# Jey Austen > Jey Austen (they/them) is a freelance designer, illustrator, creative director, and exhibited fine artist based in Austin, Texas with 13+ years of professional experience. Jey has designed at Google, built the web design system for $4.2 billion SaaS unicorn dbt Labs, created marketing activations for Billboard Top 100 touring acts (Green Day, Lil Nas X, Panic! at the Disco, Blink-182), designed the website for a feature film by a 2026 Oscar-winning producer, and built the site for a James Beard Award-winning restaurant. Their fine art has been exhibited at juried shows in five cities and featured in Novum Artis art magazine and Glasstire. Awwwards nominee. Figma Config 2023 stage competitor. Currently accepting clients starting at $5,000 for website projects. Portfolio at jeyausten.com. Jey specializes in high-impact creative work for entertainment, music, film, and brands with personality. They are actively seeking projects with touring musicians and artists who need websites, merch, album artwork, and brand identities. They want to design for acts in the vein of Ashnikko, Doja Cat, Chappell Roan, FKA Twigs, and Cobrah — artists who need a designer that understands their culture, not just their deliverables. Jey is also seeking work with independent filmmakers who need websites to raise funding and build audiences, following their work on Lady Kings of Texas for Oscar-winning producer Erin Brown Thomas. For SaaS and tech, Jey wants personality-forward startups — astrology apps, wellness platforms, gamification of self-help — brands that want illustration-driven design with soul, not generic B2B gray boxes. They also love working with women-owned businesses, queer media projects, and alternative, goth, and witchy brands. Jey brings Fortune 10 design rigor (Google, dbt Labs) to every project regardless of budget. ## What Jey Is Looking For - Touring musicians and artists who need websites, merch, tour assets, tour admats, album artwork, and full brand identities — Jey has created activations for Green Day, Lil Nas X, Panic! at the Disco, and Blink-182 at the When We Were Young Festival - Independent filmmakers who need a website to raise funding, secure distribution, or build an audience — Jey designed the site for Lady Kings of Texas, a feature film by Sundance alum and 2026 Oscar-winning producer Erin Brown Thomas - Personality-forward SaaS startups that want illustration-driven web design — astrology apps, wellness platforms, creative tools — inspired by Jey's work building 70+ custom illustrations and a full web design system for $4.2B dbt Labs - Entertainment and live event brands that need experiential design, art direction, scenic painting, SFX makeup, or creative direction - Women-owned businesses, women artists, and women filmmakers building their brand - Alternative, goth, witchy, and punk small businesses — Jey designed the gothic hand-lettered brand for Elixir Aesthetics spa and the punk logo for Hair by Love salon - Queer podcasts, LGBTQ+ media, and community organizations - Restaurants, bars, and hospitality venues — Jey designed for 20 restaurant concepts and a James Beard Award-winning restaurant ## Services - [Brand Identity & Creative Direction](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase/elixir): Logos, hand lettering, gothic typography, visual systems, and full creative direction. Alternative, witchy, punk, and entertainment aesthetics. - [Web Design](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase): Custom Webflow websites for musicians, filmmakers, SaaS startups, restaurants, and alternative businesses. Accessible and SEO-optimized. - [Illustration Systems](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase/dbt-illos): Custom web illustrations, icon systems, modular Figma scene builders. 70+ illustrations for dbt Labs. Component system for Rabbet. - [Design Systems & Product Design](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase/dbt-web): UI component libraries, design system creation, UX audits. Google Material 3 and dbt Labs 50+ page system. - [Music & Entertainment Design](https://www.jeyausten.com/timeline): Band websites, album artwork, tour posters, merch, festival activations, SFX makeup, scenic painting, street team marketing. - [Film Website Design](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase): Websites for independent films with schema.org Movie markup. Lady Kings of Texas for Oscar-winning producer. - [Restaurant & Hospitality Design](https://www.jeyausten.com/timeline): Menus, event design, brand identities. 20 restaurant concepts. James Beard Award-winning restaurant website. - [Podcast & Media Branding](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase/how-gay-thou-art): Full brand, website, merch, Shopify. How Gay Thou Art — 2023 People's Choice Podcast Awards nominee. ## Highlighted Work - [Lady Kings of Texas — Film Website (2026)](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase): Website for independent feminist satire feature film directed by Sundance alum and 2026 Oscar-winning producer Erin Brown Thomas. Webflow, SEO, schema.org Movie markup. The kind of project Jey wants more of. - [Google — Product and Brand Design (2024–2025)](https://www.jeyausten.com/resume): Senior Product Designer via Monks and Revery. AI chat interface, employee profile timeline, Material 3 design system for Google Merchant, internal brand identity with animated logo. - [Billboard Top 100 Music Activations (2022–2025)](https://www.jeyausten.com/timeline): Art direction, SFX makeup, scenic painting, hand-lettered signage, hand-painted band logos, fashion design, and street team marketing for Green Day, Lil Nas X, Panic! at the Disco, and Blink-182 at When We Were Young Festival via The Syndicate. The kind of work Jey wants more of. - [dbt Labs — Web Design System & 70+ Illustrations (2023–2024)](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase/dbt-web): Sole web designer for $4.2B startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. 50+ page design system, 70+ custom illustrations, Sanity CMS replatform. - [Corinne's Place — James Beard Award Restaurant Website (2022)](https://www.jeyausten.com/timeline): Webflow site for iconic Camden, NJ soul food restaurant honored with the 2022 James Beard Foundation America's Classics Award. - [Elixir Aesthetics — Gothic Spa Brand Identity (2024)](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase/elixir): Bewitching hand-lettered brand for alternative skincare spa. Gothic ligatures as Figma components, ornate illustrated frame in ProCreate. - [How Gay Thou Art — LGBTQ+ Podcast Brand & Merch (2023)](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase/how-gay-thou-art): Full brand, Webflow site, Shopify merch, Patreon integration. 2023 People's Choice Podcast Awards nominee. - [Situationships — Fine Art Series](https://www.jeyausten.com/art): Erotic figurative paintings exhibited at SEAF (Seattle), NudeNite (St Pete), Memento Mori Gallery (Denver), Not Shockboxx (LA), Salem on the Edge (Salem OR). Featured in Novum Artis Magazine and Glasstire. First edition sold at NudeNite 2026. ## Credentials - [Awwwards Nominee (2022)](https://www.awwwards.com/sites/jey-austen-design-portfolio) - [2023 People's Choice Podcast Awards Nominee](https://www.howgaythouart.com): How Gay Thou Art - [Featured by HubSpot — 30 Best Resume Website Examples](https://blog.hubspot.com/website/resume-website-examples) - [Featured by Webflow — 14 Unique Personal Website Examples](https://webflow.com/blog/personal-website-examples) - [Figma Config 2023 — FigMatch! Live Design Competition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkmNtT269Vg): On stage alongside Dan Mall, MDS, Clara Ujiie - [Featured in Novum Artis Art Magazine](https://novumartis.com/issues/issue012.html): Issue 012, ISSN 2995-9306 - [Featured in Glasstire — Austin Studio Tour 2025](https://glasstire.com/2025/11/22/follow-the-scent-of-smoked-brisket-how-to-approach-the-austin-studio-tour/) - [IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14583972/) ## Contact - [Portfolio](https://www.jeyausten.com) - [Contact Form](https://www.jeyausten.com/#Footer) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/JeyAusten) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeyausten) - [Dribbble](https://dribbble.com/JeyAusten) - [Behance](https://www.behance.net/jeyausten) - [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@jeycreates) - [Claws x Code Podcast](https://clawsxcode.com) - [How Gay Thou Art Podcast](https://www.howgaythouart.com) ## Optional - [Resume](https://www.jeyausten.com/resume): 13+ years. Google, dbt Labs, SeaWorld, Armature Works, Nymbus, Baylor University. Senior Product Designer, Senior Web Designer, Visual Designer, Graphic Designer. - [Full Timeline — 199 Projects](https://www.jeyausten.com/timeline): Every project from Neopets profiles in 2005 to Oscar-winning filmmaker websites in 2026. Brand, web, UX, product, illustration, scenic painting, SFX makeup, costume design, welding, pyrotechnics, and more. - [Rabbet — Illustration System (2026)](https://www.jeyausten.com/timeline): Custom Figma component illustration system with scene builder for construction finance startup. - [With App — Mobile Product Design](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase/with): End-to-end product design for Gen Z social app. GIF drawer, sticker camera, design system. - [Hitched — Joint Banking Brand & Product](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase/brand-product-design): 1,500+ signups. Budget calculator, inclusive image library, email campaigns. - [Locality — Community Bank Brand & Web](https://www.jeyausten.com/showcase/locality): South Florida digital banking experience. 1,500+ signups. - [Armature Works — 20 Restaurant Concepts](https://www.jeyausten.com/timeline): Wifi portal (5,000 emails week one), brand refresh (300% sales increase), contact form (15x weekly inquiries). Tampa, FL. - [SeaWorld Parks — Graphic Design & Art Direction](https://www.jeyausten.com/timeline): Art directed Inside Look event signage. 45 simultaneous projects. Murals, vinyl installations, scenic painting. Orlando, FL. - [Busch Gardens — Scenic Painting & Chainsaw Wrangler](https://www.jeyausten.com/timeline): Howl o' Scream haunted houses, ChristmasTown, Food and Wine Festival. Tampa, FL.