15 Artists Under 30: Lucy Engleman

By: Print Magazine | October 24, 2017

Call for entries: HOW Logo Design Competition

Deadline for entry: October 30, 2017

This is the third year we’ve run our New Visual Artists: 15 under 30 issue. What was once a highly edited list of 20 of the best and brightest young designers is now a deeper exploration of 15 of the most original talents working in visual communications today.

This issue of Print comes at an interesting time. This new group of designers, while undeniably adroit, is part of a generation fully proficient in the art of self-promotion in a digital age. Getting the word out about one’s work is now de rigueur. But at a time when new work is relentlessly blasted out on platforms where seemingly everyone in the room is shouting, is it really possible to break through the volume of voices all vying to captivate and capture attention? Moreover, in the Insta-culture of the early 21st century, how does one navigate through the metadata to find the meteoric? As in years past, that’s exactly what we’ve sought to do here. We’ve gone in quest of craft and cunning ideas and ideals. We’ve looked for substance and style and star-power. The list of Print’s New Visual Artists has become a who’s who of the industry’s leaders, and includes Scott Dadich, Eddie Opara, Alan Dye, Jessica Walsh, Jessica Hische, Frank Chimero and, more recently, Zipeng Zhu, Joe Hollier and Joey Cofone. This year’s 15 New Visual Artists are bold in name and in voice, and are bravely making new work in a new world.

“My Print cover is a celebration of artists’ unique ways of seeing the world and interpreting its intricacies.”

Meet New Visual Artist Lucy Engleman

Age: 28.

From: Northfield, IL.

Current city: Pittsburgh.

Education: University of Michigan; BFA, art and design.

Earliest creative memory: I didn’t do much drawing as a child. I can remember mostly collaging, playing with kitchen spices and having puppet shows. My siblings and I spent a lot of time making things, and my parents always celebrated that. The walls of our home were always covered with whatever we had created. My dad would always put a drawing in our school lunches. We’d bring it home and he’d add to it and put it back in our lunch the next day.

Path that led you to illustration: I always knew I wanted to draw; I just needed to find a way to apply it. … I worked in a build shop for a theater company, taught art therapy, created some murals I’d like to forget about, and made lots of coffee and hung hundreds of shirts on the side. I hustled so hard when I’d get off work—drawing until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I started to get hired more for illustration work, specifically editorial. I loved the pressure of the quick turnaround and continued into the world of editorial freelance headfirst.

I started to overcommit myself and ended up getting carpel tunnel after the first year of 14-hour days. After medical insistence, I became more realistic and more intentional about the work I took on. Working with Bon Appétit was the first pivotal client relationship in my career. They hired me when I was very green to illustrate their magazine spines for what grew into three years of issues, culminating in one continuous image. When they moved into their new offices in 1 World Trade Center, I had the opportunity to design their wallpaper, based on the image I’d been creating for them over the years. The experience of seeing my work on such a physically large scale has fueled much of where my personal work is headed these days.

The key to good design: Imagination, being fearless and trying new things, listening, and editing.

Motto/design philosophy: Stay in touch with the person you were when you fell in love with making things. Allow for time in spaces where you can make work for yourself. It’s important to remember why we loved creating in the first place, especially when we get overwhelmed and overworked. The best ideas come when you take a break.

Work of which you’re most proud: I’m particularly proud of the work I’ve created with my work family at Collective Quarterly. Since its infancy, we have been a small team creating a publication out of true collaboration, something I’m proud to be a part of.

Biggest influence: The natural world has been a huge influence on my work. I find plants and animals just make me happy and I am absolutely fascinated with all of their intricacies. I take time once a year out of my schedule to travel to a remote place to make work for myself.

Design hero: I’ve always been inspired by the work Julia Rothman is doing and the fact that she’s doing it all on her own, without an agent or design firm behind her. I love that she is an illustrator who is really a jack-of-all-trades.

Cause that means the most to you: The environment and animal rights are two causes I think about daily. They effect every decision I make and are all over all of my work.

Your idea of happiness: Big pla
nts, healthy family, early morning coffee time, days at the beach, surprise hugs, dancing in the kitchen, dessert, dogs playing in the snow, and laughing until your stomach hurts.

The future of design is: I hope the future holds designers having faith in their own ideas and taking chances instead of questioning if their work fits with what is already “trending.”

Website: www.lucyengelman.com