A little bit about me
I am curious, creative, and resourceful with a positive attitude and an entrepreneurial spirit. I have a passion for social impact and I believe in the power of design to drive positive change. As a lifelong learner, I am always seeking for ways to grow as a designer, maker, and human being. I thrive in collaborative environments and enjoy working on all sorts of projects while translating my skills and creativity into new areas and mediums.
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work on a variety of projects across digital, print, and environmental platforms at small studios, bustling ad agencies, nonprofit organizations, and corporate settings. Past clients include Earthjustice, Wells Fargo, General Motor, Albertsons, Disney, Cover Girl, The Oakland Ballet, and The Museum of African Diaspora.
Prior to starting my own practice, I was the Design Director at 826 Valencia from 2008 to 2016. As the creative leader, I established a vibrant and cohesive brand that has and continues to attract key partnerships, awards and recognition, generous supporters, and dedicated volunteers. 826 Valencia is a nonprofit organization known internationally not only for its mission but also for its brand and commitment to high-quality design, a testament to my integrity in this role for 8+ years.
I find inspiration in nature’s stunning color palettes, fabric stores, vintage LP covers, classic cars, forgotten books, music, personal stories, and so much more. While I am not working on a design problem, you can find me doing a handstand at my favorite yoga studio, playing in the ocean with my surf buddy, or grooving to Brazilian beats.
Cheers
María is simply outstanding. She's a profoundly talented artist with a thoughtful, wholistic approach to her work, evident in the beautiful work she produces. Even more rare, her strong sense of design and aesthetics is balanced by deeply organized work habits and rigorous adherence to schedules and budgets. She's an absolute dream to work with, and I'm glad to name her among my go-to designers for print and web design projects.
AMANDA UHLE
McSweeney's, Executive Director
María-Inés is a full-stack designer who brings skill, thoughtfulness, and empathy to her work. In her roles at Swing, she contributes a full complement of skills to our small team, from UX/UI projects to evolving the company's brands. No matter what part of her skillset she is exercising, she is a quiet leader, centering the team around the “why” behind a project and making sure we didn’t lose sight of the business objectives while still maintaining a user-centric approach.
NICOLE VILLENEUVE
Swing Therapeutics, Director of Marketing
I have found María-Inés to be exceptional if not unique in her ability to break work into phases and timebox design activities, producing excellent work through a progressive process. I have seen María-Inés take on a very open-ended Double-Diamond project and deliver significant results despite an admittedly abbreviated timeframe.
Her measured adaptability to project constraints paired with clear communication around expectations has been a tremendous asset to Swing Therapeutics. Further, María-Inés’ positive, focused, results-oriented attitude combined with her lively, creative mind makes the work fun and exciting. She is an unqualified pleasure to work with. She conducts herself with professionalism and grace regardless of pressure and adversity.
ERIC HOPPE
Swing Therapeutics, Head of Engineering
María managed the brand re-design process for my nonprofit social enterprise, and we love what she created for us. She was thorough and communicative throughout the process (even scheduling calls at 7am her time to accommodate our time differences!), and went above and beyond her outlined scope to make sure that we had an end result that clearly represented our brand identity, and that we were happy with. I would highly recommend Maria!
AYLA SCHLOSSER
Resonate, Cofounder and CEO