Hi there! I'm VALERIE:
I am a full-time art director, graphic designer and kid-at-heart! I have degrees in Display & Exhibit and Packaging Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology and 10+ years of NYC design experience in corporate, start-up, agency and freelance settings.
To date, I've created craft and pet products for Martha Stewart, worked on gift packaging at Victoria's Secret and was the lead designer for a digital stationery start-up called Bloom. Currently, I am the art director at Galison, a gift and stationery publisher, that partners with both legendary and contemporary fine artists.
In my free time, I volunteer weekly (behind the secret bookcase) at 826NYC’s, Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. 826NYC is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills.
Armed with equal doses of positivity and childhood nostalgia, my aim is to create art that provokes wonder and curiosity. I have a great appreciation of street/public art that engages the community. I seek magic in the mundane and everyday hustle-bustle and am always on the lookout for lost playing cards. I have found and collected about a hundred to date!
My most rewarding ongoing project includes being mom to Veda and sidekick to Ian. We recently relocated from Brooklyn, NY to Saint Paul, MN and are looking forward to exploring our new city!
LET'S COLLABORATE!
valerie.courtney@gmail.com
Testimonials
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“Working with Valerie Courtney is like working with a whirlwind - but in a great wonderful way. She brought so much energy, talent and experience to her job. She made a great design partner here at Bloom and gave much imagination and ideas on on how to form this new workflow. She worked extremely well with my production staff and was great to work with, all while on-boarding new designers to our specific workflow. I hope our paths cross again and I look forward to future collaborations.”
“Valerie is a wonderfully talented designer and such a joy to work with. She is highly imaginative and is able to execute her ideas beautifully. Valerie’s approach to design is insightful and energetic. She is also a very talented writer. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Valerie on the Crafts team at Martha Stewart Living, and at Bloom Stationers.”
“Valerie is a design superstar. Always positive and up to the challenge, she brings a strong level of creativity to every project, and isn’t fazed by tight deadlines.”
“Valerie has spunk for days, and (to the delight of all who know her) said spunk cannot be contained. Whether it’s a project to solve, skill to master, inspiration to to track down, office birthday party to plan, or design to perfect — she is unstoppable in her enthusiasm and ever-expanding skillset to make it happen, and have a ball in the process. I count myself very lucky to have worked alongside her at 3 different companies over the past 7 years. The joy she exudes, and the unstoppable team spirit she embodies make her the ultimate in my book!”
“Working with Valerie is not only a pleasure but she is a great designer who uses her knowledge of production to only enhance her designs. She works well as a team player but also brings her own contributions to a project. We worked on a challenging project where she had to design cards that were interactive on the web and the colors and font choices could be changed by the customer. The cards were not only designed beautifully as one design but they worked using several color themes and fonts. Valerie is extremely knowledgeable, articulate and personable. I highly recommend her.”
“Valerie is a great designer to work with. She gives clear and intuitive direction and produces beautiful and unique designs.”
“I first worked with Valerie when she was recently out of school. Unlike most recent graduates who think they know everything, Valerie had an intense inquisitiveness that pushes her to learn everything. I was amazed at how quickly she picked up new knowledge and applied them to her craft. She is a natural designer and it shows in everything she does. I’ve worked with a lot of highly talented designers in my years; but Valerie’s design sense is a defining attribute of the new generation of design professionals. She ranges from delightfully whimsical to regally formal. Above all, Valerie is one of the sweetest individual I’ve ever worked with. Working with her has been a true privilege.”
“Having worked with Valerie from the time she graduated, through her tenure as Associate Crafts Designer, I have always been impressed by Valerie’s fearless approach to design. Valerie shares her thoughts and concepts without hesitation and is equally open to feedback and working towards the best solution to any design assignment. It has truly been a pleasure working with Valerie, and I hope that we will work together again soon.”
“In her two and a half years with 826NYC, Valerie has volunteered more than 100 hours of her time across a wide variety of programs. From weekly tutoring in Park Slope, to leading workshops, to designing student publications, Valerie has impacted the lives of countless students and made a huge difference in the work we do here at 826NYC. Most recently, Valerie has worked alongside 826 staff and students to design a poster detailing our commitment to openness and inclusion which will soon hang in all of our permanent sites, and has successfully guided eight-year-old Noah towards completing many hours of writing and math-based games – no small feat! We are as lucky as ever to have Valerie, so thank you and congratulations on becoming our first two-time Volunteer of the Month winner!”
“I love love love your work that you did for my company. I get excited every day when I look at my logo design. It is super inspiring!”
