DESIGNS FOR HUMANS,
MADE BY HUMANS.
ABOUT VISTA SANTA ANA DESIGN
Hi, I'm Erin.
Founder & Designer-Illustrator
I am the founder and designer-illustrator behind Vista Santa Ana Design. I am also a mother of two, a lifelong artist, and a person who believes that design can be a force for connection, storytelling, and progress.
I have been doing graphic design, illustration, web design, and marketing in various capacities for more than 30 years. I started as a teenager, creating punk rock zines and flyers for punk rock concerts. There was no Photoshop, no Canva, no AI-generated art. Just paper, pens, magazine pages, scissors, glue, and the thrill of making something from nothing.
That era of my life shaped everything about how I work today. It sparked my passion for social issues and my deep appreciation for mission-driven organizations — the people and groups who are working to make the world a fairer, kinder place. It also taught me that design can be a form of resistance, a form of care, and a form of community.
Graphic design is in my blood. My great-grandfather, Austin Rouse, followed the lithographer's trade for 48 years before retiring in 1955. His hands made art long before mine did, and I like to think that some of his craft lives on in my work.
Today, my life looks a little different than it did in those punk rock days. I have spent the last 10 years as a devoted mother, and my passion for my family and my love of crafting informs everything I create for individuals and families. I know what it means to celebrate a child's milestone, to design a card that will be kept in a keepsake box, to make something that says, "This matters. You matter."
That early punk rock practice shaped everything about how I work today. I still believe in the power of the hand-made — the texture, the imperfection, and the warmth that comes from something being made by a real person, with real intention.
THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME
Vista Santa Ana Design is lovingly named after the land that has sustained my family for more than 150 years.
My family came to the Central Coast in 1872 and settled on a plot with an unobstructed view of Santa Ana Peak in California's Diablo Mountain Range. My great-grandparents, Austin and Marguerite Rouse (pictured to the left), would eventually come to name this place Vista Santa Ana Ranch.
My great-grandfather, Austin Rouse, was a lithographer for 48 years before retiring from San Francisco's Recorder-Sunset Press in 1955 . He understood the power of a well-made image — the way a single drawing could carry meaning across generations. He commissioned a drawing of our property's view of Santa Ana Peak that would be used on our family's stationery (pictured on the left).
That drawing is now the foundation of my logo. When I launched Vista Santa Ana Design, I knew I wanted to honor our legacy — the land, the family, the craft — so I adapted his stationery graphic into the logo you see today.
This same land now sustains both our family homestead and our design studio. Every project I take on carries that same intention: to create something that feels rooted, that tells your story, and that will endure.
WHERE I FIND INSPIRATION
I have lived on the Central Coast for over 10 years. The nature near my home is my greatest design inspiration and it shows up in almost everything I create. When I'm not designing, I'm usually outside, whether it's walking my dog, bird-watching, visiting the neighbors' farm animals, gardening, or just observing and taking in the colors, textures, and forms that nature so generously provides. My connection to the natural world is what keeps my work grounded, warm, and unapologetically human.
WHY I DO THIS WORK
I believe that good design is more than just aesthetic. It is a tool for connection, storytelling, and progress.
I started Vista Santa Ana Design because I wanted to offer creative service that puts people first, refuses to sacrifice personal touch to AI shortcuts, and serves both individuals and organizations who care about the world around them.
Whether I am designing a brand identity for a grassroots nonprofit, a website for a small business, an invitation for a wedding, or a keepsake for a young athlete, my goal is always the same: to create something that feels like someone made it, because someone did.
I believe in the radical act of making things from scratch, by hand. I believe in the warmth that comes from human touch. And I believe that design can be one of the most powerful tools for being authentic about who we are and what we stand for.