Over the last ten years, I have designed digital experiences for Fortune 500 companies, cultural institutions, and startups alike: NBC/Peacock, the New Museum, Apple, Daily Harvest, Ernesta, Paramount, and Ellevest to name a few. I partner closely with clients to bring their research, expertise, and enthusiasm to life. Leveraging cross-department collaboration and design theory, I prioritize brand authenticity and ensure user-friendly accessibility. My goal is to create a design experience that sparks user engagement and ignites curiosity.
My portfolio predominantly features my work on websites and apps but I started my design career working for branding agencies and my education is in art history and dance. This diverse foundation has equipped me with extensive skills in visual research and analysis, proficient copywriting and editing, creating marketing and social media collateral, directing movement and talent, prop styling for photoshoots, conceptualizing pitch campaigns, designing packaging and email marketing initiatives, and overseeing digital and video production. While my focus is in e-commerce and direct-to-consumer digital experiences, I am always open to hear about a project that requires creative thinking.
Work history:Independent Digital Designer & Creative Director
2017–ongoing
Paramount, Product Designer
* Webby Winner - MTV Websites
2015–2017
New Museum, Online Manager
* Webby Nominee - Websites and Mobile Sites Art, Kettle and the New Museum
2013–2015Recommendations:
Becca Kendall
“I hired Ayano when I was managing the product design team at Ellevest, and she was such a joy to work with. She is a strong, full-stack designer who excels in working on complex products in fast-paced environments. Ayano is a great communicator, cares deeply about consistency and scalability, and knows exactly when and how to simplify the product experience to create clarity for users.
She's a great collaborator with the design team and her partners on the ground, and an advocate for the user in every presentation and stakeholder review.
I would 10/10 work with her again in the future!”
“I hired Ayano when I was managing the product design team at Ellevest, and she was such a joy to work with. She is a strong, full-stack designer who excels in working on complex products in fast-paced environments. Ayano is a great communicator, cares deeply about consistency and scalability, and knows exactly when and how to simplify the product experience to create clarity for users.
She's a great collaborator with the design team and her partners on the ground, and an advocate for the user in every presentation and stakeholder review.
I would 10/10 work with her again in the future!”
Jason Powers
“Ayano is a pleasure to work with! Her solid understanding of design fundamentals and broad experience allows her to contribute to a wide array of projects. From UX wireframes, to visual UI design, to brand creative collateral, she’d consistently deliver the design goods—even under challenging circumstances—with positive vibes.
She would continue to impress me with thoughtful solutions for new features and attention to detail in documenting design systems. Her empathetic approach creates healthy and dynamic collaborations, balancing feedback input with voicing strong user/brand centric opinions.
Ayano would be a great team addition and I’d welcome the chance to work together again!“
Tools:
Figma
WebFlow
Adobe Suite
Sketch
Paper and pen
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) lol
Matcha lattes
Every project management software under the sun
Contact me:ayano.elson@gmail.com