About Yaramis Ramos — Designer, Muralist, and Artist
I'm Yaramis Ramos — Yara to most — and I paint murals that talk. As a Cuban-born designer and muralist based in Columbus, Nebraska, I create work that lives at the intersection of strategy and storytelling. In short, I'm an artist who thinks like a designer, and a designer who paints like an artist.
My story
I was born in Cuba, where color was not a design choice; it was a way of seeing the world. As a result, I've been drawing, painting, and making things for as long as I can remember. Creating wasn't a hobby for me. Instead, it was a language — and eventually, it became something more.
Growing up under a dictatorship quietly shapes what you can say, what you can make, and who you're allowed to become. Therefore, freedom in that kind of place isn't an idea you read about. It's something you feel the absence of — until one day you find a corner of your life where it actually exists. For me, that corner has always been a blank surface and something to paint with.
My training
That language of color and creating eventually led me to the Higher Education Institute of Design (ISDI) in Cuba, where I trained formally as a Designer. As a result, that's the part of my background that quietly shapes everything I do today.
In short, I don't approach a wall the way most artists do. Instead, I approach it the way a designer does — with strategy, intention, and a clear understanding that every mural needs to do something, not just be something.
My why
When I'm painting, no one is telling me what to think. No one is telling me what to feel. The wall doesn't ask where I'm from or what I believe. It just receives what I bring to it. That experience — of being fully myself, without permission required — is what I try to put into every mural I make.
Murals as spaces of equality
That's also why I believe murals should be spaces of equality. After all, a wall doesn't check your background before it lets you look at it. Whoever you are, whatever you carry, the mural is yours for as long as you stand in front of it.
Therefore, I want my work to give that feeling away generously. Specifically, I aim to offer the same emotion, the same beauty, and the same small lift of joy to every person who walks past — regardless of who they are or where they come from.
A slow conversation with the community
That's also why I love painting in public. A mural is a slow conversation with a community. Strangers stop. Kids ask questions. Moreover, people share their own art stories with me — often shyly, often after years of believing they weren't "creative enough."
Above all, I love those moments. I love answering questions about technique, about color, about how to start. And especially, I love encouraging the people who want to make something but are afraid of being judged.
Permission to create
Art shouldn't belong only to those who feel permitted to make it. As a result, if standing next to my work helps even one person pick up a brush they'd put down, that matters as much as the mural itself.
So when I paint, I'm thinking about all of it at once: the freedom I found in this work, the equality I want it to extend to others, and the quiet permission I hope it offers to anyone who's ever wanted to create but didn't think they were allowed.
If my work makes someone feel free — even for a moment, even just enough to start something of their own — I've done what I came to do.
— Yaramis Ramos Havana Stone Studio – Murals by Yara
Skills and Strengths
Technical proficiency:
- Graphic design software: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Dimension, InDesign, Muse, Dreamweaver, Flash), CorelDRAW, and iPad drawing software
- 3D modeling software: Autodesk 3ds Max and SolidWorks
- Content management systems: WordPress, Joomla, Square, and Volusion
- Office software: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
- Operating systems: Both Windows and macOS
Other strengths:
- Bilingual — fluent in English and Spanish
- Creative thinking — passionate about visual communication and the creative process
- Goal-oriented — skilled at understanding client needs and team objectives
- Teamwork — strong collaboration skills
- Self-motivated and able to work independently
- Multitasking — able to meet visual design deadlines on overlapping projects in fast-paced environments
Professional Accomplishments
- Over 20 years of experience as a multidisciplinary designer
- Author of several murals in the Columbus, Nebraska, downtown area
- Instructor at Opportunity Central (a branch of Central Community College in Columbus, NE), teaching:
- Adobe Photoshop for Beginners
- Computers for Beginners
- Guest instructor for "Graphic Design and the Importance of Branding" at the Central Community College Business Incubator Center in Columbus, NE
- Currently working as Graphic Designer for Central Community College – Columbus Campus
- Branding development for businesses including Modern Muse Furniture Store, Palmeras Store, Paradise Dance Club, Strategic Impact Plus, and Naturamia
- Team member on the "Something Good Columbus" branding project
- Winner of the 1st Annual CCC Shark Corral Competition as Havana Stone owner
Let's connect
- If you'd like to talk about a mural, a branding project, or any kind of design work, I'd love to hear from you.
