With over 15 years of creative experience, I design polished, intuitive user interfaces that balance visual clarity with real-world usability. My background spans aerospace, defense, publishing, and entertainment, from AR and VR training tools for the U.S. Navy to data-driven applications for the USDA. I plan and conduct user interviews and surveys to uncover pain points, translating qualitative and quantitative insights into clear personas and practical design decisions. I create high-fidelity, responsive designs for desktop, tablet, and mobile, following WCAG accessibility standards and design best practices. I collaborate closely with product managers and engineers, with an understanding of coding languages and web-frameworks such as Blazor and React to better comprehend design constraints and foster collaboration across development teams. In freelance, I've illustrated published children’s books, developed brand identities, and created digital assets for streamers, indie games, and apparel.…

Jesse Musto

With over 15 years of creative experience, I design polished, intuitive user interfaces that balance visual clarity with real-world usability. My background spans aerospace, defense, publishing, and entertainment, from AR and VR training tools for the U.S. Navy to data-driven applications for the USDA. I plan and conduct user interviews and surveys to uncover pain points, translating qualitative and quantitative insights into clear personas and practical design decisions. I create high-fidelity, responsive designs for desktop, tablet, and mobile, following WCAG accessibility standards and design best practices. I collaborate closely with product managers and engineers, with an understanding of coding languages and web-frameworks such as Blazor and React to better comprehend design constraints and foster collaboration across development teams. In freelance, I've illustrated published children’s books, developed brand identities, and created digital assets for streamers, indie games, and apparel.…

Available to hire

With over 15 years of creative experience, I design polished, intuitive user interfaces that balance visual clarity with real-world usability. My background spans aerospace, defense, publishing, and entertainment, from AR and VR training tools for the U.S. Navy to data-driven applications for the USDA. I plan and conduct user interviews and surveys to uncover pain points, translating qualitative and quantitative insights into clear personas and practical design decisions.

I create high-fidelity, responsive designs for desktop, tablet, and mobile, following WCAG accessibility standards and design best practices. I collaborate closely with product managers and engineers, with an understanding of coding languages and web-frameworks such as Blazor and React to better comprehend design constraints and foster collaboration across development teams.

In freelance, I’ve illustrated published children’s books, developed brand identities, and created digital assets for streamers, indie games, and apparel.

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Skills

Experience Level

UI
Expert
Prototype
Expert

Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

UI/UX & Multimedia Designer III at Avatar Partners
January 1, 2023 - Present
Designed and delivered mission-critical training platforms for Lockheed Martin, including a 3D content creation system, unified digital workspace, and asset management hub, streamlining workflows for thousands of engineers and trainees. Created AR/VR UX prototypes for U.S. Navy simulations, enabling immersive training scenarios adopted in pilot programs. Redesigned USDA livestock classification tools to improve usability, reducing classification time and error rates through clearer interfaces and streamlined workflows. Built and standardized design systems to unify product experiences across multiple platforms, ensuring WCAG accessibility and consistent usability. Documented and scaled design processes (SOPs, CMS, interface guidelines) to support multidisciplinary teams and accelerate development cycles.
UI/UX & Visual Design Lead at LavaMap
January 1, 2021 - January 1, 2023
Directed UI/UX design and branding for web and mobile platforms, establishing a cohesive product identity and improving customer adoption rates. Led user research and usability testing, synthesizing insights into actionable design changes that enhanced usability and retention. Delivered end-to-end design deliverables (wireframes, mockups, prototypes) that accelerate development and clarified product roadmaps. Implemented structured design workflows in JIRA and Confluence, improving cross-team communication and reducing design-to-dev handoff friction.
Senior Journalist: Graphics & Interactive at The Morning Call Newspaper
January 1, 2017 - January 1, 2021
Created interactive graphics, illustrations, and data-driven visuals that boosted reader engagement and supported award-winning journalism. Designed and managed page layouts for multiple daily newspaper sections, ensuring on-time delivery under strict editorial deadlines. Collaborated with editorial staff to translate complex news stories into accessible, visually compelling digital and print experiences.
Graphic Design & Production at Earlier Roles (Deluxe Entertainment, Paper Magic Group)
January 1, 2010 - January 1, 2017
Delivered print-ready artwork, branded visuals, and licensed product graphics for publishing and entertainment companies. Supported production, prepress, and design operations across multiple teams, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and consistency in high-volume print and packaging projects.

Education

BFA, Communication Design (Illustration) at Kutztown University
January 11, 2030 - January 1, 2009

Qualifications

UI Design (Brain Station)
January 11, 2030 - March 23, 2026
UX Design (Brain Station)
January 11, 2030 - March 23, 2026
Digital Painting (CGMA)
January 11, 2030 - March 23, 2026

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Government, Software & Internet, Professional Services
    Natasha - DnD Character Illustration

    This was a commission for a D&D character illustration.
    Following the initial phases of conceptualization, “Natasha” came to life thanks to the client’s detailed background and design direction, which included particular criteria and elements for their character.

    Lockheed Martin Digital Workspace Platform - UI/UX

    Project: An optimized system for Lockheed Martin to streamline training development and delivery to an expansive workforce that is centered around multiple key products.

    Challenge: Design a multi-dashboard portal system that is scalable across desktop, tablet, and mobile platforms.

    Process: Define the product experience direction by gleaning user data from software analytics. Prototype and reiterate based on client feedback.

    Solution: Creating a tiered ‘collapsible’ hierarchy for toolsets to remain accessible across platforms while retaining optimal screen space for viewing and interacting with content. Standardize a baseline design system used across the multiple dashboards, including a ‘rapid content creation and delivery platform’, a ‘centralized training hub’, and a ‘web-based app control center’.

    Impact: Final product has streamlined workflows for 5,000+ Lockheed Martin engineers,
    and has been recognized by the U.S. Pentagon.

    Activate Hiring System - UI/UX

    The Project: A test concept for an in-house hiring system. The project showcases early development research and consideration for two different user perspectives - the Applicant, and the Hiring Staff.

    Challenge: Utilize user research standards to best understand the different perspectives.
    Account for specific user personas, the systems information architecture, and accessibility.
    Apply all data into a cohesive and interactive prototype, complete with mid-fidelity wireframe layouts, components, and visual style.

    Process: Establish the product experience direction by gleaning user data from research and analytics. Identify the primary users and define their journey maps and user flows.
    Shifting into the system’s Information Architecture, lay out the sitemap by defining top-end navigation, the applicant-facing map, and the hiring staff-facing map
    Consider accessibility and its incorporation into the system as a whole, with WCAG and 508 compliance applied throughout.

    Wireframing: Finally we reach the visualization process. Here I define the visual identity, component style, and content hierarchy. The focus remained primarily on the Phase 1 features for both the Applicant and the Hiring Staff.