Meet Jessica Purcell

Jess is the founder and lead designer behind Workwell Creative Studio.

For more than twenty years, she has worked across editorial design, publication systems, institutional communications, branding, and print production.

Her work spans higher education, nonprofit communications, local organizing, and community-centered brand development.

But her most defining work of the last six years has happened inside civic life.

Jessica serves on her local school committee, after designing and winning her own campaign. She has organized public communication efforts around school funding and community initiatives, and supported other local campaigns and organizations through strategic design.

That lived experience shapes the way she approaches every project.

She understands what it means to put something meaningful into the public.

And she believes the organizations doing important work deserve visual systems that reflect the seriousness of what they are building.

My life in design

I designed my first magazine in elementary school. It was a magazine about reading, an activity that has remained a favorite through my life. It came together on a word processor that my mom had won in a sweepstakes contest. The book reviews inside were undoubtedly inspired by the show Reading Rainbow and Highlights magazine, both important cultural relics of my youth.

My love for graphic design gained stronger foundation in high school when I joined the hands-on program offered at our Vocational/Technical school. It was here that I started to learn about the powerful way words and images can be crafted together to achieve visual communication.

I continued my education at the College of Visual and Performing Arts at UMASS, Dartmouth, graduating in 2005 with a BFA in Graphic Design and Typography. From there, I worked in Providence at a small design studio for many years before venturing into life as a single-woman studio in 2018.

Like many people, my life was flipped on its side in 2020. After an intensive time of family caretaking, I took action to engage in civic action and community organizing. This work became even more meaningful when I ran for office, sending my message into the community and connecting with neighbors.

I love to make and create using pixels, paper, and other materials but some of my favorite things to make are edible so you’ll often find me in the kitchen or the garden working with my hands to provide nourishment.