"Hello, I'm Gabriela and I provide a wide range of creative design and digital media services."
I'm passionate about telling stories and delivering valuable content through compelling design and meaningful communications.
Today, I am a designer, but this wasn't my original plan...let me explain...
I actually graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Archaeology, History and Anthropology. Talk about a career shift!
Since elementary school, it has been my dream to become an archaeologist. I first read about the profession in the children's encyclopedia and the more I learned about archaeology the more I was hooked. So I went to university, pursued archaeology and graduated with honours and a trowel ready to embark on archaeological digs and adventures!
I travelled to Jordan, Syria, and Turkey and worked on so many amazing excavations with so many inspiring people. I even worked on excavations here in Canada! But after years of digging, piecing together pottery, photographing arrowheads, and cataloguing artifacts I was ready for a change.
I didn't know what my next move would be professionally, but as an archaeologist I found that I was often tasked with digitizing site maps, artifact sketches, and site features, using Adobe Illustrator. And I became really good at it. While digitizing archaeological drawings for publication I found that I enjoyed working in Adobe Illustrator more than archaeological work.
In all honesty, I wasn't surprised by how much I enjoyed digitizing drawings and using Adobe Illustrator. As a kid, my favourite thing to do on the computer was creating computer graphics. So I went back to what I first loved, digital art, and I began building a portfolio using three of my my favourite tools: Photoshop; Illustrator; and InDesign. I slowly started getting contracts to do design work, I took some courses along the way to refine my skills, and the rest, well the rest is history!
My aim is to foster connectivity and develop positive collaborative communities through media.
I possess a strong foundation in design principles; knowledge of current communication trends; a strategic approach to complex design and communications challenges; and experience collaborating and meeting with diverse stakeholders. Other professional skills and attributes include:
- Public speaking and presentation skills
- Organized, driven, and self-motivated
- Collaborative team member
- Eager to take on new challenges
- Research and report writing
- Project management
- Excels under pressure and managing multiple deadlines