Meet Our Judges: Ivylise Simones Creative Director, Mother Jones

When you look at Ivylise’s bio you’re struck with the straight-to-the-top journey she’s had.  A University of Miami graduate she spent the first year and four months working as an associate art director at the Miami New Times. Fast forward to a move to New York where she was first an art director at the Village Voice for a couple of years, then to the freelance trails working for People, Showtime Networks and Popular Science ending up as the Design Director for The New York Observer then two years at Harris Publications before the move to California where she worked as AD on Sactown magazine before being recruited by Mother Jones in 2013 as their new Creative Director.

Today she oversees creative operations for the investigative news outlet's bimonthly print magazine and 24/7 website in San Francisco.

Simones has also applied her design and photography finesse to Showtime, Popular Science and American Photo, and in 2010 she helped to launch People magazine’s iPad application. Contributing photography and photo illustrations is also second nature for Ivylise.

Asked what kind of story lends itself to illustration, she replied, “Stories where the main characters aren’t visually recognizable. Complex stories that can lead to beautiful conceptual ideas. Stories that just need a visual boost!” And she loves working with illustrators,“Back when I was the art director over at the Village Voice and The New York Observer, working with illustrators was pretty much half of what I had to do on a weekly basis. In those weeks, there could be up to seven illustrations in one issue!” www.motherjones.com

Ivylise joins Sam Arthur, Julia Rothman, Jonathan Kenyon, Dieter Braun, Orlie Kraus and Daniela Silva in judging this year’s professional show. www.motherjones.com

3x3 International Illustration Awards No.14 open for entries
Three shows: Professional, Picture Book and Student, open to all illustrators in all countries
Call for Entries poster

Deadline: Midnight, Friday, March 24

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