50 Awesome Portfolios From Female Designers and Illustrators
Think that design is a man’s world? Think again. Today we’ve got over 50 stunning portfolios from extremely talented female designers hailing from all over the planet.
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Why All Girls?
Let’s say you’re a female designer looking to build an online portfolio and you want to get some inspiration from what other female designers have done. Where would you look? A recent survey from A List Apart of over 26,000 web designers revealed that nearly 83% were male. This becomes quite evident when you start browsing through the plethora of portfolio roundups on design blogs, they’re typically all from guys! This post is meant to serve as inspiration for all the ladies out there looking to build a name in this industry.
The portfolios below absolutely blew me away in terms of talent on display. One reoccurring theme that simply can’t be ignored is how many female designers happen to be extremely gifted illustrators. I’m not sure if girls are more inclined to be artistically talented or not but this ratio seems to be much lower among males.
It doesn’t stop there though, you’ll see a strong display of proficiency in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, design theory and every other relevant skill to web design. Man or woman, this post should inspire you to be a better designer.
The Portfolios
Winnie Ho
“Hi, I’m Winnie, and this is my site. I live in Edmonton. I was born in Hong Kong. I love online gaming and creating web apps. I’m happiest when I’m playing games, designing, or building something that didn’t exist before.”
Tanya Merone
“I am a Graphic Designer based in New York, specializing in User Interface Design and Development. I build clean, appealing, and functional interfaces which comply with the latest web standards. But that’s just a part of it. Design is my life. It’s my five-star spa. It’s my roller-coaster. It’s something I do before going to bed, and something I can’t wait to do in the mornings. Without it, my world would be black and white.”
Meagan Fisher
“Raised in Florida, a new New Yorker via Boston. When not making websites, I try to write and speak about making websites.”
Veerle Pieters
“I’m a graphic/web designer living in Belgium. My personal journal reflects my journeys through design, the web, and life, and I share them here with you.”
Jessica Hische
“Jessica Hische is a letterer, illustrator and designer working in Brooklyn. You may already be familiar with one of her side projects such as Daily Drop Cap or her Should I Work for Free? flowchart. If not, howdy and pleasure to meet you!”
Sarah Parmenter
“Sarah lives in Leigh-on-Sea, in Essex, about 40 minutes outside London, with her husband and little dog, Alfie. Sarah was sat infront of an Atari by her Dad at the age of 3 and always knew her career would involve a computer, somehow. At the age of 14, Sarah started dabbling in web design. At 19 she decided to pursue this as her full time career and started her studio ‘You Know Who’ and hasn’t looked back since. Now 27, Sarah has been lucky enough to work with some great remote colleagues and peers over the years and even luckier to call some of them great friends.”
Tanya Maifat
“I am a freelance designer and digital/game artist. I enjoy designing game graphics, icons, teasers and tiny beautiful & smart illustrations for your websites and other projects.”
Tina Roth Eisenberg
“I grew up in Speicher (AR), Switzerland, influenced by renowned Swiss design and a lot of fresh mountain air. In 1999, after completing my design studies in Geneva and Munich, I crossed the Atlantic and began designing in New York. Since then, I have worked at several prominent NYC design firms, including Thinkmap, where I served as Design Director and helped design the award-winning Visual Thesaurus. I now run my own studio, swissmiss, with recent clients including the Museum of Modern Art and the Food Network. My aesthetics reveal my Swiss roots – I am a firm believer in white space and clean, elegant design.”
Jina Bolton
“Jina is a user experience designer at Engine Yard. Previously, she worked as a visual interaction designer and front-end web developer for super rad companies including Crush + Lovely and Apple, Inc. She enjoys creating beautiful experiences, and then she likes writing and speaking about it.”
Shyama Golden
“I’m basically a one woman shop for art and design, though I do hire a couple of brilliant interface designers and developers at times. As a child, I learned how to write code because I figured one day this internet thing would help me share my art with nice people all over the world.”
Hillary Hopper
“I am a creative. I can never seem to stop creating anything. There is always an idea, new picture, or some business idea running through my head. I can’t help but see a picture before I see words on it. I am drawn to color and the beauty around me. I have always been drawn to art and design. Growing up I was constantly in my sketch book or having some kind of craft happening on the dining room table.”
Allison House
“My background in user interface design is accented by a multi-disciplinary skillset that includes visual design, UX methods, content strategy and project management. The result is beautiful, well-planned websites that are intuitive, engaging, and persuasive.”
Natalie Nash
“My name is Natalie Nash, but I also go by my pseudonym, Pinky von Pout. I am 29 years old and I am a Graphic Designer. I have been married for 5 years, and live in a small Welsh town with my Husband, Jeremy and our three terriers: Sam, Jake and Tim.”
Janna Hagan
“My name is Janna Hagan and I am 19 year old web designer originally from the beautiful province of Alberta. I am currently in my second year of Web Design & Development at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario. I am a hard working individual with a great attention to detail. I enjoy new and challenging projects that push me to learn more in the great field of web design. Throughout college, I have gained great time managment skills that allow me to work on multiple projects at once.”
Allison Nold
“As a professional graphic and web designer, I bring a range of art and design disciplines to every project I work on. From brand strategy and user interface design to creative writing and front-end development, my work exemplifies an appreciation for complete brand experiences.”
Iris Sousa
“I provide UI design & products for web, desktop & mobile applications.”
Dana Tanamachi
“Dana Tanamachi is a graphic designer and custom chalk letterer living in Brooklyn, New York.
She currently works at Louise Fili Ltd.”
Naomi Atkinson
“An English Designer and Illustrator, passionate about the web.”
Claire Coullon
“A freelance graphic designer specialising in typography, I work primarily with logo design, custom & hand drawn lettering and expressive typography. I also love print related work, especially book design & writing. Originally from France and currently living in Prague, Czech Republic, I co-run Op45 Creative Design Agency.”
Adelle Charles
“A designer and entrepreneur at heart, Adelle Charles currently acts as Chief Creative Officer at Fuel Brand Inc. where she oversees all creative and strategic direction for the company. She is a known twitter addict with a geeky love for typography and Starbucks. Charles has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design from RIT and has won various awards for her past work in television.”
Erica Schoonmaker
“I’m a graphic designer and native New Yorker currently living in San Francisco, CA. I love paper and books just as much as I love the internet and enjoy designing all types of projects across both web and print mediums.”
Samantha Warren
“I love fusing smart concepts with creative, standards-based, accessible web design. I know that listening, understanding business and user experience goals, and adhering to standards are keys to well-executed design online.”
Lindsay Burtner
“I’m a Rochester Institute of Technology New Media Design & Imaging 2009 Alumni. I worked at MODE in Charlotte, NC as an Interactive Designer/Developer.”
Heath Waller
“I discovered my passion for web design quite by accident. The experience of teaching myself about this field has been both challenging and extremely rewarding. I wake up excited about continuing to grow in this rapidly-evolving industry.”
Larissa Meek
“I have over 9 years of experience designing for the web and consider myself a standards enthusiast with a passion for visual design. I am well versed in design trends and usability with a strong handle on CSS and HTML. As an ACD at AgencyNet, I’ve had the pleasure to work on a multitude of diverse brands such as Fuse, Oxygen Networks, Bacardi, Ruby Tuesday, iN Demand, Howard Stern, Warner Brothers and many more.”
Sara White
“Sara is a twenty-four year old living in the rainy yet beautiful city of Victoria, Canada. She has a degree in business but chose to ignore the corporate world and pursue her passion, design, instead. She’s currently the Creative Director at MetaLab and likes to spend her free time in the kitchen, dabbling in interior design, and occasionally taking pictures.”
Geri Coady
“I’m Geri Coady — a Designer, Illustrator and Photographer working in St. John’s, Newfoundland — the oldest and most Easterly city in North America. Art, illustration, web design, graphic design, photography, typography, printing, advertising — how can I choose just one? My wide interest means I’m never bored — just the way I like it. I’m currently working as a Senior Designer at a local advertising agency where every day brings a new challenge.”
Denise Chandler
“Hi, my name is Denise and I specialize in designing and building websites for small businesses and personal use.”
Meg Hunt
“Hi! My name is Meg. I’m a self-professed jack of all trades, but currently work as an illustrator. My goal is to fill the world with my creations, and make people happy in the process. I want to explore and try new things; it’s my goal to branch out beyond editorial and into the living breathing world we inhabit. One day I would like to illustrate gift cards and childrens’ books and stationery and textiles and packaging and oh, all sorts of things. What do you say?”
Laura Kalbag
“I’m Laura Kalbag and I design web sites. Sometimes I do design for other digital media and print, but I find web design inspiring, exciting, and I’ll go on about it for hours.”
Inayaili de León
“Hi! My name is Inayaili de León and I’m a web designer. That means I make websites both beautiful and easy to use—I can make a lot of amorphous content look clean and easy to understand. I also take a lot of pleasure in coding mine and other people’s designs to make them work online.”
Beth Dean
“I’m a user experience designer specializing in billing and payments for transactional sites, and mobile design.”
Sneh Roy
“I am Sneh. I Design. I am the co-founder of LBOI, a design studio in Sydney, Australia. I love creating logos and wacky characters the most. I also design and develop websites, create original content for the web, blog about design here on LBOI and about food on Gel’s Kitchen. I also write design related articles for other websites and blogs.”
Kelli Anderson
“Hi. I’m an artist/designer and tinkerer who is always experimenting with new means of making images and experiences. I draw, photograph, cut, print, code, and create a variety of designed things for myself and others. ”
Andrea Garza
Sarah Kaiser
“Currently I am a fourth year New Media Design student with Rochester Institute of Technology. I’m passionate about design, illustration, 3d and motion and possess some skills in development, print and web as well.”
Amber Weinberg
“Specializing in the development of HTML5, CSS3 and WordPress using valid and semantic coding practices.
I also make apps for fun and write a blog.”
Valerie Jar
“I’m a 24-year-old designer/illustrator located in Salt Lake City. Currently, I’m working at StruckAxiom. I’m inspired by art deco, vintage signs, hand-lettering, tattoo art and people. Art and bikes are two of my favorite things. I love the hidden symbolism and meanings behind common objects and everyday things, and oftentimes, that fascination will play a role in my design and illustration.”
Megan Kirby
“Art director and graphic designer specializing in luxury brand development with multidisciplinary experience refining the brand story with illustration, print and interactive design.”
Erika Van Der Bent
“Erika van der Bent, Freelance Designer for online / digital media , age 27.
Born and raised in The Netherlands. Started to discover the world of webdesign when I was 12 and I felt in love. Over the years I have worked for and with several different web-design companies.
A beautiful interface makes me happy!”
Susan Murphy
“Once upon there was a freckly Irish girl name Sue. She studied Visual Communications in Dublin, is currently studying for a Masters in the USA and will soon be moving to work in the Netherlands. Never defined by a place or a thing, she always aims to try and be a master of all trades, a jack of none. ”
Dever Thomas
“Dever Thomas is an aspiring graphic designer, illustrator, creative person, and soon-to-be graduate of Indiana University.”
Melissa Pohl
“Like many designers, I grew up with a passion for drawing and artistic pursuits of all kinds. After high school, this love of creating lead me in various directions which included becoming a tattoo artist, hair-stylist, and painter. As soon as I was introduced to the world of digital graphics however, I fell in love.”
Laura Javier
“I’ve got one foot in the world of print, one foot in the world of pixels, and a love for both. I’m graduating this spring with a degree in Communication Design, a sense of humor, and a mission to find some amazing people to work with.”
Emma Taylor
“A creative freelance web and graphic designer based on the sunny island of Cyprus. With an ultimate passion for website design and development, branding and advertising material. Focusing on designing simple, clean attractive websites that fully comply with today’s web standards for wonderful clients across the globe.”
Christina Fowler
“Who is she? She’s the descendant of generations of magic designers (since 2008). And she’s no ordinary woman. She’s girly. Full of personality. A good communicator. And – more.”
Abigail (Ruby Too)
“I work full-time in ‘Ye Olde Web Towne’ at Harmonix. I do some visual design but I spend most of my days knee-deep in CSS & HTML (and learning JavaScript). I get to work with some of the most talented and entertaining people I’ve ever come across. I love my job.”
Ciara panacchia
“My name is Ciara (pronounced Kee-rah). I come from a small town in Ireland called Carlow, but found a place to call home in U.S. when I moved to Illinois in 2005. Although my love of the Arts started at a very early age (since I could hold a pencil), I have been a dedicated student of design since 1998, I don’t think it is something you ever stop learning.”
Heather Grossman
“I’ve been a web designer for more than a decade. I’ve learned many things about web design since starting out in this industry, and the things I’ve learned have helped me develop processes that benefit everyone involved in the projects I work on.”
Susie Ghahremani
“Susie Ghahremani is a 2002 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with a BFA in Illustration. Her artwork combines her love of nature, animals, music and patterns. Born and raised in Chicago, Susie now happily spends her time painting, drawing, crafting and tending to her pet finches and cat in San Diego, CA. ”
Melissa Washin
“I am a designer and developer who builds websites and creates print materials for small businesses and agencies.”
Aubrey Klein
“Hi, I’m Aubrey, a graphic designer living in Dallas, TX. I specialize in web, illustration, tweeting and thing-making.”
Bianca Mangels
“My name is Bianca and I’m a Screen and Web Designer from Frankfurt (Germany). I love design in every form and I can’t get enough inspiration.”
Courtney Joy
“I currently work full-time for a creative firm in Dallas called Vintage 56. We offer services in graphic design, audio engineering, video production and web development. My role, as the graphic designer, includes branding/logo marks, business cards, stationeries, brochures, occasional web UI, product packaging and keynote presentations.”
Show Us Yours!
This post doesn’t even scratch the surface of extremely talented females in the design industry. If you’re one of them, leave a comment below with a link to your portfolio so we can check it out!