About Ellen
Illustration/Graphic Design As a young artist, I always had a sketchbook in hand, drawing my favorite musicians, designing logos, etc. In high school, I discovered impressionistic oil painting. While gaining experience working for printers, I completed a degree in Illustration/Graphic Art. See List of Design Clients. I've spent 40 years as a self-employed artist/designer in the SF Bay Area.
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Education:
Bachelors Degree Graphic Design/Illustration, SJSU (San Jose State University) Professional Experience 1980-1982 Art Director, Institute for the Future, Menlo Park 1982– Present Self-Employed Artist/Graphic Designer 1997– Present Designing and painting murals, facilitating community mural workshops for children & adults Kind Words… I have the extreme pleasure of working with Ellen Silva for many years in my capacity as Chief Operating Officer of the San Carlos Chamber of Commerce and in my current role as Recreation Supervisor-Special Events for the City of San Carlos. Ellen provides innovative design and graphic arts work for many events that I manage. This includes the annual San Carlos Art and Wine Faire, a major event which requires a myriad of marketing, mapping, signage, and social media elements. Ellen is not only an extremely competent and creative graphic designer who can deal with complex projects, intricate situations, and ever-changing elements, she has amazingly fast turnaround, and is endlessly patient with copy edits. This year, as we return with beloved events that have not been held since 2019, Ellen has been a true part of the event management team from day one, advising us on areas that require rebranding and a fresh look, as well as keeping us on track with the project timeline, for which I am truly grateful. Ellen is fun, positive, and a great pleasure to work with! I highly recommend using Ellen Silva! —Wendy Schettino, Recreation Supervisor-Special Events City of San Carlos I've worked with Ellen Silva on what can sometimes be challenging projects for the past 10 years, and she is always professional, responsible, and diligent. Though she occasionally must work with people who ignore directions or are high-energy, Ellen manages to give them what they need with patience and courtesy. The finished projects (event collateral) are beautifully done and highly acclaimed. For me personally, Ellen is easy to work and communicate with, always makes herself available, and completes every project within the set timeline. —Patt Sheldon, CoCA (Colony Of Coastside Artists) "Ellen has been working with the San Carlos Chamber for the past four years on graphic arts and design work for the San Carlos Art & Wine Faire. Chamber staff has also called on her for other projects throughout the year whenever her professional services were needed. Ellen is extremely competent and creative when it comes to dealing with complex projects and intricate situations. When she took over the job from a previous graphic artist, Ellen discovered a number of areas where to improve the overall look, as well as back-end processes to streamline projects from year to year. In 2015, Ellen redesigned the logo for our 25th Anniversary Art & Wine Faire which received rave reviews from our entire organization. I highly recommend Ellen’s work—you won’t regret hiring her for your projects." —Dave Bouchard, San Carlos Chamber of Commerce I have been working with Ellen Silva for the past seven years on many projects including the San Carlos Art & Wine Faire and Central Park Music Series. With over twenty-five years in the business of event planning and marketing, I have never worked with a more responsive and creative graphic designer. Ellen possesses the rare quality of combining creativity and technical ability and is responsive to client’s needs and listens carefully to suggestions and input. Her attention to detail and timeline management are excellent. Such a pleasure to work with Ellen! —Lisa Eckles, owner Eckles Events "Thanks for your help and great design work on our Annual Community Report. They look fantastic and everyone is happy with them! —Rebecca Zito, Communications & Public Relations Analyst, Office of City Manager, City of San Mateo "Everyone loves the Dining Guide! Thanks so much. All the best." —Virginia Lin, Belmont Chamber of Commerce “Ellen Silva is a reliable and enthusiastic resource, supplying inventive ideas, creative and practical support allowing us to focus on content and the issues that interest us most.” —Thomas Fogarty Winery Staff "Your work is always fabulous and being your client is a pleasure with your great customer service." Thank you for all the great work you have done for us. From annual reports to our banners, you have helped us develop a beautiful look and feel that we are proud of. —Justyne Schnupp, Development Assistant, Environmental Volunteers “Ellen Silva cares about her clients. She is a rare combination of superb creativity, excellent customer service, and win-win flexibility. She is our valued partner in every project.” —Executive Director, Environmental Volunteers "It was such a pleasure working with you! I really appreciate the quality of your work, the attention to detail and feedback, the timely production, and the communication." —Eric McKee, Education Programs Coordinator, Environmental Volunteers “Since 1992, I have worked with Ellen on a variety of projects including editorial illustrations, book layout, my company's new look and logo. What impresses me most about working with Ellen is her ability to take my initial, tentative attempts to describe my needs into images that portray what I was feeling or seeing in my head. I always look forward to our sessions. —Carol L. McClelland, Ph.D, Green Career Center "Artists working with atists" can be volatile combination. Ellen's professionalism, flexibility, and demeanor allow us to focus our creative efforts and get the job done, beautifully. —Cary Chin, President, Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra Ellen has a great eye for details and gets the subtleties of music programming well beyond the beautiful designs and basic layout of our projects. She is responsive and timely and patient when we need to tweak or add details up to the last minute. She is a pleasure to work with! —Kris Yenney, PACO SuperStrings and Preparatory Orchestras |
Clients
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