About Me
I create real value design solutions that are not only functional, but also fresh and unique to your own brand and personality.
I am always on the lookout for opportunities where I can continue to polish my craft and add value wherever I am.
If you have a project in mind and you think we might be a good fit, send me an email!
I've been working as a Senior UI Designer at Getaka Labs since 2015, where we craft unique and data-driven digital experiences for our clients based in Asia.
In 2020, I was Director of Graphic Design in DMMEZ, a digital marketing agency under CRN Solutions Inc. in Lake Elsinore, California. I really enjoyed that job because, aside from designing, I also had the opportunity to immerse myself in the development stage of a website. Necessity pushed me to learn WordPress, Shopify, and Hubspot in the same breath, and it's been absolutely thrilling for me.
My previous experience includes working in a boutique agency specializing in real estate websites and BPO companies in the Philippines, with the majority of the clients coming from Australia and the US. The latter served as the foundation to building my skills in advertising, branding & packaging, and web & mobile app designs.
I also worked freelance, designing for both startups collaborating with as little as two to three members, and established companies with larger teams. I enjoyed this phase, too, because it gave me an excuse to send the introverted part of myself on vacation, while "I" had a wonderful time meeting up with clients in coffee shops or even if it was just Skype.
Honing my skills as a diver at about the same time, I discovered that there's no such thing as a bad dive day, you just keep adding skills and experience under your belt. And having adopted this mindset as a designer, I have come to know that there's no such thing as a client from hell, only more learning opportunities.
(Although, dive-wise, I don't see any reason why I should test my mortality that way, at any given day.)
Before designing, I worked in a call center—waking up to sunsets for the night shift and marking the end of my "day" with sunrises.
It was an almost contented life, but during one of our training, we used an iMac. It may have been a non-consequential experience to most—still, to me, it was a pivotal moment.
Having come from a small village where even hearing the sound of dialup internet was a luxury—it was my first time seeing this beautiful machine. I may have been an IT graduate, but I've only ever been in a PC environment. I could not imagine a different setting beyond it.
I remember being instantly fascinated with the Mac OS interface. So much so that I told myself right there and then that I would be a designer.
Long story short, two weeks later, I was off the job. Yet another week later, in another city, I got a job as a Junior Web Designer. That was thirteen years ago, and I haven't looked back since.
I like how something I've enjoyed working on becomes a source of inspiration or even transformation for someone else.
These days, when I'm not designing digitally, I'm curating gift boxes, playing florist, and creating intimate settings for family gatherings and celebrations.
I'm also slowly catching up to all the roadtripping that I didn't get to do when I moved to California in December 2019, which turned out to be the start of the pandemic.
If there's one thing I love more than designing, it's giving. Admittedly, it's a vice passed on to me by my mother, her mother, and her mother's mother.
One of the things I love about working remotely is that it affords me a work-life balance and still leaves me enough time and energy to give back to the community.
In 2014, I was introduced to iVolunteer Philippines. Through this platform, I had a chance to volunteer with different non-profit organizations over the years—from something as simple as teaching multiplication to children on a Sunday morning to bringing supplies to remote areas.
Circling back to always looking for opportunities, I'd be happy to join organizations that encourage community advocacies. I'm especially interested in places that make it their mission to uplift the lives of women in vulnerable situations like abuse and prostitution. In context, traveling the Philippines, I saw firsthand that there aren't enough venues for this cause, especially in places where tourism is high, and job opportunities are low.
If this is in line with your purpose, I'd love to help!