Two decades of pencils, pixels and print at your service
Jason Castillo
Owner, Designer, Illustrator, Doer of All-the-Things
Castillo Creative Co. is the studio practice of Jason Castillo. Over twenty years of professional design, brand building, font-picking, turning doodles into reality, paper cuts and Photoshop crashes, investor pitch decks and dispensary openings have all helped hone my craft.
Throughout my career I’ve worked with companies and brands of various sizes in various stages of growth. I’ve learned that my sweet spot is working closely with founders of small to medium sized brands. I draw from my breadth of experience to help them level up their business and turn their napkin sketches into something real
Why are you like this?
I started drawing before I even knew it could be a career. In between Street Fighter 2 matches, I spent my time sketching Ninja Turtles and X-Men characters (shout-out to How to Draw the Marvel Way). My cousin - a fantastic cartoonist and illustrator - blew my mind by drawing hilarious takes on horror movie characters and gory cartoons that shocked his parents and teachers, but inspired me. I picked up Photoshop before I could drive. My aunt ran her own design studio. When I visited her, I spent hours scanning NBA trading cards, bringing them into Photoshop 3.0 and deciding if there should be lasers or lightning bolts shooting out of a slam dunk. In high school, I took every graphic design and art related course I could find.
My grandfather built something too.
My paternal grandfather immigrated to the US from Mexico as a young man. He started a small burger and shake stand that grew into a family restaurant and a cornerstone of the community. I didn’t comprehend it at the time, but growing up around that energy embedded something in me. Whenever I see a local ice cream shop with a line out the door or a bustling neighborhood micro brewery I feel a sense of nostalgia. The community that small business has the potential to create is often underappreciated or completely overlooked.
I feel drawn to helping indie brands and small businesses grow because I see the possibilities of what a successful local restaurant can lead to. Families, lifetime friends and real connections are created through these businesses. My goal is to help build more local diners, more boutique shops, more pizza places, more breweries, and more lasting businesses that can grow to become a part of someone else’s family history.
