Hi there! i'm emily.  

I’m a graphic designer, illustrator, and artist, and the whole operation here at Minuscule Studio.

 I’ve art-directed award-winning eLearning courses that reached 25,000+ learners and produced measurable clinical outcomes. I’ve illustrated a published book on puberty education for kids. I’ve designed research reports that translate raw data into something people actually read. The work covers a lot of ground: brand identity, illustration, print, web, art direction, data visualization, interactive publications, and a bit of everything in between.

I co-founded the Lake Effect Artist Collective in my community in West Michigan, and I’ve spent the last 13+ years building a design practice around organizations doing meaningful work.

Minuscule Studio is built to serve mission-driven organizations such as nonprofits, B Corps, and social enterprises. One person means low overhead and no agency markup…which means the same level of work that’s won Brandon Hall awards, at rates built for mission-driven budgets. You work directly with me, start to finish. No handoffs, no account managers, no junior designers who’ve never heard of your mission.

When I’m not designing, I’m usually collecting books, writing comics, looking for mushrooms, watching strange documentaries, or repairing something my toddler has recently discovered.

 I love what I do, and I’d love to hear about what you’re working on.

Work WIth Me

CREDENTIALS

    • MFA, Design | California College of the Arts| 2018 (3.98 GPA)

    • BFA, Graphic Design | Central Michigan University | 2013 | (Magna Cum Laude)

    • BFA, Printmaking | Central Michigan University | 2013

    • AA, Art History | Central Michigan University | 2013

    • Centralis Scholar | 4-year full ride academic scholarship, University Honors Program

    • Brandon Hall Group Gold Award, Excellence in Learning Content Design — Public & Nonprofit Sector (2024)

    • Brandon Hall Group Silver Award (2021)

    • CCA MFA Exhibition: Debranding and Post-Identity Design (2016)

    • ADDY Award, Best of Show — Great Lakes Bay Region (2012)

    • ADDY Award, Best of Show + Silver — Great Lakes Bay Region (2013)

    • Kirkus Reviews — A Girl’s Guide to Puberty & Periods (illustrator): “cheerful, cartoon-art style depicting diverse characters”

    • CVS Health / Columbia University — Illustrations featured on CVS national Wellness Zone, menstrual equity initiative (2023)

    • Fortune — op-ed by Grow & Know author + CVS Health VP/CMO for Women’s Health, featuring the book (October 2023)

    • Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health — press feature

  • Owner, Designer & Illustrator, Minuscule Studio | 2012–present

    Co-founder & Co-chair, Lake Effect Artist Collective | 2023-present

    Art Director & Senior Lead Designer,(contract), Envision Group Consulting | 2017–present

    Clients include: American Medical Association, CDC Project First Line, National Safety Council, Grow & Know, XQ Super Schools (via SYPartners)

    Graphic Designer (contract), SYPartners | 2016–2018

    Jr. Creative Director, Umbrellas on the Beach (Chicago) | 2013–2015

    Student Design Manager, CMU Campus Dining | 2011–2013

so, what’s with the name?

The name works on a few levels. Minuscule is about scale: one person, no agency overhead, fully present for every project from start to finish. It's also a typography term: minuscules are lowercase letters, the workhorses that carry the weight of every sentence while the capitals get the credit. Readable. Functional. Essential. That's the kind of design this studio builds.

The blue dot in the logo is inspired by a NASA photograph taken in 1990: Earth, as seen from the edge of the solar system. From nearly four billion miles away, our entire world appears as a barely visible point of light suspended in a sunbeam. The image is a reminder that the most local work and the most global thinking belong together. A community newsletter and an internationally distributed health education book are not different kinds of work. They're the same work at different scales.

The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken Feb. 14, 1990, by NASA’s Voyager 1 at a distance of 3.7 billion miles (6 billion kilometers) from the Sun.