Born and raised in a small Wisconsin town, senior graphic designer Emily has dedicated a large portion of her life to image.works. As our longest-standing designer, Emily has spent more than a decade and a half helping build IW from the ground up and still finding the magic in what we do and the clients we serve. Outside of work, Emily can be found tackling fun and adventure with her husband and best friend, Nathan, and her son and pride and joy, Graham. In her exact words, “My hobbies include playing games (current favorites are Quixx, Code Names, Cribbage, Euchre and chess – my son and I learned together this year), photography, reading, traveling or planning our next vacation and organizing. (It’s a thing! My family and friends request my help when a closet or room is out of control. 
)”
Describe what you do on a day-to-day basis.
On a day-to-day basis, you’ll find me brainstorming and designing new projects, making updates to several ongoing projects and emailing back and forth with my clients. Another big part of my job is handling prepress for IW, along with my teammate Liz. We handle getting all of IW’s clients’ files ready to print. Our record was 49 jobs in one day!
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I love that moment when I’m designing a project and I know I’ve achieved what the client is looking for. When I first open a blank, white document, I get nervous. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Even after 16 years of doing this. But that moment when the design starts to form, pictures and words come together… It goes from nerves to excitement! That’s what I keep coming back for.
What brought you to image.works?
Mark, image.works’ president, came to my college portfolio show and interviewed me on the spot. The rest is history!
What is your favorite place to travel in Wisconsin?
My favorite place in Wisconsin to visit is La Crosse. Good friends of my husband and mine live there, and it’s always a weekend of laughs when our families get together. Make sure you visit Grandad Bluff for the views, take a boat ride along the Mississippi River and then stop downtown at The Pearl for an ice cream treat afterward!
What is the most “Wisconsin” thing about you?
I’m a small-city girl through and through. Even when I travel, I greet everyone I pass on the street with a smile and a “good morning, good afternoon!”
If you could learn a new skill, what would it be?
I would love to be fluent in Spanish. My husband has been to Spain a few times, and we hope to travel there as a family soon. The only words I know in Spanish are food items and “thank you.” At least I won’t starve!
Where is the best place you’ve traveled to and why?
My husband and I stayed in overwater bungalows for two weeks in Bora Bora and Moorea, Tahiti. From Wisconsin, it took 24 hours of travel time (four planes and a boat) to get to our resort. It was a #1 bucket list destination and a trip of a lifetime! We snorkeled every day from our room, took an ATV tour of Moorea, swam with stingrays and took a snorkel excursion where we had at least 30 black-tipped reef sharks swimming around us.
Do you have any words to live by?
Don’t wait until retirement to enjoy life or travel! My husband is a third-generation funeral director and has witnessed too many friends and family members work all their life only to pass away before being able to enjoy life or retire. We make travel and vacation a priority every year. Start saving for your next vacation now! We already visited our top, must-see destination and continue to check another one off each year. My other must-see destinations are the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and, if you have access to a boat, Charlevoix, Michigan!
What is your biggest achievement to date?
My biggest achievement to date is raising a caring, compassionate, competitive, smart and hard-working son. He may only be seven, but I see his future is bright and full of possibilities! I’m already his biggest fan, and I couldn’t be prouder!
For more fun facts about Emily, click here!