Shelby Gates Legere

Shelby Gates Legere – Designer

Experienced graphic designer helping authors bring their creative ideas to life.

Overview

I’m a graphic designer specializing in book design, print production, art direction, and marketing. With over a decade of experience in the publishing field, I will work with you to create visuals that speak to your audience and set you apart from the competition.

While my professional background is rooted primarily in educational texts and reference materials, I have a wealth of experience designing memoirs, children’s book, and gift books, including home bartending guides, cookbooks, and lifestyle magazines.

From concept to completion, I can help you navigate the design process and create a book you are truly proud of. I look forward to learning more about you and your project!

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A few kind words...

"Shelby is everything a creative professional should be: organized, innovative, and proactive.

Shelby has a way of distilling creative challenges into actionable, successful results. She always has her eye on the goal and usually arrives ahead of schedule. She is resilient when faced with the hurdles found while working at a growth-stage company and can maintain a positive attitude.

Shelby's cross-business unit experience is a credit to her ability to adapt and think strategically and intuitively no matter the goal. I would highly recommend her for any position where her creativity and experience will be valued and appreciated."

—Nicole K. Lyons, Manager of Marketing, Wayside Publishing

"It's my sincere privilege to recommend Shelby for any design-related position. During her tenure at Cider Mill Press, she consistently produced top-quality book covers, interior layouts, and marketing collateral, always with an impressively sharp eye for the perfect typography, composition, and color to suit the aesthetic of the project. Shelby proved equally adept at creating high-end designs for discerning adult consumers as well as charming and whimsical designs targeting children—two very different markets.

A gifted and communicative collaborator, Shelby proved highly proficient at working with our domestic and overseas printing partners to create the elaborate special effects and ornate embellishments that define our innovative gift book publishing program. Her ability to create a design on-screen that translated beautifully and elegantly to an eye-catching, tactile physical product speaks volumes about her vision as a designer.

Shelby's mastery of the Adobe Creative Suite was also invaluable to our publishing program. Shelby possesses strong InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop skills, as well as an impressive ability to troubleshoot unexpected challenges and self-teach design techniques on-the-spot to completing any type of design project. Shelby often had to work with complicated templates from our printers to execute our desired designs, such as multi-component kits, spinning pop-up books, and even complicated die-cut elements.

Her unwavering commitment to deadlines was vital to maintaining the fast-paced nature of our operation, and yet, even more impressive, she never took shortcuts in order to complete a project on time. She sees every project through to completion, regardless of the amount of time involved in delivering her best possible work."

—Alex Lewis, Publishing Director, Vice President, Cider Mill Press

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Children’s Non-Fiction Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits Education & Reference Health & Wellbeing
Languages
English
Awards
  • First Place at the 2019 New England Book Show in the category of Covers: El-Hi Series
  • Best in Category at the 2019 New England Book Show in the category of Print: El-Hi Single
  • First Place at the 2019 New England Book Show in the category of Print: El-Hi Single
  • First Place at the 2018 New England Book Show in the category of Reference
Certifications
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, Maine College of Art & Design

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2021 — Present

Wayside Publishing

Jun, 2016 — Jan, 2021 (over 4 years)

Cider Mill Press

Mar, 2015 — May, 2016 (about 1 year)

Portfolio

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
Boy to Man: Boyhood Stories of a Young Man's Coming of Age

Nabavi, K.C.

K.C. Nabavi

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Good to Grow: Embrace an Abundant Life in Your Good Body

Reynolds, Amanda Coates

Cover Design Illustration Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Space Rogue: How the Hackers Known As L0pht Changed the World

Thomas, Cris

Cris Thomas

Cover Design Illustration Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Midpoint: A Memoir

Angeles, Patricia

Independently published

Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Touching Tales of the Three Sisters: Adventures with Coco

Angeles, Patricia

Independently published

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Cover Design Book Interior Design
Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Full: A Memoir of Overcoming an Eating Disorder

Gottfried, Sara

Sara Gottfried

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Cover Design Book Interior Design
Cover Design
Cover Design Book Interior Design
Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
The Dyslexic Healer: Brings ancient shamanic skills into modern times

Martin, Susan

heartspirit fragrances

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Tearing Through a Museum

Phillips, Lauren

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Cover Design Book Interior Design
Cover Design
Cover Design
Book Interior Design
Cover Design Book Interior Design
Discovering Sharks

Parham, Donna Potter

Cover Design Book Interior Design
Cover Design
Cover Design

Shelby has 19 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Troy K.

Troy K.

Nov, 2023

I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Shelby Gates for her exceptional work as my book designer. This journey marked my first foray into the world of publishing, and Shelby's expertise, professionalism, and unwavering support were instrumental in making it a success. From the very first con...
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Matthew F.

Matthew F.

Sep, 2023

Working with Shelby was a joy. She not only does excellent work but is timely and very communicative. When looking for a cover designer and layout editor again, she will be the first person I turn to. Highly recommended!
Cris T.

Cris T.

Dec, 2022

Couldn't be happier. Awesome design choices for both the cover and the interior. I already had an idea of what I wanted the cover to look like but Shelby really made it pop. Interior choices really make the book look much better than I could have imagined. Thank You.
Kath B.

Kath B.

Oct, 2022

Writing a book is the easy part. Producing and printing it is where it starts getting really difficult. I have been working with team of colleagues for 4 years to write a medical textbook, and it was all going smoothly until we hit the printing phase. With what seemed like insurmountable glitches...
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Patricia A.

Patricia A.

Oct, 2022

Working with Shelby is a dream! I am not the easiest, most straightforward client since this is my first time self-publishing and had a lot of questions, changes, requests - Shelby remained the consummate professional all throughout and produced quality work that exceeded my expectations. I plan ...
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