Hi, friends! I’m Catalina, but you can call me Cat. I’m a Digital & Graphic Designer at YDM.

I love creating brand identities for our amazing clients, along with designing social graphics, print, and web assets. As an artist, I particularly love drawing one-of-a-kind illustrations that give a brand its own visual language. From custom maps and brand elements to fully illustrated campaigns, adding that hand-drawn layer to a project is one of my favorite parts of the job. Some of my favorite projects include the HeartestYard website, the brand refresh for TowneBank Symphony Park, and The Boardwalk, two spaces that are integral to how the Charlotte community gathers and enjoys the outdoors, along with the Eastway Crossing neon sign and the beer can label for Renew Brew, a partnership between Town Brewing and Charlotte Water, which has been award-winning for both its original and fall lager versions.

After graduating from Winthrop University with a degree in Visual Communications, I spent a couple of years at a Columbia-based design agency doing a little bit of everything. I was on the production team for two local magazines, supporting clients with their marketing and design needs, and got to explore my interest in stop-motion animation and photography.

At YDM, I get to focus on what I love most, creating brands from scratch. Every part of the brand matters to me, no matter how small, and making sure it all holds together is where I do my best work. After 5 years here, illustration has become a bigger and bigger part of how I serve our clients, and it keeps growing.

Outside of agency work, I enjoy using design to support causes that matter to me. I served as lead designer for Old Growth, a hardcover anthology inspired by Congaree National Park, where I led the book’s visual identity, cover design, interior layout, and illustrations. Proceeds from the book benefit Friends of Congaree Swamp. I’ve also helped out with a few other nonprofits around Charlotte and Columbia, from programs supporting first-gen girls in their education to local hiking groups that bring the community together.

Where can you find me off the clock? Catch me at the local thrift stores (yes, plural; you can’t just go to one). Other than that, I spend my time out with friends and family, dancing or chatting over a meal. I try to travel often, mostly to national parks and historical places. And my favorite way to relax is to put on a good movie (horror or drama please!).