Hello, my name is María Gabriela! 

I’m a designer, marketing specialist, and creative strategist who spends her time between New York and the Republic of Panama. I go by various nicknames, including Gaby and Mari Gaby, but lately, I’ve simplified it to MG.

My design practice lies at the intersection of publication design and digital products, with a strong affinity for storytelling through different editorial perspectives, information systems, and an empathic, people-centered lens. I enjoy building communication systems centered on structure, pattern, and hierarchy that are flexible enough to feel experimental and fun. My work reflects a deep appreciation for people and culture, with a commitment to making an impact through design, creative strategy, crafting compelling copy, and communications.

After graduating from the Parsons School of Design with a BFA in Communication Design, I became a design intern at the independent fashion magazine Document Journal. Also, I assisted in designing beautiful books at Rational Beauty, a studio formerly in Brooklyn, New York, and now located in Austin, Texas, focusing on editorial projects with a rigorous, modernist approach.

Later, I joined the in-house design team at JNF-USA, a non-profit in New York City. As an associate art director, I worked on the organization’s rebranding, producing marketing materials for 700+ fundraising events around the United States, and redesigning the organization’s tri-annual magazine. My last project with JNF consisted of developing their digital design system—building components, manuals, and wireframes for new products across their different sub-brands.

After working as a freelance designer with other non-profit organizations, my interest in mission-driven design led me to Opus Design, a Boston-based, women-owned agency focusing on non-profits, educational institutions, research centers, and food and beverage clients. As a senior graphic designer, I worked on various branding, print, web, and data visualization projects.

After working independently for a couple of years, I decided to return to academia and shift my focus to creative marketing and strategy to take part in production and the creative concepting of marketing projects. I recently graduated with a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing with a concentration in Marketing Analytics at New York University. While I completed my studies I applied my new skills and learned from the Digital Media and Information Services department at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) an invaluable multi-arts center and non-profit for NYC. At BAM, I assisted the Information Systems team in optimizing e-commerce and building customer pathways, CRM management, SEO, project management, monitoring GA4, and building reports, among other fun tasks.

On a personal level, I’m an avid reader of novels, a newbie surfer, a live music enthusiast, a record collector, a manic list-maker, and the proud owner of a fluffy ginger cat. I consider myself a lifelong lover of design, music, film, and the arts, and I’m continuously inspired by the energy of NYC and its creative communities. Check out my ︎︎︎ Spotify playlists to see what I’m listening to!

︎ Want to work together? Send me an email! Whether you think we’d be a good fit to work together on a project or you want to say hi, feel free to get in touch!