about me

Hi there! I’m Melanie Watson, and I am very curious about this world. Fireflies, for example, have always fascinated me. Their gift of bioluminescence has a scientific explanation, but a hedgerow full of them at dusk is simply magic. It’s funny how physical elements of what we see open us up to feeling the world.

Back when I began to study graphic design, it was very hands-on with pen-and-paper sketching. By my last year, desktop publishing took over the design industry, but I still scratch that hands-on itch with jigsaw puzzles, cross-stitch, and coloring books. I’ve also always done a lot of reading—close to one hundred books every year feed my imagination as I dive into both lush, mystical landscapes and strange, twisty thrillers.

My first career spanned two decades in editorial and publication design at a weekly newspaper. What I loved about this work was the process of starting with a simple idea and then combining artwork, photos, and stories to transform it all into a new reality. In the publications industry, this also means a consistent look and feel from page to page.

Now as a graphic designer specializing in visual brand discovery and creation, I get to satisfy my curiosity by doing those fun deep dives into research for each client. It’s a collaboration to bring their visual brand identity from concepts to reality through designs that are simultaneously physical of line and color, and subtle of impression and feel. And, I get to spend all my time reimagining how businesses present themselves while helping them achieve a consistent look and feel across all their channels of communication.

I also conceptualize and create visual stories through my amateur photography, as seen here.

Melanie Watson

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