Cynthia Wahl

Classic design. Insightful art direction. Luxurious results.

Design professional with 25+ years of art direction, graphic design, project management and personnel management experience. I love developing and producing high-quality publications in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Freelance graphic designer, March 2009-present
Create logos, advertisements, newsletters, print publications and event ephemera. Clients include Great Texas Line Press, 96.9 The Cloud - a radio station based in Golden, Colo., Denver Pain & Spine Center, and Over The Bridge Arts.

Designer/art director, Fall 2023

Business Maverick magazine, University of Texas-Arlington College of Business, 32 pages

Book design, April 2023
Perini Ranch, Celebrating Forty Years with Tom and Lisa, by Tom and Lisa Perini with June Naylor​. Comanche Moon Publishing, hard cover, 128 pages.

Art director, 817 Home, March 2017- March 2021

Art director, 76092 magazine, Sept. 2011-Dec. 2021

Art director, 360 West Weddings, Sept. 2011-March 2021

Senior designer, 360 West magazine, Sept. 2011-Dec. 2021
• Art direction and design quarterly luxury home magazine
817 Home. We take a quarterly look at the world of home design and the innovative spaces  in and around Tarrant County.

• Page design and production of monthly luxury lifestyle magazine, 360 West, focusing on Fort Worth and the surrounding areas.

• Art direct and design our community-oriented zip code magazine for Southlake 76092

• Art direct and design 360 West Weddings - for all that is bridal in Tarrant County.

Book design, August 2021
Carry Out, Carry On: A Year in the Life of a Texas Chef, by Jon Bonnell​. Self published, hard cover, 72 pages.

It's the telling of the journey as chef and restaurant owner through the chaotic pandemic of 2020. Throughout his book, Chef Jon Bonnell journals the struggles, sadness, perseverance, and unprecedented happenings through the eyes of an insider in the foodservice business.

Children's book design, March 2013-present
Goodnight San Antonio, by Jennifer Gaines Drez,

published March 2013

Goodnight Dallas, by Jennifer Gaines Drez, published November 2014

S is the Most Delicious Sound, by Michelle Marlow, published November 2017

Saving Lucky, by Amon G. Carter III, published March 2018

Goodnight Firehouse, by Jennifer Gaines Drez, published November 2019

Design director, Fort Worth Foodie magazine, 
Summer 2010-Fall 2013
Art direction, page design and production of quarterly 24-page magazine. Creative team includes publisher, photographer, writers, and ad sales to cover the emerging culinary scene in Fort Worth, Texas.

Co-owner at Texas Toast Culinary Tours, 

Sept. 2009-Sept. 2014
We gave our clients an inside look at food and wine in Fort Worth (and Dallas!) With business partner June Naylor, we hosted teambuilding exercises a la Top Chef. Our extraordinary statewide road trips (Marfa, Central Texas BBQ, Bishop Arts food tour) offered a culinary experience like no other. In addition to eating and drinking our way across the Metroplex, I managed the finances, coordinated bookings with chefs/restaurant owners, created website, designed event advertisements and literature, updated social media and Constant Contact e-mail marketing. texastoastculinarytours.com

Coordinator, Junior Woman's Club of Fort Worth, 

Aug. 2010-May 2013
Coordinate meetings and facility set-up for 12 groups within this social club for women, 40 and under. Monitor email, update website calendar, oversee the club’s historic building maintenance, offer food and drink presentation support.

Marketing contractor, First Command Financial Services, 
Feb.-Sept. 2011
Researched, developed and wrote four 45-minute webinars for the federal and military market. Topics included adding the Roth option to the Thrift Savings Plan, survivor benefit planning for military families, and options for federal employees to be prepared for tough economic times.

Blogger for mom2momdfw.com, July 2008-Sept. 2010 
Wrote weekly blog, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” about life as the mother of two teenage sons.

Literary media escort, Aug. 2003-Nov. 2009
Itinerary and event coordination for authors including Bon Appetit editor Barbara Fairchild, author Garrison Keillor, New Orleans chef John Besh and barbecue entrepreneur Pat Neely. Facilitate book signings for "An Evening with Jeff Guinn" series for the Star-Telegram. Authors included Frank McCourt, James Patterson, Tom Clancy, Liz Smith and more.

Art director, Oct. 2008-March 2009
Indulge magazine, subsidiary of the Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth, Texas
Created overall aesthetic and coordinate production for
​60-page monthly luxury magazine. Responsible for overseeing and arranging photo shoots, create page layout, oversee and approve page designer’s concepts. Attend press check. Wrote feature articles.

Design director/Features, Dec. 1988-March 2009
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Directed design and production for 50-75 editorial pages each week. Managed staff of 22 artists and designers, including scheduling, employee reviews, mentoring. Collaboration with senior editors for content of both broadsheet and tabloid features sections (Life & Arts, Go!, Food and Travel), business section, and niche special sections. Conceptualized and implemented two Star Time magazine redesigns. Art director for 5 to 10 illustrations on a weekly basis from both in-house and freelance artists. 

Previous experience
• Design director/Features, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo. (Included art direction of Sunday Magazine)
• Editorial assistant, San Jose Mercury News, San Jose, Calif.


EDUCATION
BS Journalism/Advertising, University of Colorado-Boulder
Additional art/design courses taken at San Jose State University, San Jose, Calif., and The Colorado Institute of Art, Denver, Colo.

TECHNICAL PROGRAMS
Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat), Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Google Docs, Mail Chimp