About Me
Designing with Purpose & Collaboration.
Designing with Purpose & Collaboration.
Hi, I'm Relavine Kipchumba, most people just call me Relly. I'm a Creative and Product Designer based in Nairobi.
I help businesses and founders turn half-formed ideas into products and brands people actually want to use. Some weeks that means designing a mobile app end to end. Other weeks it's a brand identity, or a deck that needs to make a complicated pitch feel simple. The thread running through all of it is the same: make things clearer, more useful, and harder to forget.
I started out sketching, nothing more strategic than liking how a pencil felt on paper. That curiosity turned into a career, and eventually a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Communication & Advertising, which gave me the language to back up instinct with structure. These days I try to hold both at once: the creative eye and the discipline to make sure the work actually does its job.
The People I Do My Best Work With
I'll be upfront: not every project is a fit, and I'd rather say that now than six weeks in.
I do my best work with people who see design as more than a coat of paint on a finished idea. The projects I'm proudest of all had one thing in common: trust, and enough honest back-and-forth that the work got sharper as it went.
You'll probably enjoy working with me if:
○ You care about your users having an easier time, not just a prettier screen.
○ You're open to being told when an idea isn't working yet.
○ You want a partner who pushes back on the brief when it's worth pushing back on.
○ Details matter to you. Spacing, consistency, the stuff most people don't notice until it's wrong.
○ You're open to being told when an idea isn't working yet.
○ You want a partner who pushes back on the brief when it's worth pushing back on.
○ Details matter to you. Spacing, consistency, the stuff most people don't notice until it's wrong.
If what you need is someone to make an existing idea "look nice" without asking questions, I'm probably not your designer. And that's fine. Better we both know now.
How I Work
The process changes with the project, but the order of operations doesn't.
I start by listening, not designing. Before I open Figma, I want to understand what you're actually trying to solve, for the business and for the person on the other end of the screen. Most of my early questions are annoying on purpose.
From there it's iteration: rough ideas, feedback, sharper ideas. I'd rather show you three directions and talk through why one's working than disappear for two weeks and hand you a "reveal." You should always know where a project stands and why a decision got made, not just what the decision was.
What comes out the other end isn't just a file you download. It's something built to hold up once real users are touching it.
Where I Can Help
I move across digital and visual work, which means I can usually stay involved from the first sketch to launch.
Product & UX Design. Mobile apps, web platforms, and internal tools designed so people can get things done without thinking too hard about how.
Brand Identity. Logos, visual systems, and the connective tissue that makes a business look like one thing instead of five.
Presentations & Pitch Decks. Decks built to carry a complicated idea across the room in the time you actually have.
Motion & Digital Content. Animation and video that earns attention instead of just filling space.
Marketing & Print. Campaign assets, illustration, and print work that holds up whether someone sees it on a phone or a billboard.
Experience
I've spent the last several years moving between fintech, wellness, fitness, enterprise tools, and brand work. Sounds scattered until you realize the underlying problem is always the same: someone needs to understand something quickly, and design is how you get them there.
I've spent the last several years moving between fintech, wellness, fitness, enterprise tools, and brand work. Sounds scattered until you realize the underlying problem is always the same: someone needs to understand something quickly, and design is how you get them there.
I've worked on banking products, gym and wellness platforms, internal enterprise systems, and campaign work for teams including Mombo Sacco, Esgray Group, South Fitness, SFIT Informatics, Appcentric Limited, and Silverstain Limited.
Every industry brings its own quirks, but the job is always the same: understand what's actually broken, design on purpose, and build something people don't have to fight with.
Why Clients Keep Working With Me
Good design holds up because the relationship behind it does too.
Good design holds up because the relationship behind it does too.
I communicate clearly, I hit deadlines, and I don't go quiet after the first round of mockups. I'm just as comfortable in a branding conversation as I am deep in a component library making sure a design system actually holds together, which means I can hold the big picture and still catch the detail that's slightly off.
Some clients need me for three weeks. Others I've now worked with for years. I care about both the same amount. A good short project can matter just as much as a long one.
Beyond the Screen
Off the clock, I'm usually still sketching, or pulling apart a design system to see why it works, or trying a new tool just to see what breaks.
I like paying attention to how people actually use the things we build for them: what makes a brand stick in someone's memory, why one small decision in a flow changes everything downstream. That curiosity doesn't really turn off, and it shows up in the work.
Let's Create Something Meaningful
If you're building something new, rethinking your brand, or just want a second opinion from someone who'll ask hard questions, I'd like to hear about it.
I'm currently open to freelance work, contracts, and full-time roles.
