About Ivanna

I was born in Dunedin before my parents bought a yacht and we went sailing around the Pacific, then went to America and travelled around in an RV. We came back to NZ in 2010 where we moved to Auckland.

I found my way back to Dunedin to go to Otago University after discovering the Auckland life wasn't for me. I completed a Forensic Science degree before completing a Master of Marketing and now I'm at GummyBear getting to explore my creative skills!

The grass isn’t greener on the other side of the fence, it’s greener where you water it

Otago University

Marketing Masters

Forensic Science degree

Favourite tools or platforms

Adobe Illustrator

I love Adobe Illustrator, I just think it’s the best software!

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is also great though, but I use Illustrator a lot more.

How I stay updated

I read as much as possible about what’s current and going on, including about software updates or algorithm changes, so that I know what’s happening.

I also follow a few different social media accounts that keep me updated as well!

GummyBear pushes the boundaries, doesn’t believe in ‘normal’ and always strives to be the best.

Favourite part about working at GummyBear

The best part about working at GummyBear is that we are able to do things differently or try things if we think it will work better, which allows us to design with a lot of freedom.

Favourite part about working at GummyBear

The best part about working at GummyBear is that we are able to do things differently or try things if we think it will work better, which allows us to design with a lot of freedom.

A ‘normal’ day at work

I don’t think we have ‘normal’ days at work – every day is kinda different, which is cool! Sometimes Rosie bosses us around, sometimes we try to create the perfect fart noise with our hands, sometimes Connor introduces really catchy songs to us.

A ‘normal’ day at work

An industry challenge you’d like to fix

Often it's easy to approach problems from the same perspective, but this prevents you from seeing new ideas or ways of doing things. I think it’s really important to approach each client and problem uniquely, while still using prior experience, to create a solution that’s tailored to them.

An industry challenge you’d like to fix

My favourite projects

I don’t think I have a favourite project, everyone that we work on is so unique and we approach depending on their needs so it’s hard to have a standout.

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I do really enjoy working on community organisations though because I like their missions and goals to help the community and help people improve.

View More Of GummyBear’s Work

Background info

I was homeschooled for the first 8 years of my educational life while we travelled internationally, so I think that gave me a much wider educational experience than I could ever just get from school alone. Once we came back to New Zealand I finally went to school for the first time and thought I wanted to be a scientist.

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I came down to Otago University to study Forensic Science and after completing that degree I realised I didn’t want to spend my life working in a lab. I decided to complete a Masters of Marketing after that and then realised (luckily) that I did in fact enjoy marketing. From working in hospitality to data entry throughout university, I knew that I wanted to work with people. Shortly after graduating from my Masters, I found GummyBear and I haven’t looked back since!

When I'm not working

I'm a bit of a homebody, I have a chinchilla named Illa who is the best and I really like plants (I’m trying to turn my house into a jungle) I enjoy spending time with my friends, going for walks (not on beaches though, I hate sand), going to the gym and (although not exactly a hobby) I am enjoying working on my house and making it pretty!