Austin Winstead is a Chicago-based graphic designer and illustrator with over 7 years of industry experience.
His skills range from packaging design and branding systems to website design and advertising campaigns.During his time in the field, Austin has worked with many different clients including Cars.com, Chaosium Inc., Erika's Lighthouse, Dark Matter Coffee, Blood of Gods zine, Royal Hemp, Reliable Poultry Supplies, National Civil Rights Museum, and Mahaffey USA. He is currently open to full-time and contract work opportunities.
In 2016, Austin received Bachelor’s of Fine Art with a Concentration in Graphic Design from the University of Memphis. During his time there, he worked alongside design and fine art professionals including Gary Golightly, Hamlett Dobbins, Brandon K. Bell, and Michael Schmidt.
Over the years, Austin has held memberships to a number of organizations including AIGA and Spudnik Press Cooperative, has shown work in a number of galleries, and run two of his own freelance illustration and graphic design businesses.
In 2018, Austin and his partner, architect and painter Sarah Peil Winstead, started their own design and creative business, Chimera Creative Co. Together, they worked on client projects incuding branding, logo design, advertising, and website design. Additionally, they produced illustrations, paintings, and fine art prints.
During its lifetime, Chimera had stocked its products at multiple retailers in Chicago, IL, including Komoda and Space Oddities. They also sold paper goods at Monster Market, a seasonal craft fair in Memphis, TN, at which they ran a booth for 3 years. In 2021, as Austin and Sarah both grew as individual artists, the time came to dissolve Chimera Creative Co.
Since, Austin has focused on his illustration and graphic design work, cultivating a unique style with ink illustrations and its applications to design work. Throughout this period, he has had the pleasure of working with clients in table-top games, underground zines, music, and event promotion.