Kathryn Brewer
Graphic Designer for Web and Print Media
Kathryn has more than 20 years of experience as a graphic designer. She has designed branding, publications and communications materials for the ELCA (including World Hunger, Stewardship, Mission Investment Fund and other units), Lutheran Education Association, Chicago Area Runners Association, Presence/Resurrection Health Care, Household Bank, Chicago Public Schools, Metro Chicago YMCAs, Church World Service, Concordia University Chicago (River Forest), Lutheran Child and Family Services, Lutheran Life Communities, Wisconsin Conference of the UCC and individual YMCAs and churches, among many others.
As the communications field has rapidly changed toward more dynamic, web-based, user-interface media, Kathryn has embraced web design, focusing on enhancing visual effectiveness and updating content for organizations with complex and varied audience needs. Kathryn has transitioned several formerly print publications to accessible, interactive online publications, while maintaining the visual beauty of image content and inviting typographic design.
Kathryn’s bachelor’s degree is in Art: Visual Communication and in Journalism: Magazine Editing from Northern Illinois University’s acclaimed program. The complimentary degrees provide a well-rounded base for design of complex editorial material. She worked in various design shops for several years, and then joined Augsburg Fortress, Publishers as Graphic Designer. She was largely responsible for the branding look and feel of the print materials for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a mainstream religious organization with 5 million members.
Kathryn formed Brewer Communications to serve a larger client base with more extensive projects, including periodicals, fund-raising communications, branding identities for small businesses and organizations, curriculum development for children and adults, special event and convention promotions, viewbooks, campaign case statements and annual reports. Brewer Communications, Inc., provides comprehensive design in print and online for national audiences.
Kathryn has received numerous awards for her work. Several magazine spreads and covers for The Lutheran won the The Religious Communicators Council awards of Excellence and of Merit in 2016, as well as an Award of Excellence for book design. She has also received an Award of Excellence for ELCA Response Catalog and Awards of Merit for World Encounter magazine, Making Christ Known magazine, “Journeys" Annual Report of Lutheran Home and Service of Illinois, and several additional print pieces. In 2005, the quarterly magazine Shaping the Future received a Communicator’s Award of Distinction.
Kathryn has taught college-level courses in graphic design, and has presented workshops for the Association of Lutheran Development Executives (ALDE). She is a member of the Society of Typographic Arts.
“I find beauty in creating classic design for publications and
websites with multiple audience needs.
I enjoy the
challenges of integrating the design in a variety of print materials and web design.”
