Sara Duell – Designer

Hi there!

I'm Sara, a Swedish designer in New York City, where I live with my two kittens.

I received my MFA in graphic design from Yale University and have over 15 years of experience in book and editorial design for photographers, artists, and social justice activists.

I've joined Reedsy to find driven and visionary writers, artists, and researchers who want to take their work to the next level visually.

If that’s you, reach out! I look forward to working together to create designs for your books that are powerful and striking.

★ WORKING WITH ME ★

Previous clients have described my design process as a true collaboration, poetic, innovative, thoughtful, and authentic.

I always review all the materials I'm sent with a brief to make sure my work, skill, and approach are the perfect fit for the story. I'm selective with my collaborations, but that means when I do take on a project, I give it my full attention and creative thinking.

★ AWARDS AND FEATURES ★

I have been awarded accolades, including a Webby Award, Indigo Design Award, PDN Photo Annual Photo Book Awards, HOW Design in-house awards, Design Observer’s 50 Covers 50 books, and was a finalist in the Lucie photobook awards.

My design work has also been written about in the New York Times, Eye Magazine, Ad Week, Communication Arts, Fast Company, and It’s Nice That, among other distinguished publications.

★ NOTABLE COLLABORATIONS ★

I have designed books and reissues for and about renowned artists Sally Mann, Nan Goldin, Dorothea Lange, and Kathy Ryan, the New York Times Photo Editor. I also co-designed Martin Parr’s book Life’s a Beach, which won Design Observer’s Best 50 Books.

★ CLIENT TESTIMONIALS ★

“[Sara’s] visual sense is matched by her intellectual appetite, her rigorous research, and her strong belief that design can be used to make the world a more interesting and more equitable place.”

Madeline Leung Coleman, Features Writer, New York Magazine

"In my 12 years in the nonprofit publishing space, I have never met anyone else quite like Sara. In the time I had the privilege of working with her, I was able to witness firsthand the visionary leadership she brought to the communications and advocacy efforts across our organization. Our goal during Sara’s tenure was to build capacity so that we could bring more storytelling and humanity into what historically had been largely data- and report-driven communications work. As we endeavored to build our digital properties into platforms on which system-impacted people could share their personal stories for a broader audience with the goal of affecting system change, Sara was uniquely intentional about engaging with people from these marginalized communities in a way that not just allowed but encouraged them to retain ownership over their stories and agency over how they were told. "

Ariel Goldberg, Editorial Director, Vera Institute of Justice