Who am I?

Mover, Shaker, Maker & Doer

Senior Brand & Digital Designer. Strategist at heart. I learn how a business works first, then design the brand, site, and campaigns around it.

Howdy! 👋 I’m Araya, pronounced “uh-ray-uh,” like sunshine.

I’ve spent 10+ years designing for brands with complicated problems, including VSP Vision Care, Kaiser Permanente, LastPass, and Broadcom. Along the way I won a 2021 Silver Clio for a budtender training microsite and helped Codence grow its web traffic 127% with a full rebrand.

I grew up in the mountains just outside Boulder, Colorado, where the altitude is high and, apparently, so is the creative output.

My career has never followed one path, and I’m proud of that. I’ve designed for healthcare brands, cannabis tech platforms, music artists, breweries, global real estate companies, eco-friendly wood stickers sold at the zoo, and B2B campaigns for companies you’ve definitely heard of. I also built Gasoline Lollipops’ entire visual identity before they signed to a record label.

The work covers brand strategy, campaign concepting, web design, visual systems, motion graphics, print and packaging, presentations, and digital brand experiences. If it has to look great, make sense at a glance, and help a business grow, I’m in.

Paul Rand said, “Design is so simple, that’s why it’s so complicated.” I’ve thought about that line for years. My favorite projects need real thinking before anyone opens Figma. The best answer isn’t obvious yet, and when it finally shows up, someone asks, “Why didn’t we think of that sooner?”

I move fast and ask a lot of questions. I learn how a business works first, then design around it. And I like people, which helps, because the best work I’ve done came from teams that trusted each other.

CU Denver grad. Mountain kid. Volunteer first responder. Fan of hard problems with clean answers.