Ana Melo is an Assistant Professor at NOVA IMS and holds a PhD in Design from the Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon (FA-UL). She teaches Data Visualization, and her research focuses on communication design for social innovation and its role in shaping sustainable futures for rural and inland communities in Portugal. With over 20 years of experience in communication design, she has worked on projects across multiple industries and led creative teams at By (now WyCreative - WyGroup). She currently works in design and communication strategy, with a particular focus on territorial design, social innovation, and communication as an expanded field of practice. She is a researcher at CIAUD – Research Centre for Architecture, Urbanism, Design, and Ergonomics, collaborating with the Design, Interaction, and Visualization and REDES Design Lab research groups. She supervises master’s and PhD theses and also lectures at FA-UL, where she has taught undergraduate and postgraduate design courses. The author of several publications, including book chapters and journal articles, she co-developed and co-led a successful funding proposal under the Promove – O Futuro do Interior award, supported by Fundação La Caixa and BPI, in partnership with FCT. The Future Museum of Mountain Villages 5.0 project, a consortium between FA-UL and public and private partners, is currently underway with various ongoing research initiatives.