I'm Gian, a Filipino-American designer and illustrator living in San Francisco, California.
I'm most excited about creating compelling design and art, for myself and others.
Most of my time is spent on something related to creative work. I love exploring, experiencing, and examining things like video games, brand identities, movies, animation, and spend a good chunk of my time on my own projects.
Otherwise, I'm usually cafe-hopping, journaling, hunting for art and design books, playing games with friends, hanging out with my cat Glenda, or (hopefully) planning a trip to Japan with my fiancé.
Client and coworker testimonials
Here's what some lovely people have said about my work and working with me.
Note: emphasis in the quotes are mine.
thoughtful coffee
Thank you to Gian for always being so down to design stuff for us. From our menus, to stickers, to t-shirts you work has been stellar.
I can't wait to continue collaborating with you.
Nightsail Game Studios
This logo, which was handcrafted by brilliant designers Alexis Paneda and Gian Paneda, perfectly captures the feeling that I hoped to breathe into the soul of each game made by Nightsail Game Studios. [...]
This was the work of true artists and designers.
Head of Design of Trello
[Gian has] been a huge champion of Trello's culture, proactively filling design gaps and supporting multiple teams during periods of change and reprioritization.
Senior Product Manager at Trello/Atlassian
Gian has been a consistent and reliable design partner, particularly when it comes to delivering complex projects with exceptional quality.
Senior Product Manager at Trello/Atlassian
Gian is a proactive and collaborative team player, always ready to help, even beyond his direct responsibilities.
Gian's ability to deliver results and improve processes is highly trusted, making him a go-to person for critical design tasks.
Head of Design at Carta
Gian is an eager learner who picks up concepts quickly. [...] [He] borrows from his natural intellect to solve design problems and he brings innate critical thinking skills to his work.
He instinctively simplifies content and flows down to intuitive product experiences for his users.
Senior Full Stack Engineer at Carta
He went above and beyond helping us leverage Carta’s Design System to build product UI with great user experience at scale.
His designs empowered our users to feel informed and confident in the choices they make as they interacted with Carta's platform.
Lead Product Designer at Trello/Atlassian
I worked closely with Gian during his time on the Trello design team at Atlassian and had the privilege of collaborating on numerous complex projects with him.
He consistently brought positive energy, thoughtfulness, a growth mindset, and a high-level of care into every aspect of his work.
Any team would be lucky to work alongside Gian.
Website and app design is my core strength, and I've been doing it professionally as a digital product designer for ~9 years.
I like the challenge of holistically approaching a problem, and understanding the various aspects of design, human behavior, and business problems to make
something better.
I usually ponder how things and experiences I encounter in everyday life can be improved.
Most recently, I spent 3 years designing at Atlassian where I worked on Trello, mostly on growth-related experiences and helping pivot the app towards a focus on individual work. Along the way I created various visual assets for the marketing website and desktop app.
Glenda, my catSome of my favorite books from my collection
Now
Updated Thursday, June 11, 2026 from my home in California.
Drawing a bunch and working on improving figure drawings.
Working on a short comic.
Updating this website and sharing it.
Playing Street Fighter 6 (Maining Zangief). Currently Diamond 3.
Lifting at the gym and indoor biking while watching movies.
Interested in connecting?
Contact me ➹ if you'd like to work on something together or hire me for a project!
Open to work on: Brand design, graphic design, web design, illustration, improving your website or online store, or any other interesting projects.
About this website
Designed and coded by me (just good ol' HTML and CSS for now).
