Nathan is an Artist Based in Chicago, IL. Focused on Design and Photography

I'm a graphic designer based in Chicago, with a focus on branding, layout, and visual systems that communicate with clarity and personality. Whether I’m building a visual identity or typesetting a publication, I care about the details; how things line up, how type breathes, and how design can shape the way people connect with a story.

Alongside branding, I have a strong love for book design. I’ve worked on everything from zines to photo books, always aiming to create thoughtful, tactile experiences that invite people to slow down and engage.

Photography is a big part of my practice too. I shoot both digital and film, often drawn to small, focused case studies, tactile and digital collages, and experimental techniques.

One of my most meaningful projects grew out of the archive I inherited after my dad passed away in 2022. As a way to process that experience, I spent a year working with photographs, documents, texts, and film; scanning, editing, and layering them into a large-scale series of digital collages and formatting them into a book. The project blends design, photography, typography, and archival material into a visual timeline that reflects on memory, loss, and complicated relationships. I was drawn to the process of transforming raw, personal material into something designed, something that could speak to others while still feeling deeply my own.

  • |2024 Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design

    |2024 Bachelor of Arts in Photography

    Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL

    Cumulative GPA: 4.0 Dean’s List 2020-2024

    Graduated Summa Cum Laude

    Deans Scholarship and Columbia Scholar Award

    |2020 Hinsdale South High School - General Diploma

  • |2024 “Design Portfolio” Department 24, The Hokin Project Gallery, Chicago, IL.

    |2024 “Dad, I You!” After Everything, The Hokin Project Gallery, Chicago, IL.

    |2023 “Dad’s Watches” The Center Galleries, Chicago, IL.

    |2020 “Ap Portfolio” Art Honor Society, Hinsdale South High School, Darien, IL.

    |2020 “S&J” Illinois High School Art Exhibition, Chicago, IL.

    |2019 “Crystal Clear” and “Heaven” Darien Woman’s Club Creative Youth Art Fair, Darien, IL.

    |2019 “Beads” Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Downers Grove, IL.

    |2019 “Nevaeh Día de Muertos” Illinois High School Art Exhibition, Chicago, IL.

    |2018 “Lightbulb” “Jeff” “S&J” Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Downers Grove, IL.

    |2018 “Jeff” Jack Olson Gallery High School Invitational, DeKalb, IL.

    |2018 “S&J” Congressional Art Competition with Peter Roskam, IL. District 6.

    |2018 “S&J” Best of the Midwest, Springfeild, MO.

  • |2025 Millstream Way: There Was Nothing We Couldn’t Do, Collages, Designer and Visual Artist

    |2025 Gaol, “Archival Materials” Designer and Visual Artist

    |2024 Department 24 Des.Cat., “Design Portfolio” Art Director

    |2023 The Noun Project, “Photography Iconography,” Graphic Designer

    |2020 Illusions Art Magazine, “Creed” “Under the Pier,” Editor in Chief

    |2019 Illusions Art Magazine, “Beads” “Heaven,” Staff Editor

    |2018 Illusions Art Magazine, “Lightbulb” “S&J,” Staff Editor

  • |2020-2024 Columbia College Chicago Scholar Award

    |2020-2024 Columbia College Chicago Deans Scholarship

    |2020 Hinsdale South Art Department Award

    |2019 Second Best, “Crystal Clear” Darien Women’s Club Creative You Art Fair

    |2019 Best of Show, “Heaven” Darien Women’s Club Creative You Art Fair

    |2019 Honorable Mention, “Beads” Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

    |2018 Honorable Mention, “Light Bulb” Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

    |2018 Silver Key, “Jeff” Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

    |2018 Gold Key, “S&J” Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

  • |2024-2026 Graphic Designer, Elliott Gallery, Amsterdam, NL.

    |2024-2025 Graphic Design Assistant, DEJAMAKES, Chicago, IL.

    |2024-2025 Brand Graphic Designer, Float Ballon Bar, Dallas, TX.

    |2024-2025 Freelance Graphic Design Consultant, Speed Pro Graphics, South Loop Chicago, IL.

    |2023-2024 Art Director, Manifest Urban Arts Festival Graphic Design Showcase, Columbia College Chicago, IL.

    |2018 Photographer/Intern, Cotter Consulting, Darien, IL.

    |2018-2020 Editor in Chief, Illusions Art Magazine, Darien, IL.

    |2017-2019 Portrait Photographer, Hinsdale South High School Band, Choir, and Social Studies Departments, Darien, IL.

    |2017-2019 Photographer/Intern, Bleeding Disorders Alliance Illinois, Chicago, IL.

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