2059 West Grand Avenue
United States
Tel: 312 909-3602

My design career began working for the venerable Morton Goldsholl Design and Film firm. It was an invaluable experience which I will treasure forever. As a junior designer I worked with the design team on mostly corporate identity and extensivie branding projects for Ameritech, Kettle Chips, Montgomery Wards paint label system, Shure microphones, and more. Thereafter, I worked for Slavin & Assoicates as a mid-level designer working on accounts for The Museum of Contemporary Art, East Bank Club, The Habitat Company, Ameritech and more. Subsequently, with the goal of always wanted to start my own design firm, I opened Linda Blackwell Design. I word with wonderful clients who have entrusted me to assist them in solving their brand identities and marketing materials. 

I am a self-starter whose distinctive design work has been used by leading advertisers and companies for: brand logotypes, retail and brand identity systems, corporate identity, product catalogs, websites, signage, brochures, direct mail, sales sheets, POP displays, packaging, varietels, icons, fonts, wine labels, headlines, RFP’s, business forms, certificates and digital initiatives by solving client problems with dynamic design solutions.

Listening to my client is key. Delivering the highest quality creative work, in the quickest time possible, while staying on budget is always a priority. And with the ever changing technologies, I am a keen pupil, always trying to learn new tech skills to stay current.
 

Linda Blackwell Design continues to grow and evolve. Throughout the years, the studio has created distinctive graphic design and lettering design for companies across the board, from Abbott Labs and Alberto Culver to Terlato Wines International and Unilever with many more including:

Akzo Nobel Chemicals Inc.
Alberto Culver USA
American Needle
Anheuser Busch
Bagby and Company
Bailey Edward Design
Barton Beers
Beacon Communications
Becks Beer
Bisco
Bismarck Enterprises
CNT Energy
ComEd
Consolidated Paper
David Bentley Photography
David C. Cook Publishing
Douwe Egbert
Early American Insurance Co.
Follet Corporation
Ganan & Shapiro
General Mills
Guiseppe's Finer Foods
The Goodman Theatre
Hartmarx
Hartz Mountain Corporation
Helene Curtis
Hasbro
Heartland Alliance
Houston Foods
Hyatt Hotels
Hubbard Street Dance Company
Illinois Masonic Hospital
Jones Dairy Farm
Joseph Abboud
Katten, Muchin & Zavis
Keebler
Kraft
Lands End
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Lever Ponds
Lincoln Continental
Nabisco
Nike
Marjorie Kovler Center
Mastercard
McDonald's
Newell Rubbermaid
Oscar Mayer
Paterno Imports
Publications International
Publix Super Market
Quaker
Rigby Education
Rosati Restaurateurs
Rosemont Pharmaceuticals
Royalton
Saborosa Foods
Safety Kleen
Sampco, Inc.
Sanford Pens
Scorpio, Inc.
Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal
Sachnoff & Weaver
Temple Sholom of Chicago
Terlato Wines International
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawk Hockey Team
Tony Bennett
Unilever
Vein Clinics of America
Virgina Slims
Walter Payton
Warner Brothers
Westfarms
Working Mindfulness


The studio also designs for numerous top-notch agencies including:

Abelson Taylor
Anista Fairclough Design
BBDO
Bellar Group
Creative Marketing Resource
Design North
DDB Chicago
Draft Worldwide
Foote, Cone & Belding
Gordon Hanrahan
Grey Advertising
Irwin Publishing
JWT
Landor Associates
Lane & Lane Design Office
Lipson Alport Glass & Associates
Lois USA
McCann Erickson
Murray Branding Communications
Perfomance Direct
Pivot Design
Red Orchestra
Saatchi & Saatchi
Slack Barshinger Partners
Taxi
The Arc Group
The Ungar Group
Young & Rubicam
Zalewski Design

The studio also designs for numerous top-notch agencies including:

Abelson Taylor
Anista Fairclough Design
BBDO
Bellar Group
Creative Marketing Resource
Design North
DDB Chicago
Draft Worldwide
Foote, Cone & Belding
Gordon Hanrahan
Grey Advertising
Irwin Publishing
JWT
Landor Associates
Lane & Lane Design Office
Lipson Alport Glass & Associates
Lois USA
McCann Erickson
Murray Branding Communications
Perfomance Direct
Pivot Design
Red Orchestra
Saatchi & Saatchi
Slack Barshinger Partners
Taxi
The Arc Group
The Ungar Group
Young & Rubicam

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
As principal /  seniro graphic design consultant, I have been producing compelling print and digital visual
communications for various clients including businesses in the areas of advertising, architecture, chemistry, entertainment, food & beverage, healthcare, hospitals, insurance, law, museums, personal care products, pro-sports team, photography, publishing, non-for-profits, real estate, restaurants, retail, religious institutions, taverns, medicine and schools. Additionally, my work includes specializing in custom type / lettering design and calligraphy for brand / corporate identities. Some examples of current client work in use: Bismark Enterprises, Bailey Edward Architects, Ganan & Shapiro: Attorneys at Law, McHugh Construction, Menards, Sampco Foods, Specialized Bicycle Co., Terlato Wines International and more.

CURRENT CLIENT WORK


Client: Advanced Absorbent Technologies
 Redesign of client’s PowerPoint presentation for pitch to a CEO

Client: Red Hat
 Wrote and submitted to CEO of Red Hat, an opinion regarding Red Hat’s “The Open Brand Project” 

Client: Mobile Physical Therapy
Concept, design, production of corporate brand identity

Client: STUDIO GRAND
Concept, design, production of brand identity, sub-brand, marketing materials, exhibit design, etc.

Client: Working Mindfulness
Concept, design, production of corporate identity and digital marketing materials

Client: Wisconsin Utilities
Design and production of various marketing materials and digital vector art for an app

Client: David Bentley Photography
Consulting, design, website build, launch, content systems management: davidbentleyphotography.com

Client: Bauhaus Chicago Foundation
Website build / content systems management: bauhauschicagofoundation.org

EDUCATION
University of Illinois, School of Art & Design Bachelor of Arts / Deans List
Full Scholarship: Combined talent based tuition waiver for design / athletics

PAST EXPERIENCE
Graphic Designer – Slavin Associates & Goldsholl Design & Film Design, production, print supervision,
art direction and project management for various clients including: WTTW, Habitat, East Bank Club, Museum  

CREATIVE SKILLS
Project Managemement / Presentations
Concepts / Design / Art Direction
Layout / Color Theory
Typographic Excellence
Drawing & Marker rendering
Photography
Basic Retouching
Eblast Layout

DIGITAL SKILLS
Adobe Illustrator 
Adobe Photoshop 
Adobe InDesign
Apple Pages
Apple Keynote
Web design & build: Squarespace, 
GoDaddy, Wix, Weebly
MicroWord
Microsoft Powerpoint
Microsoft Excel
IMovie


KNOWLEDGE OF
Motion / Animation concepts
HTML
CSS
UI /UX



 

AWARDS
1. Great Lake Graphics Association Award of Excellence;
2. Bailey Edward Brand Identity: Stationery System 
3. Communication Arts Excellence in Typography / Calligraphy: Heartland Alliance: Logotype 
4. Society of Typographic Arts Archive Award; Banna Photography: Branding / Portfolio Design 
5. Graphic Design USA Design Excellence; Bismark Enterprises: Branding