Daily Inspiration: Meet Gabrielle Merite

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabrielle Merite. 

Hi Gabrielle, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Coming from a family of doctors, I was destined for science. But during my M.S in Immunology, I realized that despite my love for biology, research wasn’t my passion. Sharing science was. I quickly turned to scientific communication: translating research papers and insights hidden in complex language to clear sentences understandable any anyone. However, I quickly realized most people are not interested in science. At least not enough to read three paragraphs describing a molecular pathway. An image was faster, easier to understand, more memorable. At the time, I worked at the Office for Science & Technology of the Consulate of France in Los Angeles. I took the opportunity to take classes in design fundamentals, illustrator, photoshop, code… In the following four years, I worked on the side of full-time jobs to perfect my information design skills. In 2020, I quit my job and became a full-time information designer. Since then, I’ve been telling the stories that matter through data. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Just like anyone who’s changed, it hasn’t been easy. Data visualization wasn’t, and still isn’t a very clearly defined and known field. There was no full-time position at the time. In fact, I didn’t even know the field had a name outside of “designers who make infographics” back then! The lack of clarity made it difficult to learn the craft. But it also allowed me to look for ways to learn outside of a defined path; I took illustration classes, brand design, product design, and all the knowledge accumulated makes me a better information designer today. Another big pain point was the fact that I was (still am) a foreigner in the U.S today. Earning a visa and an authorization to work is a long, expensive and difficult process. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for others who are not from Europe and are not privileged like I was to have the choice and the finances to be able to say. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am what we call an information designer. I help ethically-driven organizations uncover important truths and share stories with intention, with data. The cold hard facts (that feel warm and *living*). It’s difficult for me to know why if I am known for anything. Outside of my love for plants! I’d say that my aesthetic seems to stand out in the field. I like my work to become scenes. Alive landscaped where the data becomes part of the story as well as the people behind it or the elements that participate to the message the data is conveying. To do so, I use photography, collage, and digital painting techniques which is not common in my field. My only pride is to have earned the trust of many incredible organizations and people who were willing to trust me with their tables, reports, and stories. They allowed me to share their findings with today’s minds. All for the greater good of humanity. 

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Oof. That’s a very difficult question! The fact that I found a passion that pays for the rent. That this passion is, I hope, participating into creating change for the better. But so many other things! Sharing my life with a wonderful partner, playing with my dog, making art, working out at OMB, looking at the sunsets at the beach, talking to my family on the phone across the ocean… 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gabriellemerite.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gab.md/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Data_Soul/