I'm a Los Angeles based strategist and designer crafting visual identities and digital experiences for brands that dare to do things differently.

Jessy V. Castillo

Smiling person with short black hair, tortoiseshell glasses, and a nose ring, standing outdoors near green foliage.

Selected Works

See All Works
Close-up of the top left corner of an iPhone screen showing app icons, including Ánimo Games, Calendar, Photos, Mail, and Notes, with the time 9:41 at the top.

Ánimo Games
Creating courage through play: A brand identity for transformative gaming experiences.

Laptop displaying a podcast with two men with headphones, smiling and speaking into microphones, on a red motorcycle tank with a sunset or dusk sky in the background.

Super Mercado
Repositioning an Emmy-winning creative from single-service photographer to full-spectrum collaborator

Person holding a smartphone displaying a website for high-fidelity speaker systems with the headline 'Hear what you've been missing' and a picture of a speaker.

River Speakers
Building an accessible hi-fidelity audio brand for anyone who cares enough to listen

A clear glass bottle of tequila labeled 'Orgullo A Jeno Blanco' with artwork of two stylized animals and information about alcohol content, origin, and volume, placed against a soft, neutral background with shadows.

Orgullo Ajeno Tequila
Crafting an inclusive tequila brand that celebrates Mexican and LGBTQ+ pride with every pour

Close-up of a woman wearing a beige tank top and a beaded necklace at the beach, with water and sky in the background, and a logo with a lion face and the word 'NENA' overlayed on the image.

Nena
Branding a jewelry identity that transforms Mesoamerican heritage into wearable heirlooms

Acadego
Creating an approachable ed-tech identity that helps small schools reclaim technology as a teaching tool

View All Works

Great design disrupts the status quo. I create identities and cohesive visual systems that challenge norms and work as hard as they look good, helping clients communicate strategically and stand out in their space.

My Services

01

Brand Strategy & Positioning

Competitive Research

Identity Systems & Logo Design

Creative Direction

Visual Language Development

Brand Guidelines & Documentation

02

User Research & Discovery

Platform Audits & Analytics

Wireframing & Prototyping

User Testing

Accessibility Compliance (AA or AAA)

03

Information Architecture

Content Strategy

Website Design & Development

Developer Handoff

04

Design Systems Development

Digital Collateral

Social Graphics

Print & Packaging

Cross-platform Creative Strategy

A workspace with a wooden desk holding a MacBook, an iMac, notebooks, pens, papers, and a mouse, with plants on the windowsill and trees outside in the background.

About Me

Based in Los Angeles, I've spent 4+ years creating brand identities and design systems for purpose-driven organizations, small businesses, and independent creatives across arts, culture, and change.

My Background

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Food, Beverage & Hospitality

Social Impact, Advocacy & Tech for Good

Fashion & Lifestyle

Creative Services & Media

Education & Community Development

Environmental & Climate Initiatives

Industries

Angel City Football Club

Ánimo Games

City Hub and Network for Gender Equity (CHANGE)

Don’t Be Jealous Studio

For the Birds Trapped in Airports

Hyphenated-

Justice + Joy National Collaborative

The Latinx Project at NYU

Las Fotos Project

select clients

Los Angeles County Arts Education Collective

Monforte Studio

Orgullo Ajeno Tequila

Resilient Strategies

SoCal Grantmakers

Stanford University, Institute of Diversity in the Arts

Young Women’s Freedom Center

Recent Experience

Designer + Strategist, Founder

Rara Matter, Freelance

2022 - Now

Created comprehensive brand identities, websites, and design systems for clients across industries, transforming complex missions into compelling visual narratives in web, digital and print. Designed accessible resources from dense policy frameworks and developed experiential materials that strengthened community engagement and drove measurable results.

Web + UX Designer

Studio Don’t Be Jealous, Retainer

2022 - Now

Enhanced website performance and user experience through strategic content audits, technical optimization, and ongoing maintenance. Identified opportunities for new content hubs and landing pages that improved navigation and accessibility. Delivered strategic recommendations for site refresh that elevated engagement and functionality.

BRand, Visual + UX Designer

Monforte Studio, Retainer

2022 - 2025

Elevated brand recognition by co-leading cohesive identity systems across digital and print platforms. Reduced website bounce rates and increased conversions through user-centered design, implementing intuitive navigation, streamlined messaging, and responsive layouts that drove engagement with client services and products.

Tools

  • Figma Logo

    Figma

    General Design Tool | 90%

  • Adobe Illustrator Logo

    Illustrator

    Graphic Design | 85%

  • Adobe Photoshop Logo

    Photoshop

    Image Editing | 90%

  • Squarespace Logo

    Squarespace

    Website Design | 95%

  • Geometric drawing of an outline square with sections divided by vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines.

    Miro & Figjam

    UX Design | 85%

  • A black background with a large, centrally located icon of left and right angle brackets separated by a vertical slash, representing code or programming.

    HTML, CSS, Javascript

    Front-end Development | 60%

  • "Jessy not only listened to my ideas, but took the time to understand my vision, values, goals, and gave valuable input to help develop the spirit that I wanted my brand to reflect."

    Diana Bellaluz, Orgullo Ajeno Tequila

  • "Jessy is a thoughtful designer that can easily connect the big picture to the intricate details of a design project. They supported our team in creating unique and bright designs for our annual fundraiser, designs that bring vibrancy and life to our work."

    Jasmine Sánchez, Las Fotos Project

  • "Jessy was a wonderful partner to work with on our Gender Equality Toolkit. Creatively, they were engaged and responsive, skillfully bringing out a coherent design identity. As a project manager, Jessy was organized, timely, and flexible, confirming details and keeping us within the bounds of our tight timeline. Overall, they were a pleasure to work with."

    Holly Millburn-Smith, CHANGE

  • "Working with Jessy on our website re-design was a dream. The process was clear, the timeline was swift, and her designs spoke directly to our organizations needs, desires and brand book. Jessy is truly one of the best designers we have ever worked with! We are so thankful for Jessy's expertise, organization, and vision."

    A-lan Holt, Stanford University

Get in touch

Ready to work together? Let's talk about freelance projects, collaborations, and full-time roles.

hellojessycastillo@gmail.com
Los Angeles, CA, USA | PT

A MacBook laptop and a smartphone on a round white table in a room with a brown leather couch. The laptop screen displays a website with event details and photos of two women, and the smartphone shows a colorful poster for an event called 'Quince'.