Below is a list of talented women that have displayed their creative skills in the graphic design industry.
Are you aware that Susan Kare designed most of the Apple Macintosh user interface elements? Or that Carolyn Davidson designed Nike's Swoosh logo in 1971? With talent, creativity and dedication, women have long been making waves in graphic design.
Here are 38 women who are leaving a great impression in the graphic design industry, with credit to the amazing articles, visual collections and interview links on the website Women of Design. The site is devoted to featuring female graphic designers.
1. Jing Zhan
Jing Zhang has a very colorful portfolio, and she's known to translate complex ideas into digital visuals. They appear both simple and complex; combining infographics, intricate details, and miniature worlds.
2. Paula Scher
Paula is an illustrator, educator and graphic designer from the US and the pioneer head at Pentagram. Paula began by experimenting with typography in the 80's, and ventured into historic design origins such as obscure and Russian Constructivism.
3. Leta Sobierajski
Leta Sobierajski is an art director and multidisciplinary designer. She boasts a brilliant and bright portfolio that comprises work for clients such as UNIQLO, Target, Bloomberg Businessweek, the Tate Modern and Google.
4. Jessica Walsh
Walsh is hitting it big on Behance with over 150,000 followers. She's also a partner of Sagmeister Walsh. She has won many awards for her work, such as one of the 'Young Guns' of Art Director's Club, and has been listed in Forbes magazine's '30 under 30' category.
5. Indre Klimaite
Indre Klimaite is a Lithuanian that does her graphic work in the Netherlands. Speaking about her graphic style, Indre says, 'there should be only one visual idea, but it should be strong enough not to be labeled lame, boring, or predictable.'
6. Vanessa Eckstein & Marta Cutler
Eckstein founded Blok in 1999, and later asked Marta Cutler to work with her. Their elegant style is based on conceptual thought and brand analysis.
7. Kelli Anderson
Kelli Anderson has tons of followers on Dribble. She draws, cuts, photographs, codes and prints. She enjoys experimenting with modern ways of producing images and experiences.
8. Debbie Millman
Debbie is the host of 'Design Matters', and the CEO of Design in Sterling Brands. She has designed over 250 brands, including Nestle and Pepsi. She was named by USA Graphic Design as an influential designer of today.
9. Jessica Hische
Jessica Hische is an illustrator, type designer and letterer working for Penguin Books and Wes Anderson, amongst numerous other clients. She is one of the amazing women Debbie has met with for 'Design Matters'.
10. Jiani Lu
Jiani Lu is a Canadian multidisciplinary photographer and designer that specializes in print, branding and information design. Her creativity is elegant, subtle and contemporary as she has an edge with white space.
11. Sarah Boris
Sarah Boris is a London-based designer that became popular in UK's cultural institutions such as the Tate, Gasworks, the Barbican Center and the Architecture Foundation. Her amazing portfolio includes exhibition graphics, book design, editorial design, visual identity and more.
12. Chiara Aliotta
Chiara Aliotta works as the brand manager for Joomla, and is the head of Until Sunday design studio. Her work displays her love for the beauty of amazing design and typography.
13. Raewyn Brandon
Raewyn Brandon has over 43,000 followers on Behance and has been doing awesome things. She is a master in the graphics and layout world.
14. Lotta Nieminen
Lotta Nieminen hails from Helsinki, and worked for RoAndCo and Pentagram before setting up her own design gallery in NYC. She has worked with big clients including Hermes, Google, Volkswagen and United Airlines.
15. Teresa Sdralevich
Teresa Sdralevich is an Italian-born illustrator and poster designer, based in Brussels. Her background in political science makes her focus on cultural, political and social topics, producing posters that combine slogans and images for great impact.
16. Nina Geometrieva
Nina is also doing great things in the graphic design world. The talented illustrator and designer combines geometric shapes and bright colors to produce appealing visuals that are easy to comprehend.
17. Tracy Ma
Tracy Ma is the Deputy Creative Director of Bloomberg Businessweek. Her graphic works have been recognized by the Society of Print Designers, Print magazine, Type Directors Club and many more.
18. Verena Michelitsch
Michelitsch first worked at RoAndCo, Pentagram, Sagmeister and Walsh before moving to SidLee NY as Design Director. She focuses mainly on lines to create line drawing and patterns.
19. Anna Kuts
With an interest in logo design, Anna Kuts has built a very strong portfolio for herself in the graphic design world.
20. Alex Proba
Alex Proba is German-born who now lives in New York. She is an illustrator and art director as well as a graphic designer, and established her own studio called Proba.
21. Fannette Mellier
Based in Paris, Fanette is a designer who works with abstract design and distinctive, lively colors. Her pieces have graced graphic festivals, magazines, art museums and so on.
22. Becca Clason
Becca Clason is a stop motion animator and lettering artist that brings typography to life by using products, food and other materials. She has tons of followers on Instagram.
23. Katarina Medi
Katarina has interest in systems and emerging technologies. She expresses her passion for design through colorful work in editorial, UI design and identity.
24. Veronica Fuerte
Veronica is part of the talented trio that established Hey Studio. Their studio focuses on providing work with a focus on geometry and color.
25. Monika Lang
Monika Lang is a graphic designer and illustrator that specializes in projects like exhibitions and festivals. Monika is a master in using colors to create amazing artwork.
26. Shanti Sparrow
Shanti is into the creation of brochures and posters for non-profit and profit organizations. She is inspired by diagonal and grid geometries.
27. Kellyn Walker
The designs of Kellyn Walker have a distinctive, feminine style in the fashion world. Her layouts draw attention from natural textures in photographs.
28. Anais Bourdet
Bourdet is an art director and graphic designer with a solid portfolio that includes branding, illustration, branding and packaging. Anais Bourdet does unique work for each of her clients.
29. Laura Pol
Laura Pol is a self-taught designer, with a uniquely minimalist style that focuses on the artistry of her pieces. She delivers elegant and sophisticated work.
30. Stinne Wilhelmsen
Stinne Wilhelmsen is a Danish-born digital designer that serves as the Art Director of Red Antler, New York. She is not scared of taking bold steps in experimenting with white space and colors.
31. Marta Gawin
Marta Gawin has received so many awards for her contribution in the graphic design industry. She treats design as a field of formal experimentation and visual research.
32. Vicki Turner
Vicky Turner is an illustrator and designer with a compact and detailed style of work. Her work reflects that of the great Alexander Girard.
33. Marta Veludo
Marta Veludo has a distinctively bright style of design. She is inspired by folk art and pop-culture, and designs for top clients including Lego, Reebok and Adidas.
34. Susan Kare
Susan Kare is a great designer that has done many designs for Apple Macintosh.
35. Carolyn Davidson
Carolyn Davidson was in charge of designing Nike's Swoosh logo. She combines talent and creativity to achieve amazing digital artwork.
36. Veerle Pieters
Veerle Pieters is a graphic and web designer based in Belgium. Her personal journal reflects her journey through the web, design and life.
37. Meagan Fisher
Meagran Fisher is a Florida-raised graphic and website designer, based in New York. She says she engages in writing and speaking when not designing.
38. Tanya Maifat
Tanya Maifat is a freelancer that enjoys designing icons, teasers, game graphics and beautiful illustrations.
This a list of amazing women doing great things in the design world. There are numerous upcoming female designers who have the potential of getting to the top of the industry.
If you know of other great women designers that are not mentioned here, please share their details in the comment box below.
