When Starr Merten volunteered to help Burmese refugees in Thailand last year, she was surprised to find herself applying her graphic design background in ways that stretched far beyond her advertising career.

“These refugees that we were visiting had such an amazing story to tell but they didn’t have anybody to tell it to,” said Merten, who pledged to use her skills to tell their stories through art. She plans to videotape refugee testimonials when she returns to Thailand in November.

“It’s interesting when what you do for a career can overlap into your personal life,” she said.

Merten’s talent for storytelling recently helped propel her to a new role as senior art director at Paolucci Communication Arts, a Palos Verdes firm specializing in branding and marketing businesses.

The Tucson, Ariz., native joined Paolucci’s team in 2005 to oversee the graphic design department and has since taken on larger roles in the company’s new-media department and its sustainability unit, the Green Team.

In a job that requires creativity on a variety of levels – from helping clients with Web site layout to facilitating a complete physical redesign of a store – Merten has been able to draw upon her artistic background.

“My degree on paper is actually in fine arts,” said Merten, who graduated in 2002 from the University of Arizona in Tucson. “It’s been a really helpful background. I work with a computer, but that’s just one of the tools that I use. You can take an artistic vision and apply that anywhere.”

Before her move to Paolucci, Merten worked as a senior designer with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, overseeing exhibit designs and preparing teaching materials.

“That was a really interesting experience because it’s not just flat graphic design, it’s designing spaces and experiences for people,” she said.

Merten’s design work is inspired by her belief in the possibility of change and growth.

“I think what can make people feel uninspired is when they feel stuck,” she said. “There’s always a possibility for change or something better or bigger or deeper.”

Merten, 31, is single and lives in Redondo Beach. She spends her free time attending concerts and comedy shows.