[ about ]

Hi, I’m Frankie.

I run Frankly Design Studio in Los Angeles, designing brands, websites and the real spaces they live in for startups, small businesses, restaurants and every founder with a vision ready to glow.

Frankly is a promise as much as a name: I tell you exactly what I see, and that honesty is where the best ideas begin.

Studio Frankly Design Studio
Based in Los Angeles, California
Trained in Communication, UX/UI and interior design

What Frankly does

  1. (01)

    Brand identity

    Logos, color, type, packaging and merch, plus the guidelines that keep the whole world consistent long after I hand it over.

  2. (02)

    Websites and digital

    UX/UI, web design and development, and the words on the page. Sites that work hard for the business, like the one that took Pacific Outdoor Living’s website sales from $127k to $220k.

  3. (03)

    Real spaces

    Restaurants, pop-ups, events and storefronts. Signage, menus, layouts and every detail a guest sees and touches from the moment they step inside.

How I got here

From a communication degree to a studio of my own, by way of law school marketing, biotech startups, wine labels and interior design.

The Sea & Believe brand mark: an otter floating on its back holding a sprig of seaweed, inside a blue and green circle.
From the freelance years Sea & Believe

  1. 2020

    Seattle University

    Graduated with a BA in Communication and Media.

  2. First design job

    Seattle University School of Law

    Designed marketing materials for the law school’s marketing department and worked on their website. That’s where I first stepped into designing for the web.

  3. Lockdown

    Thinkful UX/UI bootcamp

    Spent the COVID lockdown in a six-month UX/UI bootcamp. Design principles, the workings of the industry, and Figma, which was love at first sight.

  4. Freelance

    Biotech startups

    Went freelance and found my niche in biotech through IndieBio, a startup incubator in San Francisco. Sustainable seafood, reef-friendly sunscreen, tools for pathologists. I wore every hat on those small teams and loved every minute.

  5. Packaging

    Pate International

    A wine label design firm, and where packaging became my craft. The print industry, how a label comes to life on press, branding and tactile design. On a shelf, the paper stock and the finish carry as much magic as the artwork.

  6. Interiors

    Interior design studies

    Studied interior design, so the spaces side of the studio stands on real training: space planning, lighting, materials and the way people move through a room. A brand should feel the same on your phone, on the menu and in the chair you’re sitting in.

  7. In-house

    Pacific Outdoor Living

    In-house designer for a landscape design-build company. I built their website, their branding, their brand story and their graphics, side by side with the marketing team the whole way. That’s where I learned to design with sales in mind.

  8. Now

    Frankly Design Studio

    Opened my own studio in Los Angeles and welcomed restaurants, events and real spaces into the mix.

What I care about

  1. (01)

    Curious first

    Creativity and ingenuity start with good questions, so I ask a lot of them.

  2. (02)

    Empathy on every side

    I design for the person holding the menu, the phone or the bottle, with the humility to keep learning from them.

  3. (03)

    Honest and clear

    Authentic work and open communication the whole way through. You always know where things stand.

  4. (04)

    Steady and on time

    Punctual, adaptable and passionate about the details. Plans can bend, and the dates hold.

What I work with

[ skills ]

Brand & graphic
Brand identity, graphic design, copywriting, marketing strategy, photography, mockups
Product & UX
Product design, UX research, information architecture, wireframing, prototyping, design thinking, accessibility
Motion & 3D
Motion design, 3D design

[ software ]

Design
Figma, FigJam, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Canva
Drawing & motion
Procreate, Procreate Dreams, Adobe Premiere, CapCut
3D
Cinema 4D, Blender, Womp

Outside the studio

I’m a chef, a film lover and a photographer, and I’ll happily travel anywhere. Most of all I love making things with my hands: ceramics, woodwork and any medium that lets me build something you can hold.

All of it flows back into the work. My favorite thing is bringing my UX skills to sculptural products, objects that are beautiful to look at and a joy to use, the kind that make someone’s day a little easier.