Based in Toronto, Canada, I’ve been working as a graphic designer for over 15 years. I started my career in publishing with Today’s Parent Magazine, working in print and digital media.
Following that, I pursued further education in Interdisciplinary Design Strategies at George Brown College where I collaborated with a team of fellow students from varied disciplines. We used design thinking skills to develop design strategies for our client, Waterfront Toronto. After completing this post-graduate education, I attained a Master of Arts (MA) in Interdisciplinary Design Strategies at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology (Dublin, Ireland). For my MA project, I worked on developing a concept for a multilingual visual communications app for hospital emergency departments. I expanded my UX and UI skills by finding out the challenges of emergency department nurses and created prototypes of the app based on their feedback.
I’m currently working at the Mennonite New Life Centre of Toronto, a secular non-profit immigration settlement centre. Working with the Communications team, I design communications materials (print and digital) for their programs/events, offer guidance on colleagues' designs, and co-manage their digital presence to help newcomers to Canada transition into their new communities here more smoothly.
Throughout my career, my designs have been client/customer centred – by researching and collaborating with clients, I learn more about their needs and create concepts that lead to meaningful designs. I aim to visually present ideas that are different from the usual perceptions to provoke thought from other perspectives.
I am also open to freelance projects, I've worked with clients designing a range of materials including online graphics for web series, social media, Powerpoint presentations, print posters, and bus ads. (You can read what my employer and clients have said about working with me below.)
If you'd like to learn more about me or would like to collaborate on a project, please click on my LinkedIn profile or contact me via the link in the menu. Thanks for visiting!
Testimonials from my employer & clients:
“Working with Nicole is a pleasure! As a Manager/Director at two collaborating organizations, each with multiple branded programs and services, I appreciate her ability to design with the big picture in mind while at the same time keeping an eye on the details. She understands our target audiences and creates materials with them in mind (e.g. simple language and clear graphics to help people with low levels of English understand our message). Her projects are delivered on time and she has adapted well to the organizations’ style of communication, patiently accommodating the last-minute changes that inherently pop up. I highly recommend Nicole for both her creative designs and her professional manner.”
– Tracy Docheff, Communications Manager, Mennonite New Life Centre of Toronto
“Nicole is a delight to work with. She has vision as a designer who is able to transform our ideas into reality. In addition, she is organized, prompt and ready to go above and beyond to ensure the project goals are fulfilled. Her skill and character are why Nicole is our preferred designer for all Toronto Labour Council's projects.”
– Allie Elwell, Communications, Toronto & York Region Labour Council
“I have worked with Nicole on two projects. She took initiative to research and deepen her understanding of what we needed for each. She then delivered clever, brand-aligned designs that exceeded our expectations and helped us reach our communication goals for our clients.”
– Tracy McFerrin, Principal, Credo Philanthropy Advisors