Maria Negrão

Why exhibition design? Because I love to tell a story. To transport different contents in an emotional way, allowing visitors/users to experiment and explore using all senses. I also appreciate the interdisciplinarity that can be found in each project and how much can be learned from the contents of each new exhibition.

Professional experience in:

Strategic Thinking – Recognizing client and visitor needs, defining goals, and collaborating with clients to create exhibition concepts.

Implementation & Results – Managing projects, budgets, and schedules while coordinating set-up and installation to deliver on time and within scope.

Creative Translation – Transforming complex content into haptic and media exhibits, interactive experiences, and engaging spatial narratives.

Collaboration & Coordination – Leading and contributing in multidisciplinary design teams, visualizing concepts, and adapting to diverse working styles.

Diplomacy & People Skills – Empathic leadership, conflict resolution, and clear communication that keeps teams aligned and motivated, from pitch to opening.

This CV follows a structure of a story.

If you’re short on time and just want a summary,
click here to jump straight to the list of my work experience.

Otherwise, I invite you to read a bit of my journey.

1. Set the Scene & Introduce the Character

Spaces, stories and people - my backbone
Raised between architectural drawing tables and backstage curtains, I’m a Portuguese designer and dancer, shaped by the sea and the people I’ve met along the way. Fifteen years after my first exhibition, I founded Triorama—a studio built on the experiences that came before: working for agencies, co-founding a design collective, leading teams, telling stories through spaces. From the first idea to the last screw—I love designing exhibitions that balance creativity with precise execution and keep every detail on track.

2. Begin the Journey & Encounter the Obstacle

Crossing Borders
I started in product design in Lisbon, but the moment I worked on my first exhibition, something shifted. I had found a form where design followed narrative and interaction inspired learning. My curiosity took me further: I left Portugal, moved to Austria, and enrolled in a Master's in Exhibition Design. I didn’t speak German, didn’t know anyone—but I had found the right place. There, I honed the skill of quickly understanding new topics and translating them into experiences that resonate. During my studies, I designed and opened four exhibitions, learned the language, and discovered how to turn complex curatorial content into engaging, accessible spaces. I was ready!

3. Overcome the Obstacle & Arrive at the Discovery

Stories I Want to Tell
My first job brought me to a Frankfurt agency working on the Kazakhstan Expo. It was exciting, but I soon realized I wanted to tell different stories—ones that sparked empathy and curiosity. So I moved to Hamburg and joined a more content-driven studio. I worked on exhibitions about protected forests, deep-sea biotopes, and girls’ education in Guatemala. Here, I learned to lead projects from pitch to opening, coordinating teams, mediating between stakeholders, and ensuring that budgets, schedules, and creative goals stayed aligned.

4. Pivot Point &
Challenge

Taking the Lead
With two colleagues, I co-founded a design studio in 2021. For three years, we worked through pandemic lockdowns, remote building sites, and tight deadlines. We opened four exhibitions, became specialists in otters, and learned how to run a business, define workflows, and balance creativity with efficiency.
That time deepened my skills in diplomacy, problem-solving under pressure, and maintaining a constructive, solutions-oriented mindset.

5. Finish the Story & Take It to the Streets

New waters
In 2024, I took a year to travel—meeting new spaces, stories, and people.
Now I’m back in Hamburg with Triorama: a design studio open to collaboration and driven by the power of storytelling. Today, I combine strategic thinking, hands-on implementation, and creative translation to design exhibitions as tools for education, empathy, and inclusion—spaces where stories move people.

Experience Mile Stones

triorama
Studio for Exhibition Design
Hamburg, Germany

February 2025 - today

Founder & Creative Director

June 2021 - December 2024

Co - Founder & Creative Director

studio ntw
Studio for Exhibition Design
Hamburg, Germany

Visitor Center Herrenwies Nationalpark Schwarzwald
Exhibition Design and Creative Direction - HOAS Phase 3-7
Opening on October 2024
Herrenwies, Germany

Otter Center "Multimar Wattforum"
Exhibition Design and Creative Direction - HOAS Phase 3-7
Opening on Summer 2023
Tönning, Germany

Competition "Haus des Waldes" for Forst Baden-Württemberg
3rd Place, July 2025
Stuttgart, Germany

Visitor Center "Nationalpark Hünsruck" - Outdoor Path
Exhibition Design - HOAS Phase 2-7
Opening on June 2023
Erbeskopf, Germany

Biodiversity and Evolution Museum
for the University of Göttingen
Exhibition Design and Creative Direction - HOAS Phase 2-3
2023/2024
Göttingen, Germany

July 2016 - March 2021

Senior Exhibition Designer & Senior Art Director

Kunstraum GfK mbH
Hamburg, Germany

Humboldt Forum - Family Space 54 "Thousand Worlds"
Exhibition Design - HOAS Phase 1-4
Opening on January 2025
Berlin, Germany

Botschaft der Wildtier - Wildtier Stiftung
Exhibition Design and Creative Direction - HOAS Phase 2-3
August 2021
Hamburg, Germany

Competition Landesgartenschau Rheinland-Pfalz 2022
1st Place, July 2021
Germany

July 2015 - July 2016

Kunzberg GmbH
Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Exhibition Designer
Freelance Exhibition Designer

Portugal and Austria

Exhibition Set-up Team Coordinator

Art Gallery Kulturzentrum bei den Minoriten
Graz, Austria

September 2011 - June 2015

March 2013 - June 2015

Selected Projects

Biodiversity and Evolution Museum
for the University of Göttingen
Pitch Creative Team, Exhibition Design and
Art Direction - HOAS Phase 1
2019
Göttingen, Germany

Botschaft der Wildtier - Wildtier Stiftung
Pitch Creative Team, Exhibition Design and
Art Direction - HOAS Phase 2
2019
Hamburg, Germany

Travel Exhibition "Mission 2030" for Plan International
Pitch Creative Team, Exhibition Design and
Art Direction - HOAS Phase 1-7
Opened on Februar 2020
Osnabrück, Germany

Visitor Center Hiddensee Island for the Nationalpark Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft
Pitch Creative Team, Exhibition Design and
Art Direction - HOAS Phase 1-7
Opening on Summer 2020
Hiddensee, Germany

Visitor Center "Nationalpark Hünsruck"
Pitch Creative Team, Exhibition Design and
Art Direction - HOAS Phase 1-7
Opened since December 2018
Hunsrück, Germany

Visitor Center "Nationalpark Schwarzwald"
Exhibition Design - HOAS Phase 2-4
Opening on Summer 2021
Schwarzwald, Germany

Traveling Exhibition "Faszination Mensch"
Exhibition Design and Project Managment - HOAS Phase 3-7
Opening on October 2016
Germany Tour: October 2016 until 2021

2017 Expo Astana "Exhibition Floors for Sphere Pavilion"
Exhibition Design - HOAS Phase 1-3
Opening Juni 2017
Frankfurt, Germany

Exhibition “GALAXY XXI: the future of comics is now”
25º Amadora's International Comics Festival
Exhibition Design and Art Direction - HOAS Phase 1-7
September - October 2014
Amadora, Portugal

Exhibition "Saint- Étienne Design meets Graz"
Exhibition Design
(re-adaptation)
Opening July 2014
Cité du Design, Saint-Etienne, France

Exhibition "Saint- Étienne Design meets Graz"
Exhibition Design and Art Direction - HOAS Phase 1-7
Opening June 2014
Designmonat Graz, Austria

Traveling Exhibition "AUS WEG LOS!" -VinziDorf
Exhibition Design and Art Direction - HOAS Phase 1-7
February - September 2013
Graz, Hartberg, Leoben, Leibniz and Oberwolz, Austria

Exhibition "Pöllau 850 Jahre"
Exhibition Design and Art Direction - HOAS Phase 1-7
Opening February 2013
Pöllau, Austria

Exhibition "Peanuts 60 Years"
22º Amadora's International Comics Festival
Exhibition Design and Art Direction - HOAS Phase 1-7
Opening October 2011
Amadora, Portugal

Various Exhibitions
"NICHTVONMENSCHENHAND",
Bertram Hasenauer and Eduard Winklhofer
"SEELENWÄSCHE",
NINA Kovacheva, Lena Knilli, Till Velten, Julia Krahn, ILA, Amadeus Regucera – mit Claudia Schink, Ronald Kodritsch, Peggy und Thomas Henke, Madeleine Dietz, Johanes Zechner
"OBJECTS OF MEMORY",
Shimon Lev
"JA JA JA, NEIN NEIN NEIN!",
Werner Hofmeister
"WORT und WANGE",
Johanes Zechner
"NICHT BEI TROST",
Franz Dodel
"DE LUCE",
Claudia Schink

(MA) Exhibition Design, FH Joanneum, Graz, Austria
September 2012 - July 2014

(Erasmus) 2 semesters at the University of Applied Arts Vienna,
with Prof. Hartmurt Esslinger, Austria
September 2006 - July 2007

(Diplm.) Product Design, Lisbon University of Applied Arts, Portugal

September 2003 - July 2008

Academic Qualifications

Languages

Portuguese
Native speaker

English
Professional working proficiency

German
Professional working proficiency

Spanish
Conversational Proficiency

HOAS is a structured framework that defines seven distinct project phases, guiding a construction or design project from the initial concept through planning, execution, and final handover.

Phase 1 - Research and Concept Sketch
Phase 2 - Concept Design
Phase 3 - Design Development
Phase 4 - Execution Planning with Detailed Specifications
Phase 5 - Assistance in the Procurement and Open Calls Process
Phase 6 - Construction and Technical Supervision & Coordination of Implementation
Phase 7 - Handover Process, Documentation & Commissioning

https://www.vera-verband.org/hoas/