FIGURE 8 is the work of Simona Bortis-Schultz, a New York based illustrator + designer. Simona originally immigrated to the US as a child from Romania. The only thing she ever stole was a pocket sized illustrated book, and dreamt of creating equally spellbound experiences. For many years Simona’s client experience included working as an art director per advertising, branding and marketing work for national and international clients. Simona has received numerous awards for art direction, design and illustration both nationally and internationally including: The 2023 United States International Poster Biennale, Communication Arts Illustration Annual 2022 + 2023 (short list), AIGA Upstate NY State of Design, Print Magazine’s Design Annual, FABRICA/Benetton Workshop in Treviso, Italy, The Portland Creative Conference's Rosey Awards, and AIGA Best of Oregon Traveling Design Exhibition. Simona’s current work focuses on capturing the magic of visual narrative per community and commercial projects involving supergraphics, surface design, motion design, and any other available mediums. Simona Bortis-Schultz’s book, To Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth, Women’s Work: The Visual Language of the Romanian Blouse revolves around an artifact of material culture as it relates to symbols, storytelling and design, and is available at Set Margins Press.

Simona earned a double Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and in Visual Design, from the University of Oregon and a Masters of Fine Art from The Vermont College of Fine Art in graphic design. Outside the world of design + illustration, Simona teaches communication design + enjoys life in rural Albany County with her family.

EXHIBITIONS
2023 UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL POSTER BIENNALE
exhibited in United States starting in Los Angeles, California followed by openings in Iowa, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and others. Also, throughout the year 2024, work will be exhibited around the world in countries such as Poland, China, and more.

SELECT CLIENTS
Adidas
Austen Riggs Center
Callisto Media/Rockridge Imprint
2Communiqué
Center for Internet Security
Creative Communications/Noodle
Emory Rollins School of Public Health
The Guthrie Center
Nomad Coworks
Pacific Retail Capital Partners
Plazm Media
The Portland Stamp Company
The Sage Colleges
Scholastic Education
Storey Publishing