GABRIELA ABELLO GONZÁLEZ
STRATEGIC DESIGNER &
RESEARCHER
I’m a Strategic Designer and Researcher with experience working across domains from reimagining sustainable housing systems to shaping a historical strategy game. I help teams navigate ambiguous problem spaces and move projects forward through sensemaking, co-creation, and early alignment around what really matters.
Across my work, I’m interested in how design decisions interact with larger systems and how those systems influence the way people live, move, and connect.
Across my work, I’m interested in how design decisions interact with larger systems and how those systems influence the way people live, move, and connect.
SELECTED WORK
The Goodreads Paradox
Exploring the behavioral and structural forces behind Goodreads’ domination to show why better UX isn’t always enough
Rethinking housing in mountain towns to align technical, environmental, and social constraints into an award-winning housing strategy
MY APPROACH
Context is everything. I’m interested in understanding the systems, habits, and social dynamics that shape how people actually interact with the things we design.
I usually start by stepping back and questioning the problem itself. More often than not, it can be reframed. I also look for assumptions that haven’t been examined yet.
From there, I try to make sense of it. Not just through collecting insights, but by connecting them into something that can be acted on. In many cases, the patterns are already there; they just haven’t been drawn out yet.
When working with others, I use co-creation to explore and test ideas together, but also to build a shared understanding of what we’re actually trying to change.
GET IN TOUCH
Let’s start a conversation! I’m always open to connecting,
whether digitally or in person, over a coffee.