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Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Camila Garay and I am honoured to be applying for the Graphic Designer position at your Management Strategy, Policy, and Compliance team. I want to prove that great things can be achieved through inclusive, engaging, and cutting-edge visual communication. 

I am confident I am a strong candidate for the Graphic Designer position for the following reasons:

• Building impactful design projects for concrete results. Design has the ability to make us feel, react, and ultimately act. I am a designer that has specialized in the intersection of visual arts and human rights. Up until February 2020, I led a creative team at UNICEF, at the United Headquarters in New York. As a Design Specialist, I managed a high-performing design team tasked to tackle complex problems affecting children around the world. The team was unique to the organization and housed within the division of Data, Research and Policy. I was responsible for overseeing the creation of communication material, a vast library of visual data sets, research reports, and policy-making pieces. I strategically build a visual library, work stream, and incorporate best practices and trends from the design industry into the division’s body of work. 

• Translating complex information to clear, beautiful campaigns. Working in human rights, it is particularly crucial that the information produced, reaches its audience. I’ve spent a large part of my career in the international advertising industry (BBDO & Ogilvy) where I specialized in Brand Development. This skill set allows me to synthesize a vast amount of variables into concentrated messaging. As creative lead at UNICEF, I liaised daily with data scientists and analysts, as well as researchers and editors, to define the voice of the organization’s research work. 

I’m a hands on-designer who masters:

Design strategy – Defining purpose, audiences, creating informational architecture, and clarifying messaging. I am involved in the early stages of projects and help technical experts ‘think through their thinking’, especially useful when a project gets muddy or stalling.

Conceptualization – I’m a lateral thinker that thrives in developing creative concepts. I frequently develop ‘visual identities’ for special-request projects across UNICEF, including for the main Communication Department and Country Offices. In the project ‘Digital Identities for Children’ I led the design of a new form of mathematical graph together with data scientists, under a topic that was too complex to be explained in standard data formats.

Execution – Although an avid creative manager, my strengths lie in the execution of graphics including campaign design, logo design, publication design, infographics, data visualization, posters, infographics, map design, illustrations, curating photography, digital design and application, and designs for web and social media. Including commissioning special artwork by external artists. I am accustomed to creating campaigns in multiple UN languages including French and Spanish. 

• A deep understanding of the UN’s design standards. My engagement with the United Nations spans over 9 years. In 2013 I first joined UNICEF Nicaragua in developing a visual identity (branding) aimed at advocating for collaboration with the powerful local conglomerate the Pellas group, in the first innovative private-public partnership of the UNICEF Country Office. The project was successful and received the full commitment and funding requested by UNICEF. 

In my role as Design Specialist at the headquarters in New York, I led the design of UNICEF’s official Brand Book, an honour encompassing an extensive process spanning strategy, usability, design and translation, affecting the organization globally. I regularly functioned as an advisor for my division, the organization at large and external parties in upholding brand consistency and application. 

In 2019, I led the process of setting up new creative LTA services for UNICEF. The largest call of its kind acquiring 80+ creative agencies, it was an immense process that included advertising the LTA’s globally, building multiple internal review teams, defining score-setting criteria and liaising with the Contract Division.

• 13 years of design experience and a background in international agencies. My professional background lies in the world of advertising (Ogilvy and BBDO), where I have operated as Art Director. I have specialized in building brands, for many years within the luxury sector - from the legal diamond industry in South Africa to the Emirati government of the United Arab Emirates. In developing projects for high-end markets I have a heightened sensibility for quality and attention to detail. Today I devote my expertise solely to social advancement. 

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With parental roots in Bolivia, I have a passion for culture and diversity which has taken me to different corners of the globe. I graduated from Malmo University in Sweden with the highest honours for my thesis Design as a Tool for Social Development. I’m a passionate advocate for the power of effective visual communication and its ability to influence social development work. 

Truly great design is universal, inclusive and emotive. I am fine-tuned to the nature of cross-border and culturally sensitive contexts, such as gender issues, and adept at visually synthesizing for wide audiences from rural communities to diplomatic settings. I am fluent in English, Swedish and Spanish.

I am excited to explore the Anti-racism Team’s vision and needs and to further continue the conversation of how we with inclusivity and creativity can fuel the efforts of the Strategic Action Plan, and the good staff of the UN. 

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Looking forward,