Janiré Castillo · Portfolio
Senior Product Designer
Clarity in complex, high-stakes environments.
I design systems that help people act.15+ years designing systems that help people act. Across enterprise platforms, civic tech, and products I built and shipped solo, I start with the structural problem before any visual execution. The work ships.
- Enterprise & Civic Tech
- End-to-End, Solo
- Ships with Engineering
- A11y: Core Flows, Verified
At a glance
iOS Apps Shipped
Live on the App Store
6
Experience
Years across enterprise & product
15+
Accessibility
Core flows, verified
AA
Scope
Strategy through implementation
End to End
Awards
W3 Gold, Activist Website
W3
Case Studies
06 projectsLead case · 01 / 06
Marqo
Client work is full of decisions, and the reasoning behind them rarely gets written down. I designed a decision log around three fields and a read-only export the client opens in a browser with no account, so the record survives the project without becoming another tool to maintain.
The decision
Make the reasoning a field, not a note. The why is the product.
Role
Designer + developer, solo
Scope
iOS product, 0 to 1
Craft
Decision capture and client handoff
Outcome
Live, App Store
3
Fields per decision
5 of 5
Pilot testers led with the export, unprompted
AAMC
02 / 06Association of American Medical CollegesInformation architecture
Six distinct audiences, one homepage, no clear entry points. I led the structural redesign, defining the information architecture and audience routing logic before any visual execution.
The decision
Stop asking people to navigate the organization. Ask them to identify themselves.
On this project
Lead IA, digital experience
Survival Budget
03 / 06Consumer iOSLive on the App Store
Most budgeting apps track expenses. They do not guide tradeoffs. I designed a four-tier priority model with action labels so users know what to protect and what to cut without weighing every decision under financial stress.
The decision
Budget by priority instead of by category.
Role
Designer + developer, solo
Indivisible
04 / 06Indivisible ProjectCivic techContent operations
Organizers were printing web pages and filing them in binders because they could not find resources online. I led the structural overhaul of the homepage and resource library, designing a modular prioritization system that gave organizers a structure they could actually navigate.
The decision
Give staff control of what the homepage shows, without a developer.
On this project
Lead product designer
DMV Arts Guide
05 / 06Independent productDiscovery and taxonomy
A curated guide to beginner-friendly arts studios across DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
The decision
Start with what people are trying to do. Search comes second.
Role
Designer + developer, solo
StreakFocus
06 / 06Consumer iOSLive on the App Store
Most task managers expand without limits, increasing mental overhead.
The decision
Exactly three tasks a day. Not configurable. Not expandable.
Role
Designer + developer, solo
Built
Built independently
Decision-Making Lens
A decision framework used by product teams to clarify tradeoffs, align stakeholders, and choose what to build next with less churn.
Published on Reforge ↗︎. Updated as a living framework based on real project work.
Designer who ships.
At a glance
iOS Apps Shipped
Live on the App Store
6
Experience
Years across enterprise & product
15+
Accessibility
Core flows, verified
AA
Scope
Strategy through implementation
End to End
Awards
W3 Gold, Activist Website
W3
I decide what a product should ask of people before I decide how it looks. At AAMC, that meant asking visitors who they are instead of making them learn the organization, and it was settled before any visual execution began. At Indivisible, it meant letting staff change what the homepage shows without waiting on a developer. Both were high-constraint environments. In both, structured navigation and clear hierarchy, tested as we went, are what improved engagement and discoverability.
I design for the build. My background is frontend development and product management, so I think in flows and edge cases as well as screens. I work with engineering early, while a design can still change, so what ships is feasible, testable and accessible.
Accessibility is part of the first decision. Hierarchy, contrast, semantic structure and purposeful motion keep a product usable under real conditions, and the same choices cut the noise that slows people down.
I founded Articulate Digital, a design studio for structured, accessible products. Six of them are live on the App Store.
Let's connect
Janiré, pronounced .
I am looking for a full-time senior IC product design role where I am hands on: an in-house product team, an early-stage product, or mission-driven work. Remote, or hybrid in the DC area.