Maria 'Taty' Hindes
Hi, I’m Maria –also known as Taty Hindes.
I’m a qualified designer based in beautiful Sunrise Beach, Queensland, where I work from my light-filled studio.
I’m a professional user of InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, and WordPress.
Throughout my career, I’ve worked with creative teams from around the world and had the chance to design for brands like Disney, Hallmark, Discovery Channel, Subway, Unilever and Nestlé while based in America.
I’m also a Fulbright Harvard-LASPAU Scholar, which reflects my strong academic background and my approach to design — thoughtful, purposeful, and well-crafted.
My qualifications include:
- A Master of Fine Arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Arts and Design in Boston, USA
- A Bachelor of Graphic Design from the University Dr José Matías Delgado in El Salvador.
- A Cert IV in Business –Social Media Mastery (I was proud to be named Student of the Year)
For over 16 years I taught and lectured graphic design, typography and digital media at universities in America and Australia.
I’m the co-owner of Soul Space Design and also work at The Social Deck in Noosa.
Working as a Graphic Designer here brings me real joy — I get to work alongside talented communicators and other creatives doing work that makes a difference. Even after 35+ years in the profession, I’m still learning something new every day.
The Social Deck is a B Corp–certified business that specialises in strategic communications, community engagement, digital strategy, social marketing and evaluation. We work with government, not-for-profits, businesses and social enterprises to help them create meaningful change.
At home, I share life with my husband Paul Hindes, who has a Master of Business and a Bachelor in Property Economics and Development, with a focus on building design. We live happily in Noosa and between us have five adult children living across Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.
If you’d like to chat about your project — no pressure, no pitch — I’d love to hear from you.
Professional Life
1985 - 1986
Layout Artist – La Prensa Gráfica
My journey as a professional designer began as a layout artist in the design and marketing department of “La Prensa Gráfica” – one of the newspapers of El Salvador, with nationwide readership. 
1986 - 1989
Head Designer – Hilasal
Moving from print design to textile media was an amazing experience. Working for Hilasal, I was in charge of creating illustrations for the Latin American market line of textile products such as beach and tea towels. I also became one of the youngest creatives to work for Disney Latin America under license.
1992 - 2003
Going digital
In 1992, I was the first designer with a master’s degree in digital design in Latin America. Using this unique position, I helped set up digital art departments in both the private and government sectors in El Salvador, including training people in the use of desktop computers and design software.
I also continued teaching graphic design and typography to university students as well as creating and updating design curriculums to include digital media.
I also had full-time jobs working as Art Director for multinational print companies that were moving from traditional media to digital.
1997 - 2003
M&R Design
I started my own digital design practice where I continued working under license for Disney as well as consulting for the private and governmental sectors in all things design and digital.
During this time, I also participated as a keynote speaker at Apple Mac events and continued my association with universities as a thesis advisor and reviewing digital design curriculums.
2005 - Present
Sunshine Coast
In 2005 we moved to Sunrise Beach where we’ve been running our design practice ever since.
As well as running Soul Space, I’ve worked as a contractor:
- Website Art Director for a local Sunshine Coast digital marketing company
- Marketing, Social Media and Communications for CIDSEL, University of the Sunshine Coast
- Guest speaker at Queensland Government events.
Consultants and Contractors
Some Soul Space Design projects require the talent of more professionals.
We have a strong team of associates and contractors, offering a complete service to suit your needs, from concept to completion!
