open for work! ✦
hi, i'm

Maya
Santos

Creative Director & Illustrator — Los Angeles

I build brand identities that feel like they were made by a human, not a template. Tactile, intentional, a little weird. Seven years making indie brands look unforgettable.

Brand Identity Illustration Packaging Editorial
Currently booking Q3 2024 — 1 spot left
maya ✦
echo park, LA
bloom tea co.
creative director · illustrator ✦
about me
May 16, 2024 — sketchbook vol.07

I grew up cutting up magazines at my kitchen table, assembling them into something that felt more true. That same impulse — to take things apart and put them back together with intention — is still what drives my work today.

These days I run a small studio in Echo Park, working with indie brands, musicians, and small businesses who want their visuals to feel tactile and made by a human. I believe good design should look like a person made it.

When I'm not designing: thrift-hunting for risograph prints, growing tomatoes on my fire escape, watching reality TV unironically.

Los Angeles, CA oat latte only indie & lofi risograph
by the numbers
47+
projects shipped
7
years in the field
3
awards (cool ones)
100%
made by hand
what clients say: "working with maya felt like collaborating with a friend who happened to be insanely talented."
— dev mehta, radius records
echo park studio · est. 2017 ·
selected projects

the good stuff

brand identity · packaging · illustration · editorial

bloom tea co.
Bloom Tea Co. packaging
radius records
Radius Records identity
verde vida
Verde Vida fashion
solstice zine
Solstice Zine editorial
bittersweet café
Bittersweet Café branding
glow up studio
Glow Up Studio wellness
let's work together
what i do

services

strategy → design → production-ready files, start to finish

Brand Identity

Full visual systems. Logo, color, type, guidelines. Built for brands that feel like a person, not a template.

  • Logo design + variations
  • Color & type systems
  • Brand guidelines doc
  • Social + print assets
from $3,200
Illustration

Hand-drawn characters, editorial pieces, and spot illo that make your content impossible to scroll past.

  • Character & mascot design
  • Editorial illustration
  • Pattern & surface design
  • Spot illustrations
from $850
Packaging

Packaging design that earns the shelf — and the re-gram. Concept to print-ready dielines.

  • Structural + surface design
  • Retail & DTC packaging
  • Print production files
  • Label & box design
from $2,400
how it works

my process

No templates. No stock vibes. Every project starts from scratch and gets built with you.

MAYA SANTOS STUDIO

01 Discovery 45 min
02 Research + Moodboard 1 wk
03 Design + Iteration 2–3 wk
04 Handoff + Launch forever

RESULTsomething great
01
Discovery Call

We hop on a 45-minute call. I ask weird questions — "if your brand were a song, what would it sound like?" — and actually listen. No pitch deck, no upsell. Just figuring out what you actually need.

02
Research & Moodboarding

I go deep on your industry, competitors, and audience. Then I build a moodboard that shows three distinct creative directions. You pick one, we go.

03
Design & Iteration

I go heads-down and come back with a full first round — not just concepts, but a built-out system you can actually react to. Two rounds of revision included.

04
Handoff & Beyond

Organized, production-ready files plus a usage guide your whole team can follow. I stick around 30 days post-launch for small questions — no extra charge.

kind words

what people say

9

Maya got us in a way no other studio did. The bloom tea packaging sold out in 3 weeks — our customers literally said the box was "too pretty to recycle."

JL
Jess Lin
Founder, Bloom Tea Co.
10

Working with Maya felt like collaborating with a friend who happened to be insanely talented. She pushed back on ideas that weren't right and that made the final work so much better.

DM
Dev Mehta
A&R Director, Radius Records
9.5

We needed something earthy but editorial. Maya nailed it in round one — which honestly never happens. The Verde Vida identity got us coverage we'd never had before.

SR
Sofia Reyes
Creative Director, Verde Vida
let's
make
stuff!
new project?

let's
make
something.

I take on 2–3 projects per quarter. Currently booking for Q3 2024. Drop me a line — let's see if we're a fit.

AVAILABILITY 2024

Q1 Jan–Mar✓ CLOSED
Q2 Apr–Jun✓ CLOSED
Q3 Jul–Sep★ 1 SPOT
Q4 Oct–Dec— TBA

apply via email · reviewed weekly