Michelle Mayhall

Michelle Mayhall – Designer

Kids designer/illustrator who loves storytelling, fun facts, cute macabre, fantasy, + nature. Let's create rad books—for the kid in us all♥️

Overview

Howdy! I'm Michelle, children's art director, designer, and illustrator with strong passions for storytelling, cuteness, the macabre, nature, animals, SEL, humor, fantasy, and more. With my 4+ years of publishing design experience and 6+ years as a professional illustrator, I can't wait to help you complete your vision for your book!

My bookmaking process brings visual life to text, adds in new layers, and helps to develop the best final product possible. So, all we need to get started is your manuscript and a couple ideas! Let's chat and get started on bringing your manuscript to visual life, for kiddos—and everyone else who is cool enough to read kids books!

Services
Non-Fiction
Children’s Non-Fiction
Fiction
Picture Books
Languages
English
Awards
  • NIRSA Creative Excellence Award
  • New York Times Bestseller (The Mystery of Locked Rooms cover art direction & design)
  • ALA Notable Award (Butt or Face? art direction, design and illustration)
  • Runner-Up for Adobe Creative Jam App Design Competition with Nickelodeon

Work experience

Sourcebooks

Jun, 2020 — Nov, 2024 (over 4 years)
I spent over four years working for Sourcebooks, an independent publisher based in Naperville, IL. In my time there, I progressed from Production Designer, to Book Designer I, to Senior Book Designer, up to Associate Art Director—specializing in children's fiction and non-fiction. This has allowed me TONS of experience in both the technical layout of book internals and covers, as well as the fun and artistic side I love so much. In my time here, I was the art director and designer of... Butt or Face? by Kari Lavelle (Vol. 1–3) The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsey Currie Jeff Strand's EEK! Series Cute Animals that Could Kill You Dead by Brooke Hartman The Reindeer Remainders by Katie Howes And the illustrator and internal designer of... Absurd Words by Tara Lazar

Self-employed

Feb, 2019 — Present
I started running my own illustration business while still completing my graphic design degree, mainly creating portrait illustrations for people to give as gifts. This has evolved over the years to illustrating character art for authors, designing and illustrating self-published books for authors, creating Dungeons and Dragons character art... you name it! Samples of my work as a freelance illustrator include... Kai's Adventure to the Beach by Jordan Capers Character art for The Markings series by Catherine Downen Character art for The Stories Stars Tell by C.L. Walters And my own picture books, soon?! 🤞🏻

Portfolio

100 Words from the Street: Teach Kids to Grow Smarter, Stronger, & Kinder with Elmo and Friends (Sesame Street Scribbles)

Sesame Workshop

Sourcebooks Wonderland

Cover Design Book Interior Design
You Grow, Girl!: A Sweet and Punny Springtime Encouragement Book for Kids! (Punderland)

Rossner, Rose

Sourcebooks Wonderland

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Butt or Face? Volume 2: Revenge of the Butts

Lavelle, Kari

Sourcebooks Explore

Cover Design Illustration Book Interior Design
Butt or Face?: A Hilarious Animal Guessing Game Book for Kids

Lavelle, Kari

Sourcebooks Explore

Cover Design Illustration Book Interior Design
Cute Animals That Could Kill You Dead (Killer Cuties)

Hartman, Brooke

Sourcebooks Explore

Cover Design Book Interior Design
A Stray Dog for Christmas: How Suzy Was Adopted

Jokinen, Jack

Sourcebooks Explore

Cover Design Book Interior Design
The Reindeer Remainders: A Lesson in Working Together and Including Others

Howes, Katey

Sourcebooks Explore

Cover Design Book Interior Design
I Believe in Me: A kids activity journal for finding your superpowers, being brave, and dreaming big

Richmond, Marianne

Cover Design Book Interior Design
The Giant How to Catch Activity Book for Kids: More than 75 Awesome Activities and 12 Magical Creatures to Discover! (With Hidden Pictures, How-to-Draws, Coloring, Dot-to-Dots and More)

Sourcebooks

Book Interior Design
The Science Spell Book: Magical Experiments for Kids

Florance, Cara

Book Interior Design
Sesame Street Storybook Collection: A Perfect Gift of Love Treasury with Six Bedtime Stories for Kids Featuring Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and Friends! (Sesame Street Scribbles)

Sesame Workshop

Cover Design
Just One You!: A Joyful Celebration of the Differences That Make Us All Special (graduation and birthday gifts for kids)

Sesame Workshop

Cover Design
Heroes Wear Masks: Elmo's Super Adventure (a return back to school mask book for kids) (Sesame Street Scribbles)

Sesame Workshop

Cover Design
Absurd Words: A kids' fun and hilarious vocabulary builder and back to school gift

Lazar, Tara

Illustration Book Interior Design

Michelle has 2 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Angela J.

Angela J.

Dec, 2025

Michelle was absolutely incredible to work with! She captured the vision for my book & worked with me to refine it whilst combining my viewpoint with her professionalism & created a product I am super happy with. She was timely in responding to any questions and always polite. I would highly reco...
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Gianna S.

Gianna S.

Jul, 2025

It was a pleasure working with Michelle on my first book! She brought the story to life with such warmth, color, and attention to detail that went beyond my expectations. She was very knowledgeable, communicative, collaborative, and open to feedback throughout the process. So grateful to have fou...
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