About me

I’ve been visual storyteller in one form or another for over 20 years. After attending Cornish Institute, I started my career as a freelance illustrator and designer while working as a display artist at Tower Records. That led to jobs working in retail display at Nordstrom and Macy’s. After that, I joined the Smashing Ideas digital agency as a motion graphics designer, graduating to Senior Designer and then Senior Art Director. While there, I led numerous creative projects for a client list that included Nick Jr., Disney Channel, Mattel, and PBS Kids. During this time, I also worked independently on a variety of interactive exhibit projects for Microsoft, The Harley-Davidson Museum, The Experience Music Project, and Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre in Saudi Arabia.

In 2017, joined the Seattle ed-tech Committee for Children as Product Design Manager, helping develop the digital platform for their Second Step program. In 2020, I became Art Director for CFC’s in-house Creative team, where I oversaw hundreds of print, social media, and video projects.

My picture book illustration debut Ella The Elegant Elephant (published under the name Steven D’Amico) was released in 2004 by Scholastic. Three more Ella books followed, along with an animated Disney Jr. TV show based on the book series. From 2008 to 2019, I illustrated 11 more books with major publishers like Atheneum, Macmillan, and Chronicle Books.

If I’ve learned one thing over time, it’s that creative collaboration and teamwork is just as much a part of effective visual storytelling as technical skill. Whether working with label reps at Tower Records, contracting with studios like Belle & Wissell, or brainstorming with writers and publishers, I’ve found that great outcomes depend so much on the relationships you build with the people around you. And I’ve been very fortunate to work with and learn from some of the best.

-SH 2025