Mike

( ˵ •̀ ᴗ •́˵)
I'm Mike Castro, multidisciplinary designer, making studying fun for students at Quizlet.
Quizlet
At Quizlet, I design study experiences that keep students engaged and guide them to the most effective tools. I’ve supported various teams during my tenure including:
1. Leading redesigns of our core study tools that led to longer and more frequent studying.
2. Leading an initiative to drive more students into our premium paid study tools, which led to a $1.4M increase to subscription revenue.
3. Contributing as a core member to our design system from a volunteer-led effort to a fully resourced team supporting both web and mobile platforms using tokenized styles and server driven UI.
SAP.iO
I led design for 3 different ventures, with one venture becoming successful enough to spin out on its own. As a solo designer I was responsible for designing all artifacts from branding, marketing, and product.
SAP Labs
At SAP, I worked on two primary projects.
First, I designed built-in product illustrations for enterprise applications that adapted to customers’ color schemes.
Second, I worked with the SAP Build team, a low-code platform for creating prototypes and fully functional apps with live data pipelines, where I designed the in-product commenting system to support feedback and collaboration.
SAP Bilt
As a summer and fall intern, I worked with a small internal team named d.studio to support an iOS app, Bilt. Instead of manufacturers relying on paper instructions, Bilt had video instructions using exact 3D models of products you assemble yourself.
School of Music and Dance
I started my professional career here designing flyers and posters for the music and dance performances. With web design support helping all the departments unify their sites under the same official site for the School of Music and Dance at San José State University.
Souper Bowl
Souper Bowl started in 2019 as a friendly soup competition hosted in my 700-square-foot San Francisco apartment.
What began as a cozy soup battle has grown into an annual event with ~20 competitors, 200 hungry ticketed guests, and even a half time show performer. Along the way, it’s become a loving community of shared recipes and good vibes — all while donating proceeds to the nonprofit of our choice each year.
CHM / Computer History Museum
I volunteered with the Computer History Museum (CHM), creating motion graphics packages including lower thirds, intros, and outros for their video content. These assets were designed to be flexible and reusable, allowing their team to easily layer them over a wide range of historical footage. The work supported CHM’s mission to share the history of computing through polished, accessible digital storytelling.
Go to CHMDesign Spectrum
Students from public high schools in the Bay Area can run the gamut of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Even with all the wealth moving around, many of these student would never know what designers do and how you can use it.
My former SJSU design professor, Julio Martinez, founded Design Spectrum to share the possibilities and principles of design with these students.
SF Design Week
I volunteered on the San Francisco Design Week website redesign, where I helped bring the existing visual design system to life. I focused on aligning typography, color, and image treatments to create a cohesive, polished experience that’s still used today.
Go to SF Design Week