I'm Alyssa Ostroff — a designer and brand strategist in Fort Lauderdale. I get handed subjects most people find impenetrable and asked to make them land.
Epidemiology. Compliance frameworks. Mental health benefits nobody reads. Five of those years were at the CDC, where I designed identity systems for a scientific institution and learned that when public health guidance is unclear, the consequence isn't a bounce rate.
Every job I've had has served public health in some form. The medium changes; the mission doesn't.
Most design problems are unresolved decisions wearing a visual costume. Settle the decisions first and the design gets much easier.
I learn your subject well enough to argue about it. I'd rather be the designer who asks the annoying question in week one than the one who guesses in week six.
What does the audience need to believe, and in what sequence? That hierarchy becomes the layout, the type scale, the whole system.
Files organized, patterns documented, examples of the wrong way as well as the right one. The measure of a good system is how little it needs its author.
Section 508 and WCAG 2.2 AA are designed in from the first sketch — because retrofitting contrast at the end is how projects die. On federal work it isn't optional, and I've never found a reason to treat commercial work differently.
Every pairing clears AA before it enters the system, so nobody downstream has to make that call on a deadline.
Clinical and technical content has to work for someone scanning for one number and someone reading cover to cover.
Plain language, worked examples, and the wrong-way examples people need. A guide nobody reads is a guide nobody follows.
Ahead of schedule is a personality trait.
“Alyssa contributed to many of the branch's most visible initiatives, including the CDC logo refresh, the redesign of the CDC Yellow Book, and the Global Health branding campaign. What sets Alyssa apart is the depth of her creative thinking and her willingness to share knowledge with others. She is one of those rare creative professionals who combines talent, curiosity, generosity, and discipline in equal measure.”
That's the fun kind. Open to senior designer roles, and taking two freelance projects this quarter.
I'm Alyssa Ostroff — designer and brand strategist. Open to senior design and creative lead roles at mission-driven teams, and taking two freelance projects this quarter.
