About me
I’m a problem solver. I jump at the chance to dive into anything complex and dig out the core. I can show you why your data is important, insightful or helpful. I am a data visualization, information design, powerhouse; a perfect match for those seeking sophisticated visualizations to convey their message.
My name is Gail Zuniga and I graduated in 1997 from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Communication Design. The illustrative expression of ideas has been, by far, the largest part of my life, literally, since I was able to hold a crayon. I can not remember a point in my life when I was not drawing. As a child, I obsessively drew pictures of horses. I sketched mathematical concepts that I found confusing, I entertained my siblings by recreating Calvin and Hobbes cartoons, and later, I painted or sketched as a pathway to understanding the world around me. After my years at Pratt, I spent several years as a freelance illustrator.
Once the dot-com bust indirectly caused illustration jobs to disappear, I looked for a more lucrative form of employment. After some wandering, in 2003, I joined the Graphics team at The Wall Street Journal. The good folks at The WSJ taught me the importance of communication and teamwork. I learned how to differentiate between misleading and informative data sets. I worked under tight deadlines and was made to understand charting best practices. And I made many, many charts that helped me understand my world.
In 2010, after almost 7 years with The Journal, I started a new position at Siegel + Gale as an Information Designer. I discovered an opportunity to refine my design skills; which had been generally set aside during my intense charting days. I also searched for opportunities to work with S+G's research team (they had cool data) while taking on more digitally-focused tasks. I admired the more easily controlled, story-telling experience that inherently aligned itself with the digital medium.
I was growing professionally, yet something was missing. I enjoyed any occasion to work with data but I wasn't presented with the right set of circumstances to make charts interactive. I wanted to use both interactive data visualization and information design to express myself in a world I finally understood (a little).
That brings me to my current state of affairs. Aside from my extraordinary client-work, I explore socioeconomic issues and communicate my ideas visually either through infographics or interactive charts. Although I don't draw horses any more, I still find it very helpful to sketch out complicated mathematical concepts. I am an Information Design and Data Visualization Consultant.