build the local studio's culture and provide motion design direction, Felipe has since contributed extensively to the development of their global studios and delivered high-end, award-winning CGI work. He has crafted visual experiences for global brands such as Google, Nike, Slack, and Reddit, earning some of the industry's highest honors—including a Cannes Lions Grand Prix, a Grand LIA, and a D&AD Graphite Pencil.
More recently, Felipe's focus has expanded deeply into technical direction, seamlessly bringing the creative and tech worlds together to create innovative new ideas. Beyond his agency work, he continues to shape the future of the industry as a faculty member at the Harbour.Space Institute of Technology, mentoring the next generation of motion designers on how to design movement with intention.