About

Welcome. I'm Jose, a brand designer and Webflow developer. I started my career in design over 10 years ago, learning on the job at a small real estate firm.

In 2018 I started my own independent studio. For two years I served clients and ran a small business.

And in 2020, three months before the pandemic, I joined Whiteboard as a part of the web studio where I design and develop sites and collaborate with an extraordinarily talented team of people.

I'm so grateful to be working in this field, doing something that brings me so much joy. Thanks for visiting.

Get to know me

Portrait of Jose Ocando

Fun Facts

Updated 2 Sep 2024
Book cover of "The Covenant of Water"
Favorite Book

A Covenant of Water

Abraham Verghese

Podcast cover artwork for Dune showing Paul Atreides.
Favorite Podcast

Dune

Song Exploder • Episode 222

A still from the show Savengers Reign
Favorite show

Scavengers Reign

Netflix

Phone photo of a thrown pot.
Active Hobby

Ceramics

6-week course

Skills

Website and Visual Design

I’m a skilled, award-winning visual designer. Over the last 5 years I’ve likely designed more than 150 websites (I’ve lost count!). The foundational principles I use in website design I carry into multiple deliverable types like deck templates, emails, social ads, video graphics, print design and more.

Branding

I started my career with logo design. I’ve designed hundreds. Brands are much more than logos of course. And I love extending a brand’s visual system with all the visual tools it needs to be flexible.

Illustration

I use strong illustration skills to support my overall design work. I can design icon libraries, spot illustrations, and patterns. I’m learning to illustrate people, but I’m still quite limited at that.

Webflow Development

I’m an expert Webflow developer. I consider performance, accessibility, animation, responsiveness, and ease-of-use in each build.

All Capabilities

Animation
Art Direction
Brand Extension
Creative Direction
Development
Identity Design
Illustration
Web Design

Work history

  • Aspect

    Current
    July 2024 - Present
    Lead Brand Designer

    At Aspect I have a dual role. I serve as a lead designer, helping to maintain and extend the brand.

    I also serve as our in-house Webflow developer, helping to scale the Aspect website.

  • Whiteboard

    Jan 2020 - Jul 2024
    Creative Director
    Interactive Designer
    Lead Webflow Developer

    As the creative director of the web studio I lead design projects, facilitated design collaboration, and presented our work to clients.

    I was the first Webflow developer to work with Whiteboard. Now they're a fairly recognizable name in the no-code community. During my tenure, my design and dev work on Aro won a Site of the Day and a developer award on AWWWARDS. And my work on the Whiteboard site generated a Webby nomination.

  • Serve

    Jan 2018 - Jan 2020
    Founder

    Serve was a one-person design studio I created. I focused on branding, website design, and Webflow development. As a solopreneur, I did everything from the company taxes to lead generation, sales calls and meetings, project management, strategy, client communication, warranty work, and everything in between.

  • The Lea Team

    Aug 2013 - Jan 2018
    Director of Marketing

    My role was to help market and sell real estate listings, grow the local brand awareness for our team, and market and sell new construction communities. I learned graphic design on the job, seeing in realtime what helped our business efforts and what was ineffective.

Recognition

  • Sep 2024
    land-book
    Feature
    Aspect
  • July 2024
    Siteinspire, land-book, lapa ninja
    Feature
    Joseocando.com
  • Dec 2023
    Awwwards
    Honorable Mention
    Pursell Farms
  • Nov 2023
    Awwwards
    Honorable Mention
    New Story
  • Nov 2022
    Webflow
    Meeting the moment award
    TED Conferences
  • Apr 2022
    Webby Nominee
    BEST VISUAL DESIGN - AESTHETIC
    Whiteboard.is
  • Jun 2020
    Awwwards
    Site of the day
    Aro
  • Jun 2020
    Awwwards
    Developer Award
    Aro