Jey Austen's love for design started early, thanks to their father who was a web design professor. While other kids were playing video games, Jey was learning HTML and Photoshop, creating their first website on a floppy disk during elementary school. This early exposure to both code and design shaped how they think about creating digital experiences that work beautifully and function flawlessly.
Today, Jey serves as a Designer at Google via Monks, where they build comprehensive design systems for Google Merchant's Guidance and Insights Framework team. Their journey to this role showcases exactly the kind of skills that define great product designers: the ability to collaborate across teams, think in systems, and create user experiences that scale to millions while remaining intuitive and accessible.
Jey's fascination with design and technology began at home, where their father's work as a web design professor provided unprecedented early access to the tools that would shape their career. Learning HTML and Photoshop while still in elementary school, Jey created their first website and saved the html files on a floppy disk. This technical foundation would prove essential to their future expertise in bridging design and development.
At Baylor University, where they earned their Bachelor of Arts in Film and Digital Media from 2012 to 2017, Jey discovered how their systematic approach to organization could be applied to visual storytelling and comprehensive brand experiences. Their semester abroad at Regent's University London in early 2015 broadened their creative perspective and design thinking.
During college, Jey worked as a Graphic Designer from August 2013 to May 2017, where they conceptualized and implemented visual campaigns for major university events including Sing and Pigskin. This role taught them to create cohesive design systems spanning multiple touchpoints, from posters and merchandise to three-minute commercials, while collaborating effectively across various university departments.
Jey's professional career began with a Design Intern position at Baylor Athletics, where they created marketing collateral following strict NCAA guidelines for multiple sports programs. This experience taught them the importance of working within established design systems while maintaining creative excellence and brand consistency.
Their versatility extended beyond traditional design during a summer internship with Salvage the World, where they assisted in documentary filmmaking, gaining experience in cinematography, location scouting, and video editing. This multimedia background would prove invaluable in their later work creating comprehensive digital experiences.
After graduation, Jey's career accelerated at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment as a Graphic Designer in Scenic Arts. In this fast-paced environment, they managed up to 45 simultaneous projects while meeting strict deadlines. A significant achievement was art directing all permanent signage for the 2019 Inside Look event, which contributed to attendance increasing from 6,000 total attendees to 7,000 on the first day alone, demonstrating their ability to create design solutions with measurable business impact.
At Armature Works in Tampa, Florida, Jey demonstrated their ability to work across diverse brand portfolios, creating print and digital materials for over 20 separate restaurant concepts. Their UI/UX design for a wifi landing page collected 5,000 emails in the first week of launch, showcasing their understanding of user behavior and conversion optimization. They also refreshed brand collateral that resulted in a 30% increase in social media engagement while directing photoshoots and building set pieces for food photography.
Moving to Nymbus marked a significant expansion in Jey's responsibilities and impact. As Senior Designer for Brand, User Interface, User Experience, and Marketing, they created comprehensive brands including logos, visual identity systems, user interfaces, and user experiences for marketing and banking websites. Their collaborative approach with users, clients, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams brought in over $750,000 in new business. Beyond design contributions, Jey took on leadership roles, serving on the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Board and mentoring junior designers through weekly skillshares.
Jey's expertise in design systems reached its pinnacle during their tenure at dbt Labs as Senior Web Designer for Design Systems. They developed a comprehensive web design system for dbt Labs, creating cohesive user experiences across over 50 pages, a documentation site, and a learning management system. This project encompassed the entire B2B marketing site and revolutionized the company's design process.
Their work transformed a quarter-long, multi-team effort into a streamlined CMS page builder that empowered the marketing team to create fully designed pages in minutes. Jey created and documented a robust design system with detailed pattern libraries and component specifications, ensuring visual consistency and scalability. They crafted over 70 custom web illustrations that enhanced the design system's visual engagement and reinforced dbt Labs' brand identity while serving functional purposes.
The scope of their work at dbt Labs was particularly impressive given the company's unique challenge of promoting a paid enterprise solution while maintaining an open-source product. Their systematic approach to design documentation and component organization became critical for enabling cross-functional collaboration between design and development teams.
Since October 2024, Jey has been working as a Designer at Google via Monks, where they continue pushing the boundaries of design systems and user experience. In this role, they have built a comprehensive design system for Google Merchant's Guidance and Insights Framework team, created internal brand identity including animated logos and presentation templates, and developed prototypes and GIFs to effectively demonstrate product functionality to stakeholders.
They've designed UX/UI for notification management on guidance cards within Google Merchant platform while collaborating closely with product managers, engineers, and stakeholders to align design solutions with business goals. This work requires the ability to translate complex technical concepts into intuitive user interfaces while maintaining consistency across a large-scale product ecosystem.
Parallel to their corporate roles, Jey has operated Jey Austen Design since September 2015, offering comprehensive branding and web design services. Their freelance work demonstrates remarkable versatility across industries including athletics, entertainment, and fintech, with a focus on handcrafted visuals, user interfaces, and scalable design systems.
At With App, Jey served as Senior Mobile Product Designer, leading the design of a GIF drawer feature that included a camera with sticker cutouts and a photo drawer. They built detailed user flows for complex features like the rewind functionality, calendar integration, and sticker camera while establishing a universal design language and prioritizing the design system. Their role extended beyond individual features to developing With's entire design system and teaching other designers how to organize components effectively in Figma.
For Hitched, a joint banking platform for couples, Jey crafted a fully responsive marketing website that evolved through multiple launch phases, attracting over 1,500 eager users. Armed with insights from user interviews revealing that 40% of couples don't discuss finances before engagement, they designed a budget calculator to ease couples into financial discussions. This project demonstrated their ability to conduct user research, identify pain points, and create solutions that address real user needs while driving business objectives.
Beyond their professional design work, Jey has become a prominent voice in LGBTQ+ advocacy and education through their podcast "How Gay Thou Art." Co-hosted with Clint Keller, this comedy podcast explores growing up "queer, Christian, and hella confused," combining personal anecdotes with research deep-dives to explore the weirdest corners of Evangelical culture.
Jey's journey began within the evangelical Christian community, where they grew up navigating the complex intersection of faith and identity. This formative experience would later become a source of both creative inspiration and advocacy work. The podcast began in October 2022 with the goal of explaining core Evangelical beliefs to queer people in a comedic manner. In light of transphobic attacks sweeping the nation, they hoped to help queer people understand the mindsets of people targeting them. The show has gained recognition for its thoughtful yet humorous approach to deconstructing harmful religious ideologies while providing validation for listeners with similar experiences.
Jey came out while deconstructing their faith, describing the process as "putting on a pair of shoes that fit for the first time." They emphasized that having truly supportive people in their corner is "wildly different than just people who tolerate you." This personal experience deeply informs their approach to inclusive design and accessibility in their professional work.
Jey's technical proficiency spans comprehensive design and development tools, with expert-level knowledge in creating scalable, documented design systems with pattern libraries and component specifications. Their software expertise includes Figma, Procreate, Adobe Creative Suite, Webflow, and WordPress, with specializations in user interface design, user experience design, brand design, web design, and illustration.
They describe their approach as being "most at home organizing Figma files, naming layers, and reattaching instances," reflecting their meticulous attention to design system organization. Their work philosophy emphasizes handcrafted visuals and human-centered design, with a particular passion for teaching other creatives and mentoring designers on best practices.
Jey advocates for flexible work practices, working during peak personal productivity hours and crediting structured processes and documentation for helping them grow from a "feral freelancer" to an organized professional who can manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects effectively.
Jey's work has garnered significant recognition within the design community. Their portfolio website was nominated for an Awwwards in August 2022, and they regularly speak at Friends of Figma Austin community events, teaching about brand design, illustration, and advanced Figma techniques beyond basic interface design.
They're known for their educational approach to design systems, regularly creating content that helps other designers understand component organization, documentation best practices, and the intersection of design and development. Their ability to communicate complex design concepts effectively has made them a sought-after mentor and educator in the design community.
When not creating design systems and writing documentation, Jey enjoys painting, drawing, and practicing acroyoga with friends. They love visiting state and national parks and have collected mugs from their favorite places. Their desk features coasters from design Twitter friends, reflecting the strong community connections they've built within the creative industry.
While their podcast co-host Clint Keller moved to Chicago, Jey chose to remain in Austin, stating, "I like standing up from my home state. I feel like you have to clean up your home before you can move somewhere else." They appreciate how the queer community shows up in Austin and value being part of a city that supports diverse creative voices.
Jey continues seeking opportunities in education, activism, and entertainment, areas where their unique combination of design expertise and advocacy work can create meaningful impact. Their career trajectory demonstrates a commitment to using design as a force for positive change, whether through creating more inclusive digital experiences, mentoring the next generation of designers, or using their platform to educate and advocate for marginalized communities.
As they continue their work at Google and maintain their freelance practice, Jey represents a new generation of designers who understand that great design isn't just about aesthetics or functionality. It's about creating systems and experiences that reflect and support the full spectrum of human diversity and experience. Their journey from creating websites on floppy disks to architecting design systems that serve millions illustrates how authentic self-expression, combined with technical excellence and genuine care for community impact, defines the future of design practice in the digital age.
Through their comprehensive approach to design systems, unwavering commitment to accessibility and inclusion, and dedication to education and mentorship, Jey has established themselves as both a skilled practitioner and a thoughtful leader helping to shape how design systems enable better user experiences at scale.
✷ Film and Digital Media - 3.54 GPA