Gabriel Medina

Gabriel Medina (b.1998) is a multidisciplinary designer and artist from the San Francisco Bay Area. He works with different mediums to create nuanced layers of communication that question current systems and designs them in potential realities. 

During his time at the Royal College of Art, his research has explored identity plurality, seeking to understand the relationship between the overlapping spheres of influence that form the essence of self. Gabriel’s research takes a hybrid approach by linking different visual cultural elements and placing them in communication — offering a space for reflection, speculation and narrative. 

In addition to the RCA, he has studied at San Francisco State University, Central Saint Martins and Camberwell College of Art — where he received his BA in Graphic Design in 2020.

My project uses a model called ‘Hybrid Interface’’, a process that involves layering different visual-cultural elements to create nuanced communication around the concept of identity plurality. Using image, language and diagram as inputs, the model explores how the systematic hybridization of these layers can create visual plurality that mirrors identity plurality. It embraces complexity – recognizing identity as ever-evolving, existing in a perpetual state of flux. 

By juxtaposing firm system thinking with the elastic and personal nature of identity, the Hybrid Interface speculates how formal modes of inquiry can be subverted for personal narrative and connection.

The goal of this project is to position graphic design as a critical and reflective tool, capable of fostering deeper understanding and dialogue around the complexities of self.