Michelle Trang Nguyen
24+ years of design discipline — federal agencies, brand identity, and front-end builds.
Michelle Trang Nguyen
Senior Brand Designer · Creative Director · UI/UX Designer · Front-End Developer
Multidisciplinary creative professional with over 24 years of experience in graphic design, branding, web design, UI/UX and visual communication.
My career spans the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of State and the Foreign Service Institute, alongside enterprise organizations and small businesses. Every deliverable ships production-ready, accessible, and documented.
Where I've worked.
- Founded ClayOrchid, handmade clay flowers sold on Etsy — designed to look exactly like the real thing, but kept for years to come. A lasting option for brides with flower allergies, and for anyone who wants their bridal flowers and bouquet to last forever.
- Grew ClayOrchid into Ivory & Bloom Atelier — luxury handmade bridal accessories, including satin purses matched to a wedding's color theme for bridesmaids, flower girl headbands, bridal jewelry, and clay hair flowers that never fade. Forever love, forever flower.
- Own brand identity, product design, e-commerce, photography, and marketing end to end.
- Independent practice serving businesses of every size — nail salons, real estate agents, restaurants, enterprises, and founder-led clients.
- Brand identity systems, web and UI/UX design, and accessible front-end builds.
- Independent children's-book creator and illustrator on Amazon KDP.
- Led all visual communications for economic development initiatives and campaigns.
- Designed infographic systems turning complex county data into clear, public-facing visuals.
- Supported web design and content updates for county digital properties.
- Created trade show booth graphics, printed collateral, and investor proposals.
- Event photography and social media storytelling for county-wide audiences.
- Web editing and design under a DoD Top Secret contract at Washington Headquarters Services.
- Maintained and updated secure internal web platforms for Pentagon leadership.
- Produced editorial graphics and layout for senior-level internal communications.
- Managed content in Drupal CMS and AFPIMS, and applied SEO tactics to lift site visibility.
- Helped organize the Pentagon's 40th anniversary commemoration, including photography and videography.
- Designed responsive user interfaces built around a user-centric design ethos.
- Produced diagrams, site maps, storyboards, and functional specifications to map the user journey.
- Applied design-thinking methods to complex UX problems, improving satisfaction and usability.
- Built front-end work in HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, and Angular Material for the Fort Belvoir visual overhaul (DoD contract), driving substantial growth in user engagement.
- Led the redesign of 24 State Department web applications serving diplomats worldwide.
- Federal web, proposal, and communication design across FSI programs.
- Section 508 and WCAG conformance across all web and document deliverables.
- Proposal and capture graphics delivered on tight federal acquisition timelines.
- Held a U.S. Top Secret clearance throughout the engagement.
- 50+ government web projects and 15+ secure web applications for senior DoD leadership.
- Briefing decks, infographics, and print for Top Secret review audiences.
- Full brand and responsive web system for the MKGCS government contractor platform.
- Redesigned HUD.gov for millions of citizens — citizen-facing federal services.
- FHA homeownership redesign delivering accessible, WCAG-compliant interfaces.
- Collaborated with federal stakeholders across accessibility audits and review cycles.
- Designed publications, briefing graphics, and print materials for the U.S. Army.
- Led a small creative team on deadline-driven DoD deliverables.
- Introduced production workflows that reduced revision cycles across the team.
- Graduated with a B.A. in Graphic Design — began freelancing before graduation.
- Built early portfolio across print, identity, and editorial design disciplines.
- Launched freelance client work immediately upon graduation, leading to first federal contracts.
Signature Projects
Foreign Service Institute
U.S. Department of State federal web & proposal design.
Department of Defense
Cleared communication design at the Pentagon & Fort Belvoir.
HUD.gov & FHA
Citizen-facing federal web redesign for homeownership services.
MKGCS Digital Platform
Full brand + responsive web system for a government contractor.
RSA Infographic System
Economic-development data visualization, Prince William County.
Prince William County
Campaign design, event photography, and social storytelling.
A quick introduction.
Proficiencies
Education
Marymount University
Bachelor of Arts, Graphic Design — 2002
Credentials
- DoD Top Secret clearance — eligible for renewal
- WCAG / Section 508 accessibility specialist
- NAS.com — Advanced AI & Emerging Technologies coursework
Software
Design
Photoshop · Illustrator · InDesign · After Effects · Lightroom · Canva · CapCut
Web
WordPress · Drupal · HTML5 · CSS3 · Bootstrap
AI & Emerging
ChatGPT · Claude · Google AI Studio · Kling AI
Office & Docs
PowerPoint · Excel · Word · Google Workspace
