Reedsy profile URL https://reedsy.com/judith-mayer

Overview

I'm a "designy" illustrator and lettering artist. I have developed graphic illustrations and lettering in script, brush and serif styles in addition to display styles like geometric and dimensional. With over 20 years in the design field, I have had the pleasure of working on a wide variety of projects from exhibition catalogs for non-profits to annual report books for a utility company. Specializing in portraits, animals, food illustrations and lettering, my approach to everything I make is: less is more. Editing my ideas down to the simplest expression and eliminating the purely decorative. I feel this results in more powerful and engaging imagery. I like a design that is both sizzle and steak! I prefer to develop the typography as custom lettering so that it works with the illustration or photography and is not merely pasted on. My work is perfect for cover designs, illustrated cookbooks, humor, fiction, biography and young adult.

My favorite projects include a creative approach and conceptual thinking. I have a fine arts degree from Ball State University with majors in graphic design and in photography, with a minor in painting. Since then I have worked at a textbook design company, a corporate design firm, and a web development studio. From there, I struck out on my own and have been a freelance creative for 20 years. In my spare time I practice studio arts to bring fresh ideas to my graphic work. I currently study calligraphy and wheel-thrown pottery.

I work both traditionally and digitally with a pressure sensitive drawing tablet. My designs are vector based so that color changes and enlarging are easily done without losing any quality. My software of choice is Adobe Illustrator.

Services

Illustration

Typography

Languages

English

Non-Fiction

Art

Cooking & Food Wine & Spirits

Design

Fiction

Literature

Plays & Screenplays

Themes & Motifs

Awards

How Magazine
Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) Bronze
First Place, International Council of Air Shows Marketing Competition
National Educational Telecommunications Association
American Corporate Identity
Graphic Design USA Magazine
American Graphic Design & Advertising
Uppercase Magazine
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events
Creative Pool Shortlist, Illustration
Creative Pool Shortlist, Typography
Communication Arts Typography Award of Excellence

Designer/Illustrator

Self-employed

July, 1998 – Present (almost 21 years)

Custom illustration and lettering art services. Commissions and licensing work. Projects include cover design, spot illustrations, posters, brochures, magazine design, ad design, logo lettering and brand identity. I am a one-person LLC and have been since 1998. In addition to illustration and lettering, I perform custom type design, layout design, publication design, and logo design.