A designer who reads every page.
Denise Gesilva is a multi-skilled graphic designer who specializes in long-form documents, both digital and print.
Clean, brand-compliant layout design of long-form documents
Long-form documents are in-depth, comprehensive written pieces that are designed to explore topics thoroughly, rather than provide quick answers (the designs shown here are actual pages from published work).
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Report
A structured document that presents investigation results or research on a specific topic to an identified audience.
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Ebook
A digital version of a printed book, designed to be read on computers, tablets, smartphones, or dedicated gadgets like Kindle.
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White paper
An authoritative, in-depth report or guide that informs readers about a specific complex issue and presents the issuing body’s philosophy, research, or solution to a problem.
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Magazine
A periodical publication containing a variety of articles, stories, photographs, and advertisements.
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Brochure
A folded paper document or digital format used as a marketing tool to introduce companies, products, services, or events to potential customers.
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Solution brief
A concise 2-4 page marketing or sales document that explains how a specific product or service solves a problem.
Need layout design for any of the above?
Specific design rules for long-form documents
The reader will spend more time with pages of long copy, and it’s my job to make that experience as pleasant as possible! There are specific design rules that apply.
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Body text should be PLEASANT to read
The styling of the body copy, and even the smallest blocks like boilerplate text, is very important- PLEASANT is my guide word and it helps that I myself grew up reading a lot.
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Text hierarchy should be observed
Since the copy is long, the styling of headers, headlines, first paragraphs, subheadlines, numbered tems, etc. do their job of breaking up the text in smaller pieces and effectively organizing the information.
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Infographics should be used
Along with pictures. sidebars and special sections, icons and infographics break the monotony and make the document more interesting to read, overall.
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Tables should be styled
There’s really more to tables than it seems- line widths and color, row shading, text hierarchy, cell margins etc. all add to them conveying important information more effectively.
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Navigation should be optimized
We add features that enhance navigation like the Table of Contents, dividers, page numbering, and page headers. Navigation bars can also be added whenever possible.
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Picture coloring should be consistent
Usually, pictures provided by the client have different levels of saturation, CMYK distribution, contrast, and size orientations. Ideally, they should have a standardized look, for a cleaner and more professional feel overall.
LinkedIn Recommendations
“Denise is a talented designer and was an invaluable asset to scaling the output of our creative team. She helped us with many of our most visible marketing assets, always providing effective solutions on time and within budget. Her attention to detail and communication skills make Denise an absolute pleasure to work with.”
— Brian Houlihan, former Global Brand Director at Fortinet
“For the past two years, Denise provided design support to my content and research team at Fortinet. Often producing three assets per business day, we required the support of professional graphic artists who could quickly turn layouts and turn rough sketches into compelling graphics. Denise exhibits outstanding project management and communication skills and the ability to manage multiple requests at the same time without missing a beat. She is a consummate professional who always meets her commitments and demonstrate close attention to detail. Indeed, whenever we had a rush project with a hard deadline, we typically would turn to Denise for support--knowing that she would deliver ‘hell or high water.’“
— Patrick Spencer, former Senior Director of Content Marketing and Research at Fortinet
“For several years, I have had the pleasure of working with Denise at a cybersecurity company where I provide proofreading and editorial support for the marketing assets she creates. I continue to be impressed by the professional attitude and skill level she brings to her position as a graphic designer. One of Denise’s strengths is her ability to translate customers’ requirements into virtually flawless documents—always accompanied by a positive attitude. She also is a multitasker who can quickly turn around projects with tight deadlines, all while maintaining the high level of quality for which she is known. I wholeheartedly give my highest recommendation to any company interested in adding Denise to their team.”
— Kay Becker, freelance Copy Editor and Proofreader based in Pennsylvania, U.S.
“Highly motivated and committed individual who places quality and dedication to her work as a key measure. A team player, with a positive attitude, I have worked with Denise for over 12 months in a professional capacity where Denise was instrumentation in graphics design and managing the workload of those staff reporting to her. I would recommend Denise for any position where she can demonstrate her true ability to work as a team, managing people and in design and creative environment where innovation and quality are important in producing high-quality outcomes. Denise has a great sense of humour and is always willing to put in that extra effort to help customers and those working around her.”
— Paul Bahnisch, former Partner, IT Management Consulting, at KPMG ASEAN
“During her two years at KPMG, Denise provided a laser-like focus on output quality being consistent and service being of the absolute highest standard. The work produced by the Proposals & Creative Services team, under her guidance, were universally praised for what often was an amazing transformation of "back of the napkin" ideas which were delivered as meticulously detailed documents and presentations. In an age where just the minimum asked for is what is produced, Denise usually "gold plated" her output - often providing a variety of cover options and even including slides with various icons for additional use…” [see my Linkedin profile for the complete review]
— Ray Hennessey, former Director at KPMG ASEAN
“Denise has been an absolute pleasure to work with. Her attention to detail, communication skills, and work ethic made working remotely and via Slack a breeze. Denise goes above and beyond without being asked to. She has an analytical mind, asks the right questions, and is consistently reliable. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Denise to anyone.”
—Sarah Wakeman, former Senior Product Marketing Manager at Procurify
“As her junior graphic designer and eventually art director, Denise helped me immensely in bettering my craft and taught me a lot of the foundational skills I now utilize as a creative director for five titles. Her tireless passion for her craft, concern for her juniors, and the ability to get the job done with efficiency, quality and speed is something I look up to and aspire to achieve. Denise is the woman for the job if creative excellence is what you're looking for.”
— Mel Patrick Kasingsing, Editor-in-Chief for Kanto.com.ph and Founder of Brutalist Pilipinas and Modernist Pilipinas
“Denise is one of the finest graphic designers I’ve worked with in the Philippines. She is very creative, always understood the project requirements quickly and was able to create impactful documents. Due to her eye for detail and high quality of work, Denise was assigned the role of Quality Lead for all graphic designers in the team. She can manage multiple projects and has mentored team members too. It’s been a pleasure working with and knowing Denise. She’d be an asset to any team or organization she chooses to work with. All the best for all your future endeavors, Denise!”
— Vinisha Kumar, former Manager at KPMG ASEAN
“Denise's attention to detail, ownership to her work and communication style are some of the attributes I admire the most from her. Working with her on design projects are always a breeze and I can always count on her timely delivery and excellent results. I can't wait to work with her again and I would recommend her to any team that is looking for a quality remote designer.”
—Fiona Chan, former Marketing Coordinator at Parissa
Recent published work
Cyberthreat Predictions for 2026
for Fortinet in Sunnyvale, California
Past and present clients
(Click a logo to be directed to its website)
Past Projects
(Click each square to view more projects)
Inspiration
My grandmother, portrait and still life painter Lucy Vergara-Fernando, provided me with exposure to the visual arts at a very early age. Ideologically, we walked different paths, but art is universal, and still paved the way for me to meaningfully connect with her, even after she passed away. She opened my eyes to colors and shapes, and the concept of muscle memory- that indeed, it’s the physically skilled hand that does it all. And you can train your hand to express exactly what is in your mind.
Me and my grandmother, during my grandfather’s funeral, October 2016.
Approach to work in general
I like stories like Edward Jenner’s. He is known to be “The Father of Immunology” because of his work in creating the world’s first-ever vaccine, which was against smallpox.
It all started when he noticed that milkmaids were generally immune to smallpox, and wondered if it could be because of the cowpox that they were exposed to. I’ve always wanted to be like that- one who is quick to spot important patterns, then is able to form solutions out of them.
Whenever I have a design problem in front of me, I view it as a ‘code I need to crack” in order to make it work, or sell, in accordance with ongoing behavioral patterns.
Edward Jenner advising a farmer to vaccinate his family. Oil painting by an English painter, c. 1910.
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Did you make this website all by yourself?
Yes. I found that Squarespace is easier to handle than Wix or Wordpress.
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Can you make animations or videos?
I can learn how to do them quickly, but they’re not really my cup of tea.
I’m skilled in Powerpoint though, I can make a presentation with some animations in it.
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Are you available for full-time work? Are you available right now to do my project?
I don’t think I am available for full time work anymore; I’m game just for part time or per-project work now.
If I personally forwarded you the link to this website, YES I am available.
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Why do you have so much stuff here in your portfolio?
Since I criticize my own work so much, I rarely make something that isn’t presentable, so it’s easy to pluck out stuff and drag them here. I grew up around a military grandfather who slept at 7pm and woke up at 3am to start feeding the animals in his farm all by himself. I saw excellence infused into the daily grind. It’s a value that’s more European or Japanese than Filipino, I think. And later on in life, I got to work with other people (some of them are relatives) who operated similarly, also.
Another reason behind this is, I’ve been working for more than 20 years.
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What software do you use?
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, with Acrobat and Bridge.
Microsoft Powerpoint and a deeper understanding of Word than most people, since I was trained by KPMG to make branded documents using both of these.
I can also work with Squarespace, Wix, Wordpress, Shopify, Klaviyo, Figma, Canva, and Mailchimp.
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You've done so much work- what drives you to be productive?
I just like being productive. I like working. Retirement is difficult to understand, for me. I think I’ve found my ikigai, and I am just fortunate in this aspect.
Find your ikigai.
If you feel that you are lost, I believe that the Japanese concept of IKIGAI can help present a solution or set of solutions for you. It is a chart that helps you navigate where you are exactly, and what you need to do next.
This site is dedicated to my family members who now reside in the next life:
My grandfather, Col. German Fernando,
my grandmother, Lucy Vergara-Fernando,
and my father, Genaro Gesilva.