Sara Duell is a designer who lives in NYC.
About, contact, and commissioned work ↬
About & News
My work promotes radical and queer political imaginations by making use of design’s capability to quietly form the world around us. I do so by designing otherwise commonplace objects such as books, clothing, videos in a way that subverts the norm and creates room for alternative and numerous interpretations.
In the last few years, I have designed objects that recall an imagined future using readily available found materials. These objects include rubbings made with laser cut sandpaper that suggest fictional monuments, revolutionary banners sewn out of velvet curtains, and promotional materials for subversive feminist metal bands using low resolution stock images. These projects led me to my current inquiries into the production of myth and the power of the collective public. In my practice, I reveal how design informs what we believe to be true and how it visually reflects and preserves our time for future generations.
Recent news include the 5 year celebration of WMN, a lesbian art and poetry zine (awarded the 2021 and 2023 Queens Art Fund grant) that I publish together with artists Jeanette Spicer and Florencia Alvarado. My book Notes on Rehearsal is available from Draw Down Books. I teach Type & Typography at Rutgers University, and have had the pleasure of teaching at Pratt Institute. I received my MFA in graphic design at Yale School of Art in 2024.
Contact
info (a) saraduell.com
@morningslayer
CV
SELECTED WRITING
“Typografisk hyllningskonst” (In Swedish) Tecknaren Issue 4. December 2, 2022
“SURRENDER” Yale Paprika! Volume 8, Issue 02:Transient Intimacy . October 31, 2022
“How Can Designers Address Power Inequity? Start Small and Focus on the Local: A look at the community-oriented practices of Bastion Agency, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Nat Pyper, and Suzy Chan” AIGA Eye On Design. March 8, 2021
“Black Lesbian Archives: An interview with Krü Maekdo” WMN. Sept 20, 2020
“Design feminista como método, não como estética” Revista Zum (the semi-annual photography magazine by the Moreira Salles Institute in Brazil). Translated by Daniele Queiroz. Sept 18, 2020
“Lesbian Invisibility in Art History: An interview with art historian Ksenia M. Soboleva” WMN. Aug 2, 2020
“Design Spotlight: Feminist Design as a Method, Not Aesthetics” Photobook Review #017, Fall 2019
“Women’s March on Washington: strong in number, but how about design?” Design Observer. March 8, 2017
COMMISSIONED PROJECTS
Art Direction
Civilian Crisis Response—A Toolkit for Equitable Alternatives to Police
Photography by Tina Russell and Justin Katigbak
Vera Institute of Justice. Apr 2022.
Art Direction
[It’s] a Torture Chamber—Stories from Rikers Island
Photography by Reece T. Williams.
Vera Institute of Justice. Feb 2022.
Creative and Art Direction
Sixty Years of Fighting for Justice.
Vera 2021 Annual Report
Illustrations by Jasjyot Singh Hans and Mike Centeno. Photography by Jeanette Spicer and Anjali Pinto.
Vera Institute of Justice. Nov 2021.
Art Direction
ICE’s Deadly Practice of Abandoning Immigrants with Disabilities and Mental Illnesses on the Street
Illustrations by Michelle Garcia.
Vera Institute of Justice. Sept 2021.
Design
Kira Josefsson—Writer, Translator, Editor
Personal Website
Collaborator: Sasha Plotnikova
Design
Jeanette Spicer—Photographer
Personal Website
Design
Madeline Leung Coleman—Writer and Editor
Personal Website
PRESS
Curve Magazine—A New Generation of Lesbian Publishing. Merryn Johns. May 2023
i-D—Why zines have always been vital textbooks for counterculture.
Abigail Glasgow. Dec 2021
Futuress—Not a Matter of the Past: How lesbian feminist tactics and strategies can help us overcome struggles of today. Anja Neidhardt. Oct 15, 2021
AIGA Eye on Design—Small Budgets, Tight Deadlines, Important Work: Lessons all designers can learn from working with nonprofits
Abigail Glasgow. July 2021
Ms. Magazine—Fighting For the Term “Lesbian”: An Art and Poetry Publication Strives to Uplift Lesbian Writers Ashley Lynn Priore. June 2021
Fontwerk—With Passion for Lesbian Culture June 2021
Fonts in Use—“DYKE” hankies by WMN” Franziska Weitgruber. Dec 2020
Autostraddle—Wmn Zine: What It Means To Be A ‘Rural Lesbian’
Lauren Parker. Dec 2019
Broken Pencil—Pencil Sharpener: Print’s New Home For Rural Lesbians. Stefanie Ucci. Oct 2019
It’s Nice That—New York City tourism agency rebranded with custom typefaces and hundreds of icons. Jenny Brewer. June 2016
Eye Magazine—Love songs for Piano. Steven Heller. no. 90 vol. 23, 2015
ACCOLADES
Queens Art Fund 2023, 2021
Estrid Ericson’s Stipend. 2022, 2018, and 2012
Helge Ax:son Johnson’s Stipend 2020
Lucie Photo Book Prize finalist for Matthew Porter: The Heights. 2019
Vermont Studio Center artist grant. 2018
Webby Award in the Travel Category, and Honorable Mention in the Mobile Design category for nycgo.com. 2017
HOW Design in-house awards for the NYC&Company Rebrand. 2016
PDN Photo Annual winner Photo Book Category for Larry Towell’s Afghanistan. 2015
Design Observer’s 50 Covers
50 books for Martin Parr’s Life’s a Beach. 2013
CREDITS
Typefaces
Messer by Inga Plönnigs